Pre-Settlement Inspection: A Seller's Guide for Queensland 2026
The pre-settlement inspection is the last step before the sale completes. Here is what buyers are looking for, how to prepare your property, and how disputes are resolved.
The pre-settlement inspection happens in the final days before your property settles, after the contracts are exchanged and the sale is unconditional. It is the buyer's opportunity to walk through the property one last time and confirm that everything is as it was when they signed the contract. For sellers, it is usually a formality. But it can occasionally surface issues that require quick resolution before settlement funds are released.
Understanding what the buyer is checking, and preparing the property appropriately, avoids almost all disputes at this stage.
What buyers are entitled to check
Under the standard REIQ contract conditions used in Queensland, buyers are entitled to one pre-settlement inspection within three business days before the scheduled settlement date. During the inspection, the buyer is checking three things.
First, that the property is in substantially the same condition as it was at the date of the contract. This means no new damage, no structural changes, and no deterioration beyond ordinary wear and tear. If a storm has damaged the fence in the weeks between contract signing and settlement, that is a condition issue. If the carpet has a new stain from the moving process, that could also be a condition issue depending on its severity.
Second, that all inclusions listed in the contract are still present and in working order. In Queensland, inclusions are listed in the contract as fixtures and chattels that are part of the sale. Ceiling fans, dishwashers, window treatments, light fittings, fixed garden infrastructure, and built-in appliances are common inclusions. If these items were listed in the contract and are no longer in the property at the pre-settlement inspection, the buyer has grounds to raise a dispute.
Third, that the property has been vacated if the contract provides for vacant possession. Most owner-occupier sales in Brisbane involve vacant possession, meaning the seller must have moved out before settlement and the property must be available for the buyer to occupy immediately. If you are still living in the property and settlement is tomorrow, there is a problem.
Use our free Settlement Date Calculator → to confirm inspection timing relative to your settlement date before the campaign starts.
How to prepare as a seller
The preparation for the pre-settlement inspection is largely about managing the transition out of the property carefully. A few practical steps make the difference between a smooth inspection and an unnecessary dispute.
Leave all inclusions in place until the day of or day before the inspection. A surprising number of disputes arise because sellers inadvertently remove items that were listed as inclusions in the contract. Check the contract inclusions schedule carefully before you start packing, and make sure everyone involved in the move is aware of what stays. If you want to take a particular light fitting or a built-in shelf that you installed yourself, check whether it is listed as an inclusion before you remove it. If it is, and you want to take it, negotiate a variation with the buyer's agent before settlement rather than removing it without discussion.
Ensure the property is clean and tidy at the time of inspection. The contract does not typically require a specific standard of cleanliness, but a property that is left in a significantly different condition from how it presented at sale can create disputes about whether the condition obligation has been met. Standard practice in Brisbane is to leave the property in a condition comparable to how it looked during the marketing campaign, which typically means a basic clean of the kitchen and bathrooms, clean floors, and rubbish removed from the property.
Address any known issues before the inspection. If the air conditioning developed a fault in the weeks since contract signing and the unit is listed as an inclusion, have it repaired before the inspection. If the hot water system stopped working, arrange a repair. Disclosing issues to the buyer's agent proactively and providing evidence of repair is far better than the buyer discovering a problem at inspection without any communication.
What happens if the buyer raises an issue
If the buyer identifies something at the pre-settlement inspection that they believe is a contractual issue, they notify their solicitor before settlement proceeds. From that point, the buyer and seller negotiate through their respective solicitors or conveyancers.
The most common resolutions involve the seller agreeing to have an item repaired or replaced before settlement, the parties agreeing to an adjustment of the settlement funds to reflect the cost of addressing the issue, or the seller providing a statutory declaration and indemnity agreeing to address the matter promptly after settlement.
It is important to understand that the pre-settlement inspection does not give the buyer a general right to raise new issues with the property that they had the opportunity to identify during the contract period. Building and pest inspection conditions, finance conditions, and due diligence periods are the appropriate time for a buyer to assess the property and decide whether to proceed. The pre-settlement inspection is specifically about confirming that the condition and inclusions have not changed since the contract was signed, not about re-opening negotiations on the fundamental terms of the sale.
When tenants are in the property
If the property is tenanted at the time of sale, the pre-settlement inspection is more complex. You cannot control the condition of a tenanted property in the same way you can an owner-occupied one. The tenant has rights under the Residential Tenancies and Rooming Accommodation Act 2008 (Qld) to quiet enjoyment, and they must be given appropriate notice before any inspection.
If the property is being sold with a tenant in place and the buyer is taking on the tenancy, the buyer typically inspects through the existing tenancy. If vacant possession is required, the tenant should have already vacated or given notice to vacate before the pre-settlement inspection. Sellers dealing with a tenanted sale should work closely with their property manager and solicitor to ensure the tenancy timeline aligns with the settlement date. A last-minute discovery that the tenant has not vacated is one of the more stressful pre-settlement scenarios and is entirely avoidable with forward planning.
The day before settlement
A well-managed pre-settlement inspection takes about 20 to 30 minutes and results in no issues being raised. The buyer walks through, ticks their list, confirms everything is as expected, and settlement proceeds the following day or shortly after. The preparation that makes this outcome reliable is straightforward: check your inclusions, leave the property in good condition, complete the move before the inspection is scheduled, and communicate early if anything has changed since contract signing.
Your conveyancer will confirm the inspection timing and coordinate with the buyer's side. If your agent is active at this stage, they can also be a useful point of contact for any practical questions that arise in the final days before settlement.
Selling in Brisbane's inner east? Daniel manages the settlement process carefully on behalf of his vendors and is available through every stage from contract to keys. Get in touch for a conversation about your sale.