Rental inspection checklist: How to spot red flags in 15 minutes
So how can you get the most out of each inspection to ensure the properties you apply for are the right ones for you while also being in good condition?
CHECK THE LIVING STANDARDS
It's important to watch out for the three Ds when inspecting a rental – dirty, damp and dark, says The Rent Fairy founder and director Sarah Elkordi.
'If you've got a dirty, damp and dark property, the fourth D will be depression,' she says.
South-facing properties that get very little sunlight and poorly maintained properties with damage from water leakage should be avoided as they can be breeding grounds for mould.
Good ventilation is also important, including whether or not there are flyscreens on the windows, she says.
'It is also very important to check that you have enough pressure in the taps, so turning on the shower, turning on the taps and flushing the toilets,' she says.
Security is another crucial thing to check, including whether or not there is a working intercom for apartments and whether all locks and latches are in good working order.
MORE: 'Free rent' deals on rise in Sydney as market shifts
Wild way Aussie scored home for just $4000
The Rental Specialists principal Jo Natoli says renters should make sure the lights are working and that water runs freely down the drains when you turn on the taps.
'Make sure there's no terrible smells around,' she says. 'Have a look at the paintwork. The paintwork can usually give a bit of an indication if there are any water ingress problems.'
MEASURING UP
Ever moved into a home and realised your fridge doesn't fit in the fridge space? This can be easily solved by measuring your fridge ahead of time and taking a small measuring tape with you to each inspection, says Natoli. In fact, you could do the same with your lounge and washing machine, she says.
Sydney Rental Search director Marcelle Wever says you can even get an app that measures fridge spaces. And while you've got your phone out, open up your compass app too.
'With the main windows in the property, do always take a compass reading,' she says. 'Just so you know which way the windows are facing. That's so important so you don't get those issues with mould.'
Another thing Wever recommends checking is the size of the garage. This is particularly important for old houses that were built long before modern SUVs were designed.
Another thing you might want to check while you are in the property, says Elkordi, is phone coverage.
'You could go into a property that is actually a black spot and end up with no phone reception,' she says.
QUESTIONS TO ASK
Natoli recommends renters try to avoid being hemmed into a 15 minute open by arranging a private inspection ahead of time. Not only does this give you more time to view the property without battling the crowd, it also provides an opportunity to build a rapport with the agent.
She says it's also useful to ask about the long term plans of the owner in case they are planning to sell up or move in within the not too distant future.
TIPS FOR A STREAMLINED INSPECTION
Once you know what you're looking for, it helps to be as efficient as possible in the 15 minutes you have. Here are three tips from the experts on how you can streamline the inspection process.
1. The seven minute rule – Sarah Elkordi suggests breaking your timeslot into seven minute intervals: one to check if the property meets your needs and the other to assess for cleanliness and working order
2. Take a video – This gives you something to refer back to and helps you remember each property more accurately – just make sure you seek permission first, says Marcelle Wever
3. Ask for a virtual tour first – Since not all agencies let you take videos, ask if they can provide a video or virtual tour first, says Jo Natoli. That way, you can decide if it's worth checking out in person
MORE: Bizarre 'murder home' stuns internet
Aus council takes drastic action on cat crisis
'What the f**k': Block star's nasty spat
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
ABC News
15 minutes ago
- ABC News
Why people can't rest in peace with their pets
If you live in Victoria, it's illegal to be buried with your beloved pet. This is a result of age-old laws that, pet advocates argue, have no relevance to life today – where many people are so attached to their pets they refer to them as their 'fur babies'. While the Victorian laws remain in place, some cemetery owners are facing a difficult decision: say no to families who wish pets to be buried with their loved ones, or break the law. ABC NewsRadio's Sarah Morice spoke with Dr Hannah Gould, a death studies academic at the University of Melbourne.
News.com.au
3 hours ago
- News.com.au
If your partner insists you always do this together, you need to run
It might seem cute, intimate even, but relationship experts have warned a common 'romantic' gesture can actually be a sign you are in extreme danger. On the surface, showering as a couple is the ultimate act of intimacy, one that even comes with a slew of health benefits such as stress relief and increased bonding, with heat and physical touch known to release oxytocin, the 'feel-good' or 'love' hormone. But when showering together becomes insisted upon by one partner, shifting the basic human need into something that cannot be done without the other, it becomes a worrying act of control. Sydney-based lawyer and domestic violence advocate, Cassandra Kalpaxis, explained it is easily mistaken as a bid for closeness but can be determined as a precursor to domestic violence and abuse. 'Insisting on shared showers removes one of the few moments of privacy and bodily autonomy we have,' she told 'It creates an opportunity for surveillance, and often for sexual coercion, masked as intimacy. It's not about hygiene or connection: it's about access and control.' The owner of family and divorce lawyer firm, Kalpaxis Legal, added: 'It's a red flag because it represents something bigger: the slow erosion of space, boundaries, and consent in the relationship. Even when it's framed as 'love,' if it's non-negotiable, it's not safe.' US psychotherapist, Aishia Grevenberg, shared similar concerns while appearing on the RISK! podcast with journalist, Mel Hamlett, to discussed their advocacy after both surviving domestic abuse. 'Several women have shared their stories, explaining their partner always made them shower with them,' Ms Hamlett said. 'And I was like, 'Ha, that's what he [my ex] did'. Because at first it was cute, I was like, 'Oh, is this what couple's do', because I had never been in a relationship before. 'So I was like, 'OK, cool, we shower together', I didn't realise that was one of his ways of control.' She went on to explain that she 'always had to shower with him', adding that her former partner would also urinate on her as he stood behind her. 'There were all of these little ways that he was like, 'I hate you, I hate you',' she explained. Dr Grevenberg said the controlling tactic is commonly used by abusers to create a 'hive mind', a term that is used to describe how individuals are influenced by social groups, trends, or collective understanding of the world, sometimes leading to uncritical acceptance of information or behaviours. 'It's two heads, one mind, saying 'you have to shower with me' is him being intrusive to these very personal, private moments,' she shared. 'He's inserting himself and demanding, and you didn't have enough experience to know, 'I don't need to shower with you, I don't need to do this'. 'But he knew you didn't have the lived experience, and he exploited this, to step into your life and take over.' A video of the women discussing the little-known sign of coercive control has amassed almost 1 million views, with many expressing shock and disbelief in the comments. 'My ex did this too, he even controlled how much toothpaste I used. He washed me, washed my hair,' shared one. 'This just triggered me. My narcissistic ex would do this so that he could claim every space so that I never had anything of my own. The peeing thing too, ugh, God,' wrote someone else. As one raged: 'What the actual HELL! People do this?' Others stressed that everyone is entitled to privacy in a relationship. 'You don't even have to change in front of your partner,' said one. 'Wow I didn't know this was common in DV relationships.,' added another. While one woman argued: 'Men are so dangerous. If he does this, run.' Each week across Australia, a woman is killed in an act of domestic and family violence. The NSW Domestic Violence Death Review Team found that 97 per cent of intimate partner homicides in NSW (2000–2018) were preceded by coercive and controlling behaviours, such as emotional and psychological abuse. Yet, despite growing awareness, coercive control is still widely misunderstood and frequently dismissed until it escalates into physical violence. 'One of the most dangerous things about coercive control is that it often flies under the radar – not just for the victim, but for friends, family and even professionals,' Ms Kalpaxis said. 'It doesn't always look like 'abuse' in the way people expect. The behaviours often co-occur and escalate over time. 'What might start as 'just checking in' soon becomes full surveillance, financially, emotionally and physically. 'Victims gradually lose autonomy, confidence and the ability to resist. It's rarely one dramatic incident, it's the cumulative pressure, delivered dropâ€'byâ€'drop.' Some of the most common signs, many of which are overlooked, can include isolation disguised as concern, financial 'help' that becomes dependence and threats or guilt-based manipulation. 'This can look like making you feel guilty for spending time with others, or frame your loved ones as threats to your relationship,' she said. 'Taking over all the finances, such as giving you an allowance, or preventing you from working, limiting your freedom to leave. 'They may also say things like, 'You'll never make it without me,' or use children, pets, or personal secrets as leverage.' Other alarm bells include, surveillance masked as trust, such as asking for your phone password, tracking your location, or monitoring your conversations under the guise of love or 'transparency.' Micromanagement of your choices: This can look like dictating what you wear, eat, read, or how you spend your time. Even saying things like 'That outfit is too revealing' or 'Why do you need the gym?' Ms Kalpaxis said that a partner undermining your abilities, dismissing your achievements, or making you feel like you'd be lost without them, is a sign of emotional belittling, while someone who subtly turns friends and family against you or plants seeds that you're 'unstable' or 'emotional' so if you ever speak up, you won't be believed, is attempting to control of the narrative.
ABC News
5 hours ago
- ABC News
How this teen learns a visual language like Japanese with no vision of her own
Japanese is one of the most studied languages for Australian high school students — but few learn it like Jacinta McIntyre. The 14-year-old from Jamison High School in Penrith is blind and learning the language using braille. "I've been interested in learning Japanese since Year 7," the now-Year 9 student said. "I'm really interested in the language and the culture and one day I hope to go there." Jacinta studies the language through the New South Wales School of Languages, run by the state department of education. She is assisted by a team of people, including a Japanese teacher who she meets online each week to practice conversation, and two support teachers from the education department. One of those support teachers is Melissa Marscham, who has been teaching braille for almost a decade. She helps translate online course modules from English, into both English braille and Japanese braille, which is then embossed onto the page which Jacinta can feel and read. Ms Marscham has been learning the language alongside Jacinta, leaning on a Japanese braille transcriber to ensure the work is accurate. Braille is a combination of raised bumps on a surface that people can feel using their fingers, and was invented in the 19th century by French teenager Louis Braille. It is centred around six cells and different combinations of those cells make up the language. In English, each combination of six cells represents letters, numbers or punctuation. But how does Jacinta learn such a visual language like Japanese — which has three writing systems — through touch? For words in two of those writing systems — hiragana and katakana — Ms Marscham will translate those into English, then into both English and Japanese braille. Kanji, the third writing system, needs to be translated into hiragana first. "[The language is] complicated … to learn because of the braille, the sentence structure and how precise you have to be," Jacinta said. Do you have a story to share? Email Ms Marscham said Jacinta's knowledge of Japanese has recently come ahead in leaps and bounds. "Jacinta has an incredible memory … she remembers the sounds and the braille to go with it and then she's able to [transcribe] that down into sentences." As well as being taught to read and write in Japanese, Jacinta is also learning about the culture. Students who learn Japanese through the NSW School of Languages often come through the Nihongo Tanken Centre at Kirrawee High School. Decked out with tatami mats, a traditional garden, kimonos and cups of green tea, the centre is a slice of Tokyo tucked away in a quiet pocket of southern Sydney. Jacinta's favourite parts of the Japanese culture are the music and cartoons. "I like anime," Jacinta said. More than 400,000 people in Australia are blind or have low vision — a number that is increasing due to an aging population. It is not known how many of those use braille, but international estimates suggest it could be around 10 per cent of all people who are blind or have low vision. Even with shifts towards assistive technology, braille remains an important and valued tool for those who use it. Jacinta is not the first student in NSW to learn Japanese through braille and will likely not be the last. According to the NSW department of education, 2024 saw the highest number of students ever study Japanese as part of their Higher School Certificate (HSC). Jacinta wants to keep doing Japanese through to Year 12 — and possibly make it part of a future career.
