Once a good tenant is sourced, regular inspections need to be conducted on the premises every three to four months to ensure that the tenant is maintaining the property.
Inspections cannot be done more than once every 3 months by an agent or landlord and tenants need to be given appropriate notice before entering the premises. Tenants need to be given the date and a 2 hour time frame for inspections – ie Thursday 28th January from 9 am to 11 am and in South Australia tenants need to be notified no less than one week in advance and no more than 3 weeks in advance. It’s important to schedule the time frame correctly if notice letters are sent by mail as it can take up to 6 days for mail to be delivered. In our office, tenants are notified by letter, email and sms to ensure they have received the notification and that we have it all in writing.
Once a date is set, the specified person ie the property manager or inspector may enter the premises using office keys whether the tenant is home or not. Note that it is illegal to enter premises outside of the specified time for the purpose of conducting routine inspections if appropriate notice has not been given to the tenant. (entering for the purpose of emergency maintenance is handled differently and falls under a different section of tenancy legislation).
During a routine inspection, the property manager enters takes photos and comments on every room including the garage and shed areas. The camera is generally aimed at walls, floors and property fixtures and generally not at tenants belongings. Tenants do have a right to ask that no photos are taken.
Property managers look and report back to the landlord on the general condition of the property, how the tenant is keeping the property inside and maintaining the gardens.
Tenants are given a report if gardens are not maintained or house is not kept clean and specifically told how to rectify the problems. Depending on what has been found, a breach notice can also be issued to rectify. Ie grounds neglected for months can be a breach issue.
Property managers/inspectors also look for maintenance issues that may be missed by the tenants. Evidence of low levels of salt damp in the walls adjacent the bathroom is a common area not reported by tenants and signifies an internal leak in the bathroom that can be easily missed in the early stages.
Regular inspections enable an investor to increase the value of their property by ensuring a great tenant who will look after the property and also by keeping on top of maintenance issues and keeping the property looking great.
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