What Happens When There Is No Ingoing Condition Report at the Start of a Tenancy
The tenancy started with a handshake, a set of keys, and a quick walk through the property. The carpets looked “fine”. The walls had “a few marks”. The back sliding door was “a bit stiff, but nothing major”.
Six months later, when the tenant moved out, those casual comments became a problem.
The property manager claimed the carpet stains were new. The tenant said they were already there. The owner wanted bond money for repainting a marked bedroom wall. The tenant remembered seeing scuffs on day one, but had no photos, no signed notes, and no ingoing condition report to point to.
That is where the dispute began.
An ingoing condition report is not just admin. It is the starting record of the rental property’s condition. Without it, everyone is left arguing from memory, and memory is a weak tool when bond money is on the line.
The tenancy began without a proper record
In this case, the tenant collected the keys on a Friday afternoon. The property manager was busy and said the condition report would be sent through later. The tenant moved in over the weekend.
A few things stood out straight away:
A stain near the lounge room window
Chips in the kitchen benchtop
A cracked tile near the shower
Dust and dead insects in the window tracks
A dent in one bedroom door
Scuff marks behind where a bed had likely sat
None of it seemed serious at the time. The tenant took a couple of quick phone photos but did not photograph every room. They assumed the agent already had a report.
No ingoing report arrived.
The tenant did not chase it up. Life got busy. Furniture was moved in, boxes were unpacked, and the property became home.
That small gap at the start created a much bigger issue at the end.
In Australia, condition reports are a standard part of renting. The exact rules and timeframes differ between states and territories, but the purpose is generally the same: to record the property’s condition at the beginning of the tenancy so it can be compared with its condition at the end.
When there is no report, there is no agreed baseline.
What the ingoing condition report should have shown
A proper ingoing condition report does more than say a room is “good” or “clean”. It should give a fair, room-by-room record of the property.
That usually includes:
Walls, ceilings, floors, doors and windows
Carpets, hard flooring and tiles
Kitchen benchtops, cupboards, appliances and splashbacks
Bathroom fittings, grout, mirrors, exhaust fans and shower screens
Curtains, blinds, flyscreens and light fittings
Outdoor areas, lawns, gardens, fences and sheds
General cleanliness
Existing damage, wear and tear, stains, chips or cracks
Good reports are specific. They do not just say “bedroom wall marked”. They might say “two small scuff marks on lower wall near wardrobe” or “paint chip near door handle”.
The best reports also have clear photos. Not glamour shots, just useful evidence. A close-up of the cracked tile. A wider photo showing which bathroom it was in. A picture of the stain near the window with enough context to identify the room.
Without that record, both sides can still give evidence, but the dispute becomes harder to resolve.
The tenant might say, “That stain was there when I moved in.”
The owner might say, “It was not there when the lease started.”
The property manager might say, “The property was in good condition.”
None of those statements settle the question by themselves.
The problem became clear at the final inspection
At the end of the tenancy, the tenant cleaned the property and returned the keys. The final inspection happened a few days later.
The exit report listed several issues:
Lounge room carpet stain
Marks on bedroom wall
Chipped kitchen benchtop
Cracked bathroom tile
Dirty window tracks
Damaged bedroom door
The tenant pushed back. They said most of those things existed at the start.
The property manager asked for proof.
That is when the missing ingoing condition report became the centre of the dispute.
The tenant had a few photos from move-in weekend, but they were patchy. One photo showed the lounge room, though the carpet stain was partly hidden by a moving box. Another showed the bathroom, but not the cracked tile. There was no photo of the bedroom door.
The owner argued that the tenant had the property for months and was responsible for returning it in the same condition, fair wear and tear excepted.
That phrase, fair wear and tear, matters. Tenants are generally not responsible for ordinary ageing from normal use. Carpet naturally wears. Paint can fade. Door handles loosen. By contrast, tenants may be responsible for damage caused by carelessness, accidents or neglect.
The trouble is that fair wear and tear is much harder to assess when no one properly recorded the starting condition.
A carpet stain is a good example. If it existed at the start, it should not be charged to the tenant at the end. If it happened during the tenancy, the tenant may be responsible, depending on how it happened and whether it can be cleaned. Without an entry report, the argument becomes a contest of evidence.
Who is disadvantaged when there is no report
People often assume the missing report only hurts the tenant. It usually hurts both sides.
For the tenant, the risk is obvious. They may be blamed for damage that already existed. They may have to defend themselves with limited evidence. If the bond is claimed, they may spend time preparing for a dispute process that could have been avoided.
For the owner, the missing report can also weaken a claim. If the owner wants compensation for damage, they need to show that the damage happened during the tenancy and was not already there. A detailed ingoing report helps prove that.
For the property manager, it creates a messy file. What should have been a simple comparison between “before” and “after” turns into emails, phone calls, competing memories and uncertainty.
A missing report does not automatically mean the tenant wins. It also does not automatically mean the owner wins. It means the evidence is weaker, and the outcome becomes less predictable.
A condition report is not about mistrust. It is about making sure everyone is arguing from the same facts if something goes wrong later.
What happened to the bond claim
In this example, the owner wanted part of the bond for cleaning, carpet treatment and repairs.
The tenant agreed to pay for a small cleaning issue. The oven had been missed, and the tenant accepted that. But they disputed the carpet, tile, benchtop and door.
The matter went through the usual bond dispute process for the state or territory. The exact pathway changes across Australia, but unresolved rental bond disagreements often end up before a tribunal or similar decision-making body.
The tenant gathered what they could:
Their lease agreement
The few move-in photos they had
Emails asking about repairs during the tenancy
Text messages mentioning the stiff door
Exit photos taken after cleaning
Bank records showing rent and bond payments
Their own written timeline
The property manager provided:
The final inspection report
Exit photos
Quotes for cleaning and repairs
Notes from inspections during the tenancy
The owner’s comments about the property condition
The missing ingoing report did not make the dispute disappear. The decision-maker still looked at all available evidence. But it made some claims harder to prove.
The carpet claim was reduced because the evidence did not clearly show when the stain occurred. The chipped benchtop claim was not accepted because there was no convincing proof it was new damage. The tenant had to pay for the oven cleaning because that was clear in the exit photos and not really disputed.
The cracked tile remained uncertain. There was no entry photo, but there was also no report of a tile issue during the tenancy. The outcome was not as clean as either side wanted.
Both parties left frustrated. The owner felt they had not been fully compensated. The tenant felt they had spent weeks defending themselves against old damage.
The real mistake had happened at the beginning.
What tenants should do if no report is provided
If a tenant moves in and no ingoing condition report is provided, the worst thing to do is nothing.
The first step is to ask for it in writing. A short email is enough. It should be polite and specific.
For example:
“Hi, I have moved into the property and have not yet received the ingoing condition report. Could you please send it through so I can review and return it with any comments?”
If it still does not arrive, the tenant should create their own record as soon as possible.
That means taking photos and videos before the property is fully unpacked, or as close to that time as possible. The photos should show both the whole room and close-ups of damage.
Useful photos include:
Each wall in every room
Floors and carpets from different angles
Inside cupboards and wardrobes
Windows, blinds, curtains and tracks
Appliances and their condition
Bathrooms, toilets, vanities and shower screens
Outdoor areas, garden beds, lawns and fences
Meter readings, where relevant
The tenant should write notes too. Photos are helpful, but notes give context. A photo of a wall mark is better if the note says where it is.
For example:
“Main bedroom, left wall beside wardrobe, three black scuff marks at knee height.”
The tenant should send their notes and photos to the agent or landlord by email. That creates a dated record. Even if the agent does not reply, the email may help later.
A simple habit can make a big difference: photograph first, unpack second.
What owners and property managers should do
Owners and property managers also benefit from getting the entry record right.
A rushed report can be almost as unhelpful as no report. Vague comments like “good condition” do not say much. If a dispute happens later, the report needs enough detail to show what changed.
A better process includes:
Completing the report before or at the start of the tenancy
Giving the tenant a copy within the required timeframe
Allowing the tenant to add comments
Keeping dated photos with the report
Recording existing wear fairly, not defensively
Saving all versions and related emails
The report should be honest. If the carpet is old, say so. If the walls have marks, record them. If the garden is patchy, do not describe it as excellent.
A fair report protects the owner because it shows genuine new damage. It protects the tenant because it records pre-existing issues. It also protects the working relationship because fewer things feel personal later.
Why routine inspections did not fix the problem
Some people think routine inspection reports can replace an ingoing report. They cannot.
Routine inspections may show how the property looked during the tenancy, but they do not prove what it looked like at the start. A routine inspection three months in might show a carpet stain, but that still does not answer whether the stain was there on day one.
Routine inspections also focus on different things. They may record general cleanliness, garden care, maintenance issues or obvious damage. They are not usually as detailed as an entry condition report.
The starting point still matters most.
Without it, every later report is missing context.
The difference between damage and fair wear
A lot of bond disputes turn on the difference between damage and fair wear.
Fair wear usually means deterioration from ordinary use over time. It can include faded curtains, worn carpet in high-traffic areas, minor paint scuffs or loose fittings from age.
Damage is different. It may include burns in carpet, holes in walls, broken doors, smashed glass or stains caused by spills that were not cleaned properly.
The missing report blurs that line.
For example, an older carpet with existing marks might look worse after a tenancy simply because it was already near the end of its life. Without a starting record, the tenant may struggle to show it was already worn, while the owner may struggle to show the tenant caused the decline.
That is why a condition report should record not only obvious damage, but also age and wear.
Words like “worn”, “faded”, “patched”, “scratched”, “stained” and “marked” can matter later.
What evidence can help if the report is missing
A missing ingoing report is not the end of the matter. Other evidence can still help.
The most useful evidence is usually dated, specific and connected to the condition of the property.
This may include:
Move-in photos and videos
Emails or texts sent near the start of the tenancy
Maintenance requests
Routine inspection reports
Entry notices and repair records
Receipts for cleaning or repairs
Witness statements from people who helped move in
Exit photos taken before returning the keys
Photos should be kept in their original form where possible. Many phones store date information in the file, although that information can sometimes be lost if images are copied or sent through certain apps.
Emails are useful because they show dates clearly. A short email sent in the first week saying “the carpet stain in the lounge room was present when I moved in” may carry more weight than a memory raised months later.
For owners and agents, repair invoices and earlier advertising photos may help, but they have limits. Advertising photos often hide flaws and may be taken long before the tenancy starts. They are not a substitute for a proper condition report.
The simple lesson from this dispute
The dispute did not happen because the tenant was careless or the owner was unreasonable. It happened because the tenancy began without a shared record.
That missing document turned ordinary property wear into an argument. It turned a few stains, chips and marks into a bond dispute. It cost time, energy and trust.
For tenants, the lesson is clear: do not wait for the end of the tenancy to think about evidence. If no ingoing report arrives, ask for it in writing and make your own detailed record straight away.
For owners and property managers, the lesson is just as clear: prepare the report properly, give it to the tenant on time, and keep photos that match the written notes.
A rental property does not need to be perfect at the start. It just needs to be honestly recorded.
This article is general information for Australian rental situations and is not legal advice. Rental laws and bond processes differ between states and territories, so check the rules that apply where the property is located.
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