Entry Notice Requirements for Queensland Property Managers: Rules and Timeframes
A tenant calls on a Wednesday afternoon, upset that you’ve just turned up with a tradesperson and no warning. You’re certain you sent a Form 9 — but did you give the right amount of notice for that type of entry? Since 1 May 2025, that question carries more weight than it used to. The rules have shifted, the minimum timeframes have changed, and the consequences of getting it wrong range from a tense dispute resolution call to a QCAT application.
Entry is one of the most frequently litigated areas in Queensland property management. Understanding exactly when notice is required, how much of it to give, what form it must take, and what happens when notice periods collide with the end of a tenancy is not optional knowledge — it is the baseline.
The Legal Foundation: What the RTRA Act Actually Governs
The Residential Tenancies and Rooming Accommodation Act 2008 (the Act) is the main law governing renting in Queensland. The entry provisions sit within a specific section of that Act, and every property manager operating in this state needs to understand them at a practical level, not just a conceptual one.
The owner or manager must take reasonable steps to ensure tenants have quiet enjoyment of their rented home, which means not interfering with the tenant’s reasonable peace, comfort and privacy. Entry rights exist within that framework — they are a qualified exception to the tenant’s right to peaceful occupation, not a standing entitlement.
The property manager or owner can only enter the property for a valid reason and if the correct notice has been given using the Entry Notice (Form 9). Both elements must be present: a lawful ground for entry and properly served written notice on the approved form. Either one without the other is a procedural breach.
The owner or manager can also enter at any time without notice in an emergency, or if there are reasonable grounds to believe entry is necessary to protect the premises from damage. That exception is narrow and should not be used loosely. A blocked drain is not an emergency. A burst pipe flooding into adjacent properties is.
The key sections to know by reference are sections 192 through 202 of the Act. These cover grounds for entry (s.192), notice of entry (s.193), entry with another person (s.194), when the lessor or agent may enter (s.195), the new provisions for when a notice to leave or intention to leave has been given (s.195A), the requirement to state a period for entry (s.196), entry to show premises to a prospective tenant (s.197), entry to show premises to a prospective buyer (s.198), entry by secondary agents (s.199), and rules of entry generally (s.200). Every property manager should have this section of the Act open in another tab.
The 1 May 2025 Changes: What Is Different Now
Rental law changes for general tenancies, rooming accommodation and moveable dwelling tenancies were introduced in 2024–25 under the Residential Tenancies and Rooming Accommodation and Other Legislation Amendment Act 2024, which amended the Residential Tenancies and Rooming Accommodation Act 2008.
The minimum entry notice period increased from 24 hours to 48 hours. This is the headline change, but the detail matters more than the headline. The increase applies to specific grounds of entry — not every category. General inspections (routine inspections) retain their own notice requirement, which was already longer and has not changed.
From 1 May 2025, the amount of notice an agent, lessor or provider must give before entry increased from 24 hours to 48 hours in a range of circumstances. The practical effect is that any process your agency had built around a 24-hour notice period for maintenance, smoke alarm checks, or mid-tenancy viewings is now non-compliant. Systems, templates, and calendar-blocked workflows all need to reflect the new minimum.
Entry frequency limits also now apply to the frequency of entry after a notice to end the tenancy has been issued. This is the second significant change, and it carries its own operational complexity for property managers managing end-of-tenancy periods — covered in detail below.
Agencies that had not updated their Form 9 templates or property management software configurations by 1 May 2025 were issuing non-compliant notices from that date. If you are reading this and have not audited your templates, do it today.
Entry Notice Timeframes: The Full Breakdown by Ground
The amount of notice the owner or manager must give depends on the reason for entering the premises. There is no single notice period that applies to all entries. Each ground carries its own requirement, and mixing them up is the most common source of entry-related disputes in property management.
Routine Inspections (General Tenancies)
The first routine inspection can be carried out at any time after the tenancy agreement has commenced, providing that the property manager or owner has provided a minimum 7 days’ notice for entry, using an Entry Notice (Form 9).
For general tenancies, lessors or agents must still provide 7 days’ notice before entering to conduct a general inspection. This has not changed under the 2024–25 reforms. The 7-day requirement for routine inspections was already more generous to tenants than the old 24-hour minimum for other grounds, and it remains unchanged.
Section 195(3) of the RTRA Act specifies that unless the tenant otherwise agrees, an entry under section 192(1)(a) may not be made less than three months after a previous entry by the lessor, or the renting or a secondary agent, under section 192(1)(a). In plain terms: routine inspections cannot be conducted more than once every three months without the tenant’s agreement. Scheduling four inspections per year is permissible; four inspections in eight months is not.
Repairs and Maintenance
Routine repairs and maintenance require 48 hours notice. Where an inspection is needed to check whether repairs have been carried out, 48 hours notice is also required, and that inspection must occur within two weeks of the repairs being completed.
The post-repair inspection window matters in practice. If a plumber completes work on a Friday, the follow-up inspection window closes within two weeks. Miss it, and you need a fresh reason to enter — you cannot rely on the “check repairs” ground indefinitely.
For remote properties where a shortage of qualified tradespeople makes it impractical to give notice, a different rule applies. If the tenant lives in a remote location and there is a shortage of qualified tradespeople, the lessor or provider does not have to give written entry notice or specify a two-hour timeframe, where entry is to carry out repairs or maintenance, or to comply with the Electrical Safety Act 2002 in relation to approved safety switches, or the Fire and Rescue Service Act 1990 in relation to smoke alarms.
Smoke Alarms and Safety Switches
Both smoke alarm compliance and safety switch installation or checking require 48 hours notice under the Act. New grounds for entry to rooming accommodation to install, maintain or repair smoke alarms were introduced under the 2024 amendments. Agents managing rooming accommodation should note this is an expanded ground — previously it did not exist in that form for rooming accommodation.
Showing the Property to Prospective Tenants or Buyers
Entry to show the premises to prospective purchasers or tenants requires 48 hours notice. For sales scenarios, property managers must also ensure the Form 10 (Notice of Lessor’s Intention to Sell Premises) has been served. If the lessor decides to sell the premises during a tenancy, they must give the tenant a Notice of Lessor’s Intention to Sell Premises (Form 10) before or when they give the first Entry Notice to show the premises.
The Two-Hour Entry Window Rule
When a property manager or lessor enters the premises without a third person such as a tradesperson, section 196 of the Act requires the notice to specify a window of up to two hours during which entry will occur.
In residential tenancies, if the entry is by the lessor and/or agent when renting or selling, without a third person such as a tradesperson, the notice must state a period of up to two hours during which the lessor and/or agent will enter the property. However, this period only applies to the initial entry and does not prevent the lessor and/or agent from staying on the property after the end of the entry period.
Section 196(1)(4) notes that the two-hour limit does not apply if another person is to accompany the lessor or lessor’s selling or renting agent to achieve the purpose of entry under section 192. So if you attend a routine inspection solo, you must specify a two-hour window. If you attend with a contractor, that window requirement drops away — though the full notice period still applies.
The Time-of-Day Rules for Entry
The proposed entry must be at a reasonable time. A reasonable time may depend on the tenant’s circumstances. In residential tenancies, the Act states that reasonable times are not before 8:00 am or after 6:00 pm, and not on Sundays or public holidays, unless otherwise agreed by the tenant.
This is a constraint on the time of entry, not a constraint on when notice is served. You can serve a Form 9 on a Sunday; you simply cannot schedule the entry on a Sunday without the tenant’s agreement. Make sure your Form 9 templates are pre-populated with entry times that fall within the 8 am–6 pm window on weekdays or Saturdays, and that your team understands this is a hard limit.
Tenants do not have to be present for an entry unless it is a condition of an agreed entry. Agents sometimes field requests from tenants who insist they must be home. There is no legislative requirement for that, and setting the expectation clearly from the outset of the tenancy prevents disputes later.
Entry Frequency Restrictions at End of Tenancy
This is the area where the May 2025 changes have the greatest operational impact for busy property management teams.
Once a property manager or owner issues a Notice to Leave (Form 12), or if a tenant gives a Notice of Intention to Leave (Form 13), the property manager or owner cannot enter the property more than twice in a seven-day period while the notice is in effect.
From 1 May 2025, rental property owners and managers are limited to no more than 2 entries every 7 days after a notice to end the tenancy has been given by either the renter or owner.
Think about what this means in a typical end-of-tenancy scenario: the property is being marketed, prospective tenants are being shown through, a pre-vacate inspection is scheduled, and the owner wants to confirm some maintenance items. Two entries per seven-day period can fill up very quickly. Property managers need to plan which entries are highest priority and coordinate multiple purposes within a single visit where possible.
The Act does not provide a list of reasons for a property manager or owner to enter twice during a 7-day period following the serving of a Notice to Leave or Notice of Intention to Leave. However, during the 7-day period, a property manager or owner is not prevented from entering the premises if entry is for one of the following reasons: where a property manager or owner reasonably believes that entry is necessary to protect the premises or its contents from imminent or further damage.
Other exempt grounds include smoke alarm compliance under the Fire and Emergency Services Act 1990 and safety switch requirements under the Electrical Safety Act 2002. These exempt grounds include entry to comply with the Fire and Emergency Services Act 1990 in relation to smoke alarms, to comply with the Electrical Safety Act 2002 in relation to approved safety switches, and entry where the lessor or their agent believes on reasonable grounds that entry is necessary to protect the premises or inclusions from imminent or further damage.
If a Notice to Leave (Form 12) is issued at the beginning of the tenancy, it does not change the entry frequency limit rules. The usual entry frequency limit of twice in 7 days still applies once the notice period starts, regardless of when the notice is given. Some agents have queried whether a Notice to Leave issued early in a tenancy extends their entry rights throughout the notice period. It does not.
Combining Multiple Reasons on a Single Form 9
One practical tool that is underused: the Act allows multiple grounds to be listed on a single Entry Notice.
The RTRA Act does not prevent a property manager or owner from listing multiple reasons for entry on a single Entry Notice (Form 9). If only one entry is listed on the form, even with multiple reasons, it will be treated as a single entry.
For example, following a natural disaster, a property manager or owner may need to address several issues within the rental property. In such situations, where the availability of tradespeople may be limited, combining multiple reasons for entry on a single notice can help facilitate timely inspections and repairs.
However, there is a limit to this: if a single form is used to list multiple reasons but results in multiple separate entries, these will not be considered a single entry, even though they are on the same Entry Notice (Form 9). The consolidation benefit applies when a single physical visit addresses multiple purposes — not when one notice is used as an umbrella for multiple separate visits on different days.
Who Can Attend and Who Must Be Named
Property managers regularly deal with tradesperson availability changing between the time a Form 9 is issued and the actual entry date. The Act addresses this directly.
Under section 193, there is no explicit requirement to name the specific individuals who will be entering the property in the Entry Notice (Form 9). If the person performing the work or carrying out the purpose of entry is not known at the time of providing the notice, it is not mandatory to list their name.
The legislation does require that the purpose of the entry and the period of entry be clearly specified in the notice. If the individual performing the work is not yet identified, the notice can indicate the type of person or role who will be entering — for example, “a qualified tradesperson” or “a representative of [Company Name]”.
If the person designated in the original entry notice cannot attend, someone else can enter in their place, provided the entry is still in line with the stated purpose. The entry must comply with the rules of entry, including the required notice period and the limitation on entry after a Notice to Leave or Notice of Intention to Leave has been issued. In short, substitutes can enter without the need to reissue the notice, as long as the entry remains consistent with the original purpose and adheres to the overall rules of entry.
This is practically important for larger portfolios where last-minute tradesperson changes are common. You do not need to re-serve notice because your regular plumber sent an apprentice.
When a Tenant Refuses Entry
If a tenant has been given the required Entry Notice with the correct notice period and the proposed entry time is reasonable, they cannot refuse access. If the Entry Notice does not satisfy the requirements of the Act, they can refuse access.
This is a clean rule. A compliant notice cannot be refused. A defective notice — wrong timeframe, wrong form, served incorrectly — can be refused, and the tenant will be within their rights to do so.
If a tenant refuses entry and a resolution cannot be reached, the property manager or owner can try to resolve the dispute using the RTA’s free dispute resolution service, or submit an urgent application to the Queensland Civil and Administrative Tribunal (QCAT).
In practice, an urgent QCAT application to compel entry is a remedy of last resort. Most disputes at this level resolve through conciliation. The better approach is to ensure your notice is unimpeachable before you send it.
Unlawful Entry: The Consequences
Section 202 of the Act creates an offence for unlawful entry. This is not a civil matter only — it is a legislative breach. New offences and penalty provisions were introduced under the 2024 amendments to the RTRA Act.
Entering without notice, entering outside the permitted time window, entering without a lawful ground, or entering more than the permitted frequency after a Notice to Leave has been issued all constitute breaches. If the lessor, agent or provider fails to respect the tenant’s privacy, does not ensure adequate security, or does not follow the rules of entry, this is a breach of the agreement.
Beyond the legislative consequences, there is a practical risk management dimension. Unlawful entry creates documented grounds for a tenant to seek compensation, to assert breach of quiet enjoyment, and potentially to terminate the agreement. It also exposes the principal licensee and the agency to complaints under the Property Occupations Act 2014. Getting entry notices right is not bureaucratic box-ticking — it is risk management.
Rooming Accommodation: Key Differences
The entry rules for rooming accommodation differ from general tenancy rules in a few important ways.
For rooming accommodation agreements, the 48-hour notice period applies to several types of entry. The provider only needs to give 24 hours notice before entering to clean the room. Cleaning is the one scenario where the old 24-hour minimum still applies for rooming accommodation.
There is a new ground of entry for rooming accommodation where entry is required to install, maintain, or replace a smoke alarm. This ground did not exist in its current form prior to the 2024 amendments, and it requires 48 hours notice.
If a provider serves a Notice to Leave (Form R12), or if a resident issues a Notice of Intention to Leave (Form R13), the provider cannot enter the room more than twice within a 7-day period. The frequency limit that applies to general tenancies at end-of-tenancy applies equally to rooming accommodation.
What This Means for Queensland Property Managers
The 1 May 2025 reforms did not rewrite entry law from scratch — they refined a framework that was already well-established. But refinements matter. Agents who are still issuing Form 9 notices based on pre-May 2025 templates or mental models are non-compliant from the moment they serve a notice.
The immediate operational priorities are:
- Confirm your Form 9 template reflects the current 48-hour minimum for maintenance, repairs, viewings, smoke alarm checks, and safety switch work. The 7-day minimum for routine inspections has not changed.
- Build the end-of-tenancy frequency cap into your calendar management. Once a Form 12 or Form 13 is in play, you have a maximum of two non-exempt entries per seven-day period. Plan accordingly — combine purposes where possible.
- For solo agent entries (without a contractor), always specify the two-hour entry window on the Form 9. For entries involving a third party, that window does not apply, but the notice period still does.
- When tradespeople are unavailable to be named at the time of notice, use a role or company descriptor rather than re-serving the notice when personnel change.
- If a tenant disputes an entry or refuses access after a valid notice, the RTA dispute resolution service is your first port of call — not QCAT. Most access disputes resolve at conciliation.
The underlying principle has not changed: when a tenant is renting a property, it is their home, and the property manager or owner can only enter for a valid reason and if the correct notice has been given using the Entry Notice (Form 9). Every procedural requirement that flows from that principle exists to make the entitlement to enter both lawful and defensible.