Furnished Rental Property Condition Report: A Guide for Australian Property Managers (2026)

A furnished rental condition report and an unfurnished one use the same prescribed state form — but the work involved is significantly different. In an unfurnished property, the condition report documents walls, floors, ceilings, fixtures, and appliances. In a furnished property, you are documenting all of those things plus every piece of furniture the landlord has provided: sofas, beds and mattresses, dining tables and chairs, wardrobes, desks, rugs, curtains and blinds, lamps, and any other items included in the tenancy agreement.

This matters for two practical reasons. First, all Australian state condition report forms include a section for inclusions — items provided as part of the tenancy. If that section is left blank or completed vaguely, you have no documented baseline for any claim about furniture condition or missing items at exit. Second, disputes about furnished properties at tribunal tend to be more complex than unfurnished ones: there are more items, more potential points of disagreement, and more ways an incomplete condition report can undermine an otherwise legitimate bond claim.

A furnished rental is typically understood as a property where the landlord provides beds, sofas, and significant furniture items — not just white goods and built-ins that appear in most unfurnished apartments. Whether a specific property qualifies as furnished depends on the lease terms: what is listed as an inclusion in the tenancy agreement is what the condition report must cover. There is no statutory definition of "furnished" in Australian residential tenancy legislation that changes which laws apply — the same Acts and prescribed forms apply to furnished and unfurnished tenancies alike. What changes is the scope of what must be documented.

This guide covers everything that changes when the property is furnished.

Every Australian state's prescribed condition report form includes a section specifically for inclusions — the items provided by the landlord as part of the tenancy. In practice, that section in the standard prescribed form often provides limited space for detailed documentation of a fully furnished property. The standard approach is to complete the prescribed form's inclusions section and supplement it with a standalone inclusions schedule.

An inclusions schedule is a room-by-room list of every item the landlord is providing. It should cover:

Room or area — where the item is located (e.g. main bedroom, living room, balcony).

Item name and description — be specific. "Sofa — three-seat, dark grey fabric" is useful. "Sofa" is not.

Quantity — particularly relevant for items like dining chairs, cushions, or sets of cutlery if the tenancy includes kitchenware.

Condition at entry — using the same scale used in the condition report (new, good, fair, or worn/poor). Each item should have its own rating.

Specific notes — any existing marks, wear, damage, or defects that exist at entry. "Timber dining table — fair condition, scratch approx. 5cm on left end of tabletop" is the level of detail that stands up at tribunal.

Photo reference — a number or label linking this entry to the corresponding photograph in your photo log.

The inclusions schedule is not a legal replacement for the prescribed condition report — both are required. The schedule supplements the prescribed form with the detail that furniture documentation demands. Attach it as a signed addendum to the condition report, with both the agent and tenant signing it, and treat it as part of the same document package.

For the prescribed form itself, mark the inclusions section with "see attached inclusions schedule" and reference the schedule by date. When both parties sign, have them sign each page of the schedule or at least the final page with a reference to the total page count.

Australian condition report forms use a condition scale for each item. The most common scale used in the prescribed forms across states uses categories such as new, good, fair, and worn or poor — with space for written comments. When rating furniture at entry, apply these consistently:

New — used only for items that are literally new and unused. A mattress still in its original wrapping, a dining table with no surface marks. In practice, most furnished properties have furniture that has been used across previous tenancies, so this rating is relatively uncommon.

Good — the item is clean, functional, and in a condition consistent with reasonable use. Minor signs of age or light use are acceptable, but no marks, damage, or defects worth noting. A three-year-old sofa that is clean and structurally sound with no significant markings might rate good.

Fair — the item shows normal wear for its age. Some surface scratches, minor fading, light traffic wear on upholstery. Still functional and presentable, but not in as-new condition. This is the most common rating for furniture in an established furnished rental.

Worn / Poor — the item has significant wear, visible damage, staining, or functional issues. A mattress with a prominent dip, a sofa with torn upholstery, a dining chair with a loose leg.

The golden rule is this: rate items accurately. There is a strong temptation to rate items "fair" across the board to leave room for claims at exit. The problem with this approach is that it devalues the rating scale and reduces the contrast between entry and exit documentation. If a fair-rated sofa returns at exit in fair condition, there is no claim — even if the specific nature of the wear changed. Rating each item honestly, with accurate descriptions of what specifically contributes to that rating, creates a much stronger exit comparison.

Photography is the single highest-leverage documentation tool for a furnished property condition report. A written description of a sofa's condition is useful; a timestamped photograph of the sofa that corresponds to that written description is what holds up at tribunal.

For a furnished property, photographs should cover:

Each room overall — a wide shot of the room from the doorway showing the furniture layout and general condition. This establishes that the furniture in question was present at entry.

Each significant item individually — a dedicated photograph of each piece of furniture: sofas, beds, mattresses, dining table, chairs, wardrobes, rugs, and any other item listed in the inclusions schedule.

Close-up shots of existing damage — any scratch, stain, worn patch, tear, or defect that exists at entry must be photographed close-up with enough surrounding context to identify which item it belongs to. This is what distinguishes a pre-existing defect from tenant damage at exit.

Appliances in operation — for white goods and electronics, photograph them powered on if possible. A photo of a television displaying an image, a washing machine mid-cycle, or an oven's interior while lit is basic but useful evidence that the item was functional at entry.

Serial numbers or identifying marks — for high-value electronics, photograph the model and serial number. If an item goes missing during a tenancy, documented identification makes both the claim and any insurance process much easier.

Organise your photos by room and by item, labelled consistently with the inclusions schedule. An unorganised photo dump of 200 images is difficult to present at tribunal; a clearly organised log where each photo is labelled "Living Room — Sofa — Entry" and cross-referenced to the inclusions schedule entry takes the same photographs and makes them genuinely useful evidence.

Ensure all photographs have automatic timestamps either through the camera metadata or through inspection software that embeds the date and time. Manually adding dates to photos after the fact does not carry the same evidentiary weight.

All Australian states and territories require condition reports to cover inclusions provided under the tenancy agreement. Here is how each state's prescribed form handles this:

New South Wales — Schedule 2 of the Residential Tenancies Regulation 2019 (NSW) includes a section for items included in the tenancy. The tenant has 7 days from taking possession to complete their section. NSW Fair Trading administers compliance. Disputes go to NCAT. See our NSW condition report requirements guide.

Victoria — Form 4 of the Residential Tenancies Regulations 2021 (Vic) under Section 35 of the Residential Tenancies Act 1997 (Vic) includes a section for inclusions listed in the tenancy agreement. The tenant has 5 business days from move-in to complete and return their section. Consumer Affairs Victoria administers compliance. Disputes go to VCAT. See our VIC condition report requirements guide.

Queensland — The Entry Condition Report (Form 1a) under the Residential Tenancies and Rooming Accommodation Act 2008 (Qld) includes a section for inclusions at the property. The tenant has 3 days to return their completed copy. The Residential Tenancies Authority (RTA) administers compliance. Disputes go to QCAT. See our QLD condition report requirements guide.

Western Australia — The Property Condition Report (Form 1) under the Residential Tenancies Act 1987 (WA) includes a section for the condition of all items and fixtures. The tenant receives two copies within 7 days of moving in and returns one signed copy. The Department of Mines, Industry Regulation and Safety (DEMIRS) administers compliance. Disputes go to the Magistrates Court. See our WA condition report requirements guide.

South Australia — The inspection sheet under the Residential Tenancies Act 1995 (SA) covers inclusions. Consumer and Business Services (CBS) administers compliance. Disputes go to SACAT.

Tasmania, ACT, NT — Each jurisdiction's prescribed form includes a section for inclusions. See the respective state guides for specific requirements.

In all cases, the inclusions section in the prescribed form is the mandatory minimum. A separate inclusions schedule for a fully furnished property is best practice, not a substitute for the prescribed form.

Fair wear and tear is the normal, gradual deterioration of a property and its contents that occurs through reasonable everyday use over time. It is not defined in most Australian residential tenancy legislation, but regulators and tribunals apply a consistent practical interpretation.

For furniture in a rental property, understanding fair wear and tear is important because it determines what a property manager can legitimately claim at exit. Common examples of fair wear and tear in furnished properties include:

Upholstery — light fading from sunlight on sofas or chairs, minor pilling on fabric surfaces, slight flattening of sofa cushions after extended use. These are normal for the age of the tenancy and the frequency of use.

Timber furniture — light surface scratches, minor scuffs on table legs from chair movement, slight watermark rings on timber surfaces from normal drink placement. These become harder to classify as fair wear and tear as their severity increases.

Mattresses — light body impression consistent with normal sleep use. Staining, significant sagging, or damage from pets or liquid is not fair wear and tear.

Curtains and blinds — minor fading from sunlight exposure is fair wear and tear. Tears, broken slats, or staining are not.

Rugs and soft furnishings — traffic wear in high-use areas (in front of sofas, at doorways) is fair wear and tear. Significant staining, burns, pet damage, or pet hair deeply embedded in fabric is not.

The age of the furniture matters significantly. A tribunal assessing a bond claim for a sofa that was already five years old at the start of a two-year tenancy will apply different standards than for a sofa that was brand new at the start of a one-year tenancy. Documenting the age and condition of furniture accurately at entry — and noting "five-year-old timber dining table in fair condition" rather than just "timber dining table" — provides context that is helpful for both legitimate claims and for managing landlord expectations at exit.

For detailed guidance on the distinction between fair wear and tear and damage, see our fair wear and tear vs damage guide.

The tenant's section of the condition report is their formal opportunity to note disagreement with the agent's assessment. For furnished properties, this most commonly happens when:

• The tenant believes an item is in worse condition than the rating recorded by the agent
• The tenant believes the inclusions schedule is incomplete — an item they expected to be present is missing or not listed
• The tenant wants to note specific defects that the agent's description did not capture

The correct process when a tenant returns the condition report with furniture-related amendments is:

Review the comments promptly. If the tenant has marked a sofa as "poor" when your photographs show it was clearly in good condition, that is a discrepancy worth addressing — not leaving in the record unchallenged.

Respond in writing. If you disagree with the tenant's amendment, document your position and the evidence supporting it. A timestamped photograph of the item is your strongest response to a disputed rating.

In Victoria specifically, Section 35A of the Residential Tenancies Act 1997 (Vic) allows either party to apply to VCAT to amend an inaccurate condition report within 30 days of the rental agreement commencing. This formal mechanism exists for situations where the entry condition cannot be agreed between the parties.

In other states, the resolution mechanism is typically to note the disagreement in writing and retain clear photographic evidence. The evidence is then used at tribunal if a bond dispute arises at exit.

For property managers, the practical advice is not to ignore discrepancies. A condition report that contains significant contested entries — where the tenant has marked items "poor" and the agent believes they were "good" — without any written response from the agent presents a weaker position at tribunal than one where the agent has clearly documented and responded to each disagreement at the time.

The exit inspection for a furnished property requires the same systematic approach as the entry inspection, but with the entry condition report in hand for comparison. Walk through each room with the entry inclusions schedule open, checking off each item against its entry condition, noting changes, and photographing each item again.

The exit check should confirm:

All inclusions are present. Count items. If the inclusions schedule listed six dining chairs, confirm six are there. Missing items need to be identified at exit — not discovered after the tenant has vacated and the bond has been released.

Item-by-item condition comparison. For each piece of furniture, compare the exit condition directly against the entry description and photos. Note any deterioration that goes beyond the fair wear and tear expected given the tenancy length and the item's age at entry.

New damage since entry. Burns, stains, tears, broken parts, pet damage, and odours are the most common furniture damage categories. Document each with exit photographs.

Cleaning standard. Furniture that is dirty — food residue on upholstery, grimy surfaces, soiled mattresses — may be the basis for a cleaning claim separate from damage. Document the specific condition with photographs.

The exit condition report for a furnished property will typically take longer than for an unfurnished property, and that time investment is worth it. Bond claims involving furniture damage that have no exit documentation to match against the entry evidence are claims that rarely succeed at tribunal.

Notice requirements for the exit inspection vary by state — see the relevant state's exit condition report guide: Victoria, NSW, Queensland, WA, SA, ACT, Tasmania, NT.

Bond claims for furnished properties follow the same process as for unfurnished properties in all states. The evidence standard is the same — the tribunal will compare the entry and exit condition of each item claimed. What changes is the scope: each piece of furniture in a bond claim needs its own documented entry and exit comparison.

For a furniture bond claim to succeed at tribunal, the property manager typically needs to show:

Entry evidence — the inclusions schedule entry for the item with a condition rating and notes, supported by a timestamped entry photograph.

Exit evidence — the exit inspection entry for the same item with a condition rating, description of the damage or deterioration beyond fair wear and tear, and a timestamped exit photograph of the same item.

A cost basis — a quote or invoice for the repair or replacement of the item, adjusted for the item's age and the proportion of the tenancy period (depreciation or useful life calculations vary by state and by tribunal member).

For claims involving missing items — furniture that was present at entry and is not there at exit — the evidence is the inclusions schedule entry and photograph showing the item was present, combined with the exit inspection record confirming its absence.

For bond refund and lodgement timelines and state-specific bond claim procedures, see our rental bond lodgement requirements guide and the state-specific bond dispute guides for QLD, NSW, VIC, and SA.

Five mistakes occur with enough regularity in furnished property condition reports that they are worth naming explicitly:

Not completing an inclusions schedule at all. The most common and most damaging mistake. A condition report that lists the furniture only as "inclusions — good" without an itemised list leaves the property manager unable to claim specifically for damage to or loss of any individual item at exit. If you only complete the prescribed form without supplementing it with an inclusions schedule for a fully furnished property, you are leaving significant evidential gaps.

Photographing rooms but not individual items. A wide shot of the living room showing the sofa is useful context. A dedicated photograph of the sofa itself — showing its condition clearly — is the evidence. For a furnished property, both are needed.

Using vague condition ratings without descriptions. Rating a dining table "fair" without noting "light scratches on surface near seat positions, no structural issues" gives the exit inspector nothing specific to compare against. The description is what turns a rating into evidence.

Not checking whether all inclusions are present at exit. Property managers who focus on condition and miss a missing item — a dining chair that walked out with the tenant, a lamp that is no longer in the bedroom — discover it after the bond has been released and the lease file closed. A systematic count of every listed inclusion at the exit inspection takes five minutes and prevents this entirely.

Failing to have the inclusions schedule signed. The inclusions schedule is only as useful as its procedural completeness. If the tenant has not signed it — or has not been given the opportunity to note disagreements in their section — its evidentiary weight at tribunal is reduced. Treat it with the same procedure as the condition report itself: agent signs, tenant signs or notes disagreements within the same timeframe as the condition report.

Purpose-built inspection software significantly reduces the time and cognitive load of completing a furnished property condition report to a professional standard. For furnished properties specifically, the features that matter most are:

Room-by-room structure with custom item lines. The software needs to let you add individual items to each room — not just tick a generic "living room" checklist. If you cannot add "three-seat sofa — dark grey fabric" as a line item with its own condition rating and photo attachment, the software is not designed for furnished property work.

Per-item photo attachment. Photos attached to specific items in the inclusions schedule are far more useful than a general photo gallery. The link between the text entry and the photograph needs to be preserved in the output document.

Inclusions schedule as part of the report output. The final PDF should include the inclusions schedule as a section of the condition report, not a separate attachment that can be separated from the main document.

Digital signature capture for the inclusions schedule. The tenant's acknowledgment of the inclusions schedule should be captured with the same digital signature process as the main condition report.

Entry-to-exit comparison. At the exit inspection, the software should pull through the entry inclusions schedule and ratings so the inspector is comparing item by item, not starting from scratch.

ConditionHQ's AI-assisted condition descriptions work at the item level — you can add individual furniture items, rate their condition, and generate a written description from a short note and photographs. The output is formatted for all Australian states. The free tier gives you three full reports per month to evaluate whether the workflow fits how you manage furnished properties before committing.