What Is Entry Notice in Queensland Real Estate? Definition and Agent Guide

A property manager who walks into a tenanted property without proper written notice — regardless of the reason — has committed an unlawful entry under Queensland law. The entry notice is the document that prevents exactly that. It is the written notification a lessor or property manager must give a tenant before entering a rental property, and under the Residential Tenancies and Rooming Accommodation Act 2008 (Qld) (RTRA Act), it is mandatory, form-specific, and non-negotiable. Every Queensland agent managing residential tenancies needs to understand it precisely — because the rules changed materially in 2024 and 2025, and the margin for error is thin.

How Entry Notice Works in Queensland Real Estate

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, which is Form 9 in the RTA’s suite of standard forms for general tenancies. The form exists for one purpose: it informs the tenant of the property manager or owner’s intention to enter the property on a certain date, and the property manager or owner can only enter for a valid reason once correct notice has been given.

Entry Notice (Form 9) draws its authority from sections 192 to 199 of the RTRA Act, which together establish the grounds for entry, the notice requirements, the rules for who may accompany the agent, and the constraints on timing. The Residential Tenancies and Rooming Accommodation Act 2008 is the main law that governs renting a place to live in Queensland. Agents cannot substitute their own letter or email — the prescribed form must be used.

The notice period that applies depends entirely on the purpose of the entry. The amount of notice the owner or manager must give depends on the reason for entering the premises. As a practical matter, the two thresholds that most agents deal with day-to-day are seven days’ notice for a general inspection, and 48 hours’ notice for most other permissible entries. Under section 193, for an inspection that is not a short tenancy moveable dwelling, the notice must be given at least seven days before entering; for any other entry, the notice must be given at least 48 hours before entering.

The Grounds for Entry and Their Notice Periods

Lessors and agents have a right of entry to the premises for certain purposes described in the RTRA Act (sections 192 to 202 for residential tenancies), and unless the tenant otherwise agrees, an approved entry notice must be given for each entry — Form 9 for residential tenancies and Form R9 for rooming accommodation.

The grounds on the updated Form 9 reflect the law following the 2024 reforms. Routine inspections require seven days’ notice. Showing the property to a prospective purchaser or tenant, allowing a valuation to be carried out, entering where the property manager or owner believes on reasonable grounds the property has been abandoned, and checking that a tenant has remedied a significant breach following expiry of a Notice to Remedy Breach (Form 11) all require 48 hours’ notice.

Repairs and maintenance occupy a nuanced middle ground. Routine repairs and maintenance require 24 hours’ notice, and an inspection to check whether repairs have been done must also be given 24 hours’ notice — but that inspection must take place within two weeks of the repairs being completed. The Act also carves out a no-notice exception where premises are remote and a shortage of tradespeople makes advance notice impracticable.

Permitted Entry Hours and Time Windows

Entry must take place between 8am and 6pm Monday to Saturday. Entry outside those hours — including Sundays and public holidays — is only permitted if the tenant agrees.

When it is the property manager or owner entering without a tradesperson or other third party, an additional obligation applies. The owner or manager renting or selling the premises must specify on the Entry Notice a two-hour time period during which they intend to enter the premises. They must enter during that stated two-hour period, though they may remain on the property past the end of that period to complete the task. This time-window requirement does not apply to entry by tradespeople or valuers, whether they attend alone or with the owner or manager.

Entry Without Notice

The Act does permit a small category of no-notice entries. The owner or manager can enter at any time without notice if the tenant agrees, but only at the time the tenant agrees. They 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. Agents should treat these exceptions carefully — a tenant’s general consent to maintenance does not substitute for a specific, contemporaneous agreement at the time of entry.

Why Entry Notice Matters for Queensland Agents

Entry notice compliance is one of the highest-frequency points of dispute between tenants and property managers in Queensland. Get it right and the relationship runs smoothly. Get it wrong and you are looking at RTA dispute resolution, a QCAT application, and potentially a formal finding of unlawful entry against your agency.

When a tenant is renting a property, it is their home. The property manager or owner may need to enter for an inspection, repair, or a viewing — but it is important that the tenant’s privacy is respected. The Act frames this explicitly through the concept of quiet enjoyment. The owner or manager must take reasonable steps to ensure tenants have quiet enjoyment of their rented home, meaning they must not interfere with the tenant’s reasonable peace, comfort, and privacy in using the premises. Entry notice is the statutory mechanism that balances the owner’s legitimate access rights against those protections.

The consequences of ignoring that balance are practical and immediate. 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). But an agent who has failed to serve a valid entry notice cannot rely on that pathway — their position is substantially weakened before QCAT before proceedings even begin.

Inspection frequency is equally important. General inspections cannot take place more than once every three months unless the tenant agrees. The owner or manager and tenant may also agree to less frequent inspections. This cap exists regardless of how the entry notice is worded; frequency limits are a separate legislative constraint that notice alone cannot override.

The dynamics at the end of a tenancy add another layer of complexity. If a property manager or owner serves a Notice to Leave (Form 12), or if a tenant issues a Notice of Intention to Leave (Form 13), the property manager or owner cannot enter the property more than twice within a seven-day period. Importantly, if a Notice to Leave is issued at the beginning of the tenancy, it does not change this rule — the usual entry frequency limit of twice in seven days still applies once the notice period starts, regardless of when the original notice was issued.

The 2024–2025 Legislative Changes Every Agent Must Know

Queensland’s entry notice regime underwent its most significant update in a generation through the Residential Tenancies and Rooming Accommodation and Other Legislation Amendment Act 2024. Agents who trained prior to mid-2024 are operating on outdated knowledge if they have not reviewed their practice.

The Move from 24 Hours to 48 Hours

The single most operationally significant change was a direct increase to the minimum notice period. 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. Under these changes, a penalty of 20 penalty units applies for non-compliance, and the minimum entry notice period has increased from 24 hours to 48 hours.

The changes commenced on 1 May 2025 under the Act, and for general tenancies, the minimum entry notice period increased from 24 hours to 48 hours. Any agency workflow, system template, or checklist built around a 24-hour lead time is no longer compliant. The Form 9 itself was updated — using incorrect forms may result in a breach of tenancy laws, and property managers and owners are reminded to use the latest versions, either by downloading from the RTA website or via a third-party digital form provider.

For rooming accommodation, the position differs slightly. Tenants in general tenancies must receive 48 hours’ notice for entries to the property, other than general inspections, safety checks, and emergencies. Residents in rooming accommodation must receive 48 hours’ notice for entries to their room, except for entry for cleaning, which remains at 24 hours.

New Entry Frequency Limits

The 2024 reforms also introduced entry frequency limits that operate specifically in the final stages of a tenancy. 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. Entry for the purpose of protecting the premises or its contents from imminent or further damage is not subject to this entry limit.

These new frequency limits have direct implications for agents managing sales campaigns on tenanted properties or processing lease-end inspections on properties where notice has already been issued. Planning the inspection and access schedule well in advance, and communicating clearly with all parties, is no longer optional best-practice — it is necessary to stay within the law.

When a Property Is Being Sold

Selling a tenanted property introduces an additional layer to the entry notice process that catches agents off-guard. If the property is being sold, the notice must be given to the tenant by the agent selling the property. A copy of the form must also be given to the property manager or owner. The selling agent in this context is treated as a “secondary agent” under the Act.

A secondary agent — which may also include an agent’s nominated repairer — must show the tenant written evidence of their appointment if asked, before entry can take place. An Entry Notice (Form 9) must be given allowing 48 hours’ notice of the entry, and the owner or manager may only enter the premises to show a prospective purchaser if a Notice of Lessor’s Intention to Sell Premises (Form 10) was issued before, or with, the Entry Notice.

Open homes and on-site auctions carry the strictest obligations of all. The owner or manager can only hold an open house or on-site auction if the tenant agrees in writing. An oral agreement is not sufficient. Agents working on the selling side of a tenanted property sale need to confirm they have the renting agent’s copy of Form 9 on file and written tenant consent before advertising any open inspection.

What Queensland Agents Need to Know About Entry Notice

Compliance with entry notice requirements is a day-to-day operational discipline, not a once-a-year compliance review. The following is what effective property management practice looks like against this framework.

Always use the current Form 9. The RTA updates Form 9 when legislative changes take effect. A version downloaded before 1 May 2025 will reflect the old 24-hour threshold for entries that are now governed by the 48-hour minimum. Every agency should confirm their practice management software and template library is pulling the current version. Under the legislation, specifically section 193, a property manager or owner is required to provide an Entry Notice (Form 9) to the tenant before entering the property. There is no substitute document.

Track notice periods to the hour, not just the day. The legislation is precise. The Act provides a practical example: if the lessor or agent hands the tenant an entry notice at 2.30pm on a Tuesday, the lessor or agent may enter from 2.30pm on the Thursday. Agents who think in days rather than hours will frequently serve short notice. Where delivery is by email or post, allowance must be made for transmission time.

Identify who is entering — but know what the law requires. Under section 193, there is no explicit requirement to name the specific individuals who will be entering the property in the Entry Notice. 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. However, the legislation does require that the purpose of the entry and the period of entry be clearly specified in the notice.

Multiple reasons, single entry. Agents managing complex inspections or post-disaster access can consolidate. 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. However, if the same notice results in multiple visits on different occasions, those will each count separately.

Tenants do not have to be home. This is a practical point that removes a common source of rescheduling disputes. Tenants do not have to be present for an entry unless it is a condition of an agreed entry. Ensure your tenants are informed of this at the start of the tenancy to reduce unnecessary friction around inspection scheduling.

Disputed entry. If a tenant disputes the grounds for an entry, the first step is direct communication. If the tenant disputes the grounds for entry, they should try to resolve this with the person who issued the notice. If that fails, the property manager or owner can attempt to resolve the dispute using the RTA’s free dispute resolution service or submit an urgent application to QCAT. Document every step. An agent’s contemporaneous record of a correctly served Form 9 is their strongest evidence in any QCAT proceeding.

What This Means for Queensland Agents

Entry notice compliance sits at the intersection of tenant rights, owner obligations, and your agency’s professional liability. Since May 2025, the operative notice period for most entries is 48 hours — not 24. Routine inspection notice remains at seven days. Entry is restricted to between 8am and 6pm Monday to Saturday without tenant consent. General inspections are capped at once every three months. Once either party issues notice to end a tenancy, access frequency is limited to twice in seven days.

None of this is administratively onerous if it is built into your workflow from the outset. The risk is not in understanding the rules — it is in operating on old assumptions or outdated templates after the law changed. An entry that takes place without a current, correctly served Form 9 is an unlawful entry under section 202 of the RTRA Act, regardless of how well-intentioned the access was.

For property managers, the practical recommendation is straightforward: review your entry notice templates against the current Form 9 from the RTA at rta.qld.gov.au, confirm your practice management system reflects the 48-hour threshold, and brief your team on the end-of-tenancy entry frequency limits. For agents managing the sale of tenanted properties, ensure your agency agreement clearly allocates responsibility for Form 9 service between the selling agent and the renting agent — and that Form 10 precedes or accompanies every entry for the purpose of showing a buyer through.

The law protects the tenant’s right to use the property as their home. A correctly executed entry notice is how agents respect that right while still doing their job.