QLD Entry Condition Report: Property Manager's Step-by-Step Guide (2026)

The Queensland entry condition report performs a specific and legally significant function under Section 65 of the Residential Tenancies and Rooming Accommodation Act 2008 (RTRAA 2008): it establishes the agreed condition of the premises at the exact point in time when the tenant takes possession. This record is what a property manager relies on when a bond dispute reaches RTA-assisted conciliation or the Queensland Civil and Administrative Tribunal (QCAT).

The prescribed form for this purpose is RTA Form 1a, issued by the Residential Tenancies Authority. Form 1a is a description-based form — unlike New South Wales, which uses a Y/N rating system, Queensland's form requires written descriptions of each item's condition in each room. This gives you more scope to record precise observations, but it also means that vague or generic entries carry significantly less weight as evidence.

The practical consequence is straightforward: if your Form 1a records the kitchen oven as "clean, no grease residue, racks clean" at entry, and the exit inspection finds heavy grease buildup, you have a clear documented comparison. Without a specific entry record, the baseline cannot be established — and the claim becomes difficult to substantiate at QCAT, where the standard of evidence expected of professional property managers is high.

Failure to provide Form 1a to the tenant is not just a procedural oversight — it is an offence under the Act carrying a penalty of up to 20 penalty units. More practically, it leaves the landlord without the foundational document needed to support any bond claim for damage, cleaning, or deterioration at the end of the tenancy.

This guide focuses on the entry inspection process: how to prepare for it, conduct it systematically, document it photographically, deliver it correctly, and manage the tenant's 7-day review window. For the full legislative framework, see the QLD condition report requirements guide. For the detailed Form 1a walkthrough, see the RTA Form 1a guide. For the exit process, see the exit condition report QLD guide.

Form 1a is the only approved form for entry condition reports in Queensland general tenancies — houses, units, townhouses, and most other residential properties. The RTA issues Form 1a and updates it when legislation changes. Form 1a version 19, released on 30 September 2024, is the current version as of mid-2026. Always download the latest version from rta.qld.gov.au rather than reusing a saved copy, as using an outdated version may put you in breach of your obligations under the Residential Tenancies and Rooming Accommodation Regulation 2009.

The structure of Form 1a is room-by-room and description-based. For each room or area, the form provides space to record the condition of walls, ceiling, floor or floor covering, doors, windows, light fittings, power points, and any fixtures or inclusions specific to that room. Unlike NSW's Y/N system, Form 1a asks you to write a description — "Walls: white paint, no marks or scuffs, consistent finish" or "Carpet: beige, medium pile, circular stain approximately 30mm in diameter near the east wall, pre-existing" — for each item.

This description-based approach is both an opportunity and a responsibility. At QCAT, a specific written description plus a timestamped photograph is the strongest evidence available to establish an item's entry condition. A description like "good" or "clean" gives QCAT almost nothing to work with. The quality of your descriptions is, in practice, the quality of your evidence.

Form 1a also covers outdoor areas — gardens, fencing, paths, and carport or garage — and any inclusions that form part of the tenancy agreement. Every inclusion listed in the tenancy agreement should appear in Form 1a. An inclusion absent from the entry report cannot credibly be claimed against the bond at exit.

For a complete section-by-section walkthrough of Form 1a itself, see the RTA Form 1a guide.

A well-completed entry condition report starts before you arrive at the property. These preparation steps reduce on-site time and improve the quality and completeness of the final record.

Schedule the inspection before handover day. Form 1a must reflect the property's condition after all cleaning and maintenance, while the premises are still vacant. An inspection conducted while the tenant is moving furniture in cannot accurately document floors, wall surfaces behind where items will sit, or storage interiors. Complete the entry inspection on the day of the final clean, or the morning of handover before the tenant takes possession.

Configure your template in advance. If you use inspection software, set it up for the specific property before you leave the office: the number of bedrooms, number of bathrooms, and any inclusions listed in the tenancy agreement — specific appliances, furniture for a furnished property, pool or spa equipment, garden shed. Ten minutes of template preparation in the office removes that task from the on-site inspection workload.

Check the tenancy agreement's inclusion list. Every item listed as a tenancy inclusion must appear in Form 1a with its condition recorded. If the agreement lists particular appliances, window treatments, or furniture, those items need to be documented. An inclusion absent from the entry report has no documented baseline — which means no defensible claim if it is damaged at exit.

Charge your devices and clear storage. For a thorough entry inspection with photographs, you will capture between 60 and 150 images depending on the property size. Arrive with a full battery, sufficient storage, and a backup — either a second device or inspection software with automatic cloud backup that syncs as you work.

Allow adequate time. A thorough entry condition report for a three-bedroom house typically takes 45 minutes to an hour. Scheduling less time than this virtually guarantees that areas will be missed, which becomes a problem when the exit inspection finds damage in a room the entry report did not document properly.

Work through the property systematically using Form 1a's room-by-room structure. Starting at the entrance and progressing through each room in order ensures nothing is overlooked and makes the report easy to follow — by the tenant during their 7-day review, and by QCAT if a dispute arises months later.

Entrance and hallways. Check the front door lock and note the number of keys issued. Document the entry floor surface, walls, ceiling, and light fittings. For hallways, pay particular attention to walls at shoulder height where scuffs accumulate, skirting boards, and any built-in storage.

Living areas. Cover all four walls, including below windows and around power points and light switches. Note the ceiling for any water marks, staining, or previous repairs that might be confused with new damage at exit. Document the floor surface, windows and flyscreens, window coverings (type and current condition), light fittings, and any fixed inclusions such as a split-system air conditioner, wall bracket, or fireplace.

Bedrooms. For each bedroom: all four walls, ceiling, floor, windows and flyscreens, and the interior of built-in wardrobes — shelves, hanging rails, and the wardrobe floor. Note ceiling fans and any wall-mounted heating or cooling units listed as inclusions.

Kitchen. This room requires the most detailed documentation because ovens, cooktops, rangehoods, and benchtops are among the most commonly disputed items at QCAT. For the oven: describe the interior specifically — base, rear wall, door glass, and racks. For the benchtop: note the material and any pre-existing scratches or marks with their location. For the dishwasher if present: interior, racks, and filter condition. For the rangehood: note the filter condition and whether the light operates. Kitchens warrant particular attention because cleaning claims are among the most frequent bond disputes in Queensland, and the entry record is the entire evidentiary foundation of any cleaning claim at exit.

Bathrooms. Shower tiles and grout — note any existing mould or discolouration specifically, as these are among the most disputed items in Queensland bond claims. Shower screen and seals. Bath if present. Toilet bowl and cistern. Vanity and mirror surface. Exhaust fan. Tapware. For properties with a separate toilet, document it as its own section.

Laundry. Tub and tapware, walls (often subject to splash marks around the tub), floor, and the washing machine if it is a tenancy inclusion — exterior condition and any visible defects.

Outdoor areas. Garden beds and lawns — their condition at entry sets the standard the tenant is expected to maintain. Paths and paving. Fencing and gates. Letterbox. Carport or garage including the floor surface and door operation. Clothesline. Any shed or outbuilding. If the property has a pool, note the pool equipment and water condition separately — pool maintenance obligations are a source of disputes in Queensland and benefit from a clear entry record.

Written descriptions, not labels. For every item, write a description specific enough to answer: "If I look at this item at exit in twelve months, will I be able to tell whether anything changed?" "Walls: white paint, no marks or scuffs" is adequate. "Good" is not. "Carpet: beige, medium pile, small circular stain approximately 30mm near the east wall, pre-existing" is a complete entry record. "Carpet: fair condition" will not assist QCAT in determining what changed during the tenancy.

Form 1a is a written document, but the RTA recommends accompanying it with timestamped photographs — and QCAT consistently assigns significant weight to photographic evidence in bond disputes. A Form 1a without photographs is substantially weaker than one with a comprehensive, linked photo record.

Photograph every room from two positions. A wide shot from the doorway showing the overall room — walls, floor, and ceiling in the same frame — and a second shot from the opposite corner. These whole-room photographs establish the general condition before the close-up detail work.

Photograph every item for which you have noted a specific condition. Any item with a written description noting an existing mark, stain, or pre-existing damage must have at least one close-up photograph. Pre-existing damage recorded in words but without a photograph can be challenged by a tenant who claims the defect appeared during the tenancy.

Prioritise high-friction items. Ovens, carpets, bathroom tiles, and walls are the items most frequently disputed at QCAT. For the oven: interior from the front, the base, the rear wall of the oven cavity, racks pulled out, and the door glass. For carpets: the overall floor surface from the doorway, plus close-ups of any pre-existing staining or wear marks. For bathrooms: tiles and grout, shower screen and seals, toilet bowl, and vanity surface.

Check that timestamps are accurate. The photograph's embedded metadata — date and time — is the primary timestamp. Check that your device's clock is correctly set before starting the inspection. Inspection software that attaches timestamps to image files or overlays the capture time on the photograph provides a second layer of confirmation that is useful if the metadata is ever challenged.

Organise photographs in the same sequence as Form 1a. When you later assemble a bond claim evidence package — potentially months or years after the inspection — photographs organised room by room in the same order as the condition report are far easier to cross-reference than an unorganised folder of 120 images.

Take photos inside appliances, cupboards, and drawers. These are areas that are easy to overlook during an entry inspection and frequently become the subject of cleaning claims at exit. Photographs of the interior of ovens, rangehood filters, and cupboard interiors provide specific evidence that is very difficult to dispute if the exit condition differs.

Section 65 of the RTRAA 2008 requires the agent to complete Form 1a and provide it to the tenant on or before the day the tenant is entitled to occupy the premises. This is a clear obligation — the form must be ready and delivered before or at the moment the tenant receives the keys.

Complete and sign Form 1a before handover day, or at minimum before handing over keys on handover day. Do not complete the form from memory after the tenant has already moved in. If the tenant has already started bringing belongings into the property, the accuracy of the entry record — particularly for floors and walls behind furniture — is compromised, and any subsequent discrepancy may be attributed to post-possession access.

For paper delivery: Provide the tenant with a copy of the completed and signed Form 1a on or before the day they take possession. Keep a signed copy for the agency file.

For electronic delivery: Email the completed and signed Form 1a to the tenant before or at the time they receive the keys. Email delivery automatically creates a timestamped delivery record showing exactly when the tenant received the report. This is more convenient than paper and significantly more defensible, because you have documented evidence of delivery. If a tenant later claims they did not receive the form, email delivery provides clear proof.

Sign before you deliver. The agent must sign their section of Form 1a before providing it to the tenant. An unsigned entry condition report does not satisfy the Section 65 obligation and exposes the agent to a challenge that the statutory requirement was not met.

Note the tenant's return deadline at the time of delivery. The tenant has 7 days from the later of the day they took possession or the day they received the form. Calculate and note this deadline when you deliver the form, and set a calendar reminder so you don't overlook the follow-up when other tenancies are competing for your attention.

Once you have provided the signed Form 1a to the tenant, the 7-day return window begins. Under Section 65 of the RTRAA 2008, the tenant has 7 days — measured from the later of the day they took possession or the day they received the form — to review the property, note any disagreements, sign the form, and return it to the agent.

This 7-day window is the same as NSW's calendar-day window and longer than Victoria's 5-business-day window. Importantly, it runs from the later date — so a tenant who moves in on a Saturday but receives Form 1a by email on the Monday has until the following Monday to return it.

If the tenant returns the form with no amendments: Form 1a — the agent's entry section and the tenant's signed acknowledgement — is the agreed baseline for the entire tenancy. File it securely, alongside the entry photographs, in a location that remains accessible for the duration of the tenancy and at least 12 months after it ends.

If the tenant returns the form with comments: Review each point of disagreement carefully. If the tenant identifies a genuine condition issue that you missed — existing grout mould in a bathroom, a pre-existing scuff in the hallway — acknowledge it, add a note to the tenancy record, and photograph the item if possible. If the tenant disputes something you believe is accurately recorded and photographed, note the disagreement on file. Both the agent's assessment and the tenant's written comment form part of the record. Under Queensland law, an agent's well-documented position backed by photographs is in a strong position if the dispute ultimately reaches QCAT.

Send a reminder at day 5. A brief email — "Just a reminder that your copy of the entry condition report is due back by [date]" — reduces the likelihood of a non-return and creates a documented communication trail. This demonstrates good faith and ensures the tenant had a genuine opportunity to review and respond.

If the tenant does not return the form within 7 days: Under Section 65(3) of the RTRAA 2008, the entry condition report as completed by the agent is taken to be agreed. This is not a loophole — it is the legislative mechanism that protects landlords and agents when a tenant fails to engage with the process. Document the non-return with a file note: "Form 1a emailed to tenant on [date]. Not returned within 7 days. Deemed agreed per Section 65(3) RTRAA 2008." This note protects your position if the point is ever raised at conciliation or QCAT.

Once the tenant returns their signed copy of Form 1a, the process has one more step before it is complete. Under Section 65 of the RTRAA 2008, the agent must countersign the returned form and give the tenant a copy of the countersigned report within 14 days of receiving the tenant's signed version.

This final step is frequently overlooked, but it matters. The countersigned form is the mutually acknowledged version of the entry condition report — the document that both parties have signed and that represents the agreed record of the property's condition at the start of the tenancy. Both the agent and the tenant should retain a copy of this countersigned version for the duration of the tenancy.

In practice, agents using digital inspection software can often complete this step quickly: review the tenant's comments in the software, add any acknowledgements, countersign electronically, and email the finalised version back to the tenant with a timestamped delivery record. For agencies managing high volumes of new tenancies, building this 14-day countersignature step into your workflow calendar prevents it from being missed.

If the agent does not complete the countersignature step, the tenant is left holding a copy of Form 1a that has not been formally acknowledged. While this does not void the entry condition report, it is a process failure that can be raised by a tenant in a bond dispute and may reflect poorly on the agency's compliance practices.

Queensland's bond evidence requirements have made thorough entry condition reporting more operationally significant than at any previous point. The changes that commenced on 30 September 2024 — and covering all bonds lodged from 30 September 2025 — introduced a mandatory 14-day window for landlords and agents to provide tenants with supporting evidence when making a bond claim. Form 1a is the cornerstone of that evidence package.

Under the amended framework, the evidence package supporting a bond claim must include the entry condition report (Form 1a), the exit condition report (Form 14a), timestamped photographs from both entry and exit, and any quotes or invoices for claimed items. The comparison between Form 1a and Form 14a is what demonstrates that a claimed item was in a better condition at entry than at exit — and that the difference is attributable to the tenant rather than fair wear and tear.

The 14-day evidence deadline starts from when the bond claim is made. For Queensland property managers, this means the entry condition report needs to be accessible at the end of every tenancy — not stored in a filing cabinet that takes three hours to search. Digital storage with cloud backup is the practical solution, and it is the approach taken by most agencies who have adapted to the post-September 2024 requirements.

The direct line from entry documentation quality to bond claim outcomes is this: a vague or incomplete Form 1a makes the 14-day assembly of evidence significantly harder. An entry report completed with specific descriptions and timestamped photographs for every room and every item means the exit evidence package can be assembled efficiently. The entry inspection is not a one-time administrative task — it is the document the entire end-of-tenancy evidence structure rests on.

For the specific evidence requirements and what must be included in a QLD bond claim evidence package, see the QLD bond evidence requirements guide.

These are the entry condition report errors that most frequently undermine Queensland property managers' bond claims at QCAT conciliation or at the tribunal itself.

Vague and generic descriptions. "Clean," "good," "fair," and "OK" are the most common and most costly Form 1a errors. QCAT members reviewing bond disputes cannot determine what "good condition" looked like at the start of the tenancy from these words alone. Every description should answer: what did this item look like at the moment I inspected it? Use objective, specific language that would let someone recreate a mental image of the item without having visited the property.

Completing the form after the tenant has moved in. If the tenant is already moving belongings into the property, the accuracy of floor conditions, wall surfaces, and storage interiors is compromised. Form 1a must be completed before the tenant takes possession.

Not recording pre-existing damage. Some property managers avoid noting existing marks, scratches, or wear because they think it reflects poorly on the property. The opposite is true in a bond dispute context. A Form 1a that accurately records pre-existing imperfections is more credible than one that describes every room as flawless — and more protective, because it prevents those items from being claimed against the tenant at exit.

No photographs, or photographs not linked to specific items. The RTA recommends photographic evidence and QCAT gives it significant weight. A Form 1a without photographs is substantially weaker. Photographs stored in an unorganised folder, rather than attached to specific rooms and items in the condition report, are also harder to use in a bond claim evidence package.

Missing inclusions. If a tenancy agreement lists specific appliances, furniture, or other inclusions, every one of them must appear in Form 1a with its condition recorded. An inclusion absent from the entry report cannot be claimed against the bond at exit, regardless of what the tenancy agreement says.

Not following up the 7-day return window. Missing the return deadline without documentation leaves the agent without a clear record of whether the form was agreed by default or simply forgotten. Track the deadline from the day Form 1a is delivered and document the outcome either way.

Using an outdated version of Form 1a. The RTA updates its prescribed forms when legislation changes. Form 1a version 19 was issued on 30 September 2024. Using an earlier version may put the agent in breach of the Residential Tenancies and Rooming Accommodation Regulation 2009. Download the current version from rta.qld.gov.au for each new tenancy, or use inspection software that auto-updates to the current template.

Failing to complete the countersignature step. Receiving the tenant's signed copy and not countersigning and returning it within 14 days is a breach of the agent's obligation under Section 65 and leaves the process incomplete.

Purpose-built inspection software significantly improves both the quality and efficiency of QLD entry condition reports. For Queensland property managers, the capabilities that matter most are those that address the weaknesses most commonly exposed in QCAT disputes.

Form 1a-compliant templates. The software must generate a report that satisfies Queensland's prescribed Form 1a requirements — the same room-by-room structure, the same description-based approach, and coverage of all mandatory areas. Confirm with any vendor that their QLD output mirrors the current Form 1a structure (version 19 as of mid-2026) rather than a generic multi-state template.

Per-item photo attachment. Photographs embedded alongside the specific item and room they document — not uploaded as a separate gallery — produce evidence packages that are faster to review and easier to navigate in a bond dispute. When a QCAT member or RTA conciliator wants to see the entry condition of the bathroom tiles, they should be able to go straight to the bathroom section of the report and see the photographs there, not search through an unorganised photo folder.

Electronic delivery with a delivery record. The software should email the completed and signed Form 1a to the tenant with a timestamped delivery confirmation. This satisfies the Section 65 delivery obligation and creates documented evidence of exactly when the form was provided.

Tenant return tracking. A feature that flags when the 7-day return window is approaching or has expired reduces the risk of missing the deadline without documentation.

Entry-to-exit comparison. At the end of the tenancy, the ability to view entry and exit conditions side by side — for each item, in each room — dramatically speeds up the assembly of the 14-day bond claim evidence package. When the entry description and the exit description for each item are in the same view, identifying claimed items and assembling supporting evidence becomes a structured process rather than a manual comparison across two separate documents.

ConditionHQ generates AI-assisted condition descriptions, produces Form 1a-compliant QLD condition reports, and maintains a timestamped audit trail suitable for QCAT submissions. The free tier includes three full reports per month — enough to run a real QLD entry inspection and evaluate whether the output quality and compliance coverage meet your agency's standards before committing to a paid plan.