The routine inspection, done properly

A routine inspection is not a spot check on how somebody lives. It is a scheduled look at the condition of an asset you own and are responsible for maintaining. Landlords who forget that distinction tend to produce inspections that annoy good tenants and still miss the leaking flexi hose under the sink.

How often, and with what notice

New South Wales limits routine inspections each year and requires written notice before entry, with a minimum number of days set by the Act rather than by agreement. The rules can change, so confirm the current figures with NSW Fair Trading before you set a schedule rather than trusting a blog, including this one.

The four things worth looking for

Walk the property with a fixed list, in the same order every time. Almost everything that matters falls into one of four categories.

• Safety: smoke alarms, obvious electrical faults, loose balustrades, window locks, anything a child could fall from or through.
• Unreported damage: the things a tenant has not mentioned, usually because they are embarrassed or hoping it resolves itself.
• Wear about to become damage: the perishing hose, the failing seal, the gutter that is one storm from overflowing into a wall.
• Breaches: an undeclared pet, an extra occupant, a business running out of the garage — matters of fact, recorded neutrally.

Notice what is absent from that list. Whether the dishes are done, whether the beds are made, whether the decor is to your taste. None of it is your business, none of it is evidence of anything, and raising it converts a routine visit into a relationship problem you will pay for at renewal.

The cheapest repair in property is the one you photographed six months before it became a claim.

Photograph the same angles every time

The value of inspection photos comes almost entirely from comparison, and comparison requires consistency. Stand in the same corner of each room, frame the same view, and the sequence becomes a time-lapse of the property. Deterioration that is invisible between two visits is obvious across six.

Keep the photos attached to the inspection, and the inspection attached to the property. A folder of images with no date and no room is a folder you will never open again.

What to do afterwards

1. 1 Write the report the same day, while you can still remember which room the third photo was in.
2. 2 Separate what you observed from what you intend to do about it — findings and actions are different lists.
3. 3 Send the tenant anything that concerns them, including the good news that nothing needs doing.
4. 4 Book the repairs you found. An inspection that generates no action was a walk through somebody else’s house.