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Selling a Tenanted Property in Queensland

You can sell while tenants are still in residence. Here's what the Queensland RTA requires, how to manage the campaign practically, and how to think about vacant possession versus tenanted settlement.

Selling a property while tenants are in residence is common in Brisbane's inner east, where a significant proportion of houses, units, and townhouses are held as investment properties. It is entirely manageable, but it introduces a layer of legal obligations and operational complexity that differs meaningfully from selling an owner-occupied or vacant property. Landlords who understand the rules from the outset run smoother campaigns and avoid the disputes that can stall or compromise a sale.

What the Queensland RTA requires

Under the Residential Tenancies and Rooming Accommodation Act 2008 (RTRA Act), as amended by legislation in 2022 and 2023, a landlord who wishes to enter a tenanted property to conduct open homes or private inspections during a sale campaign must give the tenant at least 24 hours written notice of each entry. The notice must specify the date and time of entry, and entry must occur between 8am and 6pm on a day that is not a Sunday or public holiday, unless the tenant agrees otherwise.

There is no provision under the RTRA Act that gives a landlord unlimited access to the property during a sale campaign simply because the property is listed for sale. Each inspection requires its own compliant notice. The 24-hour requirement is a minimum, not a suggestion. Agents and landlords who attempt to conduct unscheduled or short-notice inspections risk the tenant refusing entry, the relationship with the tenant deteriorating, and in more serious cases, a dispute in the Queensland Civil and Administrative Tribunal (QCAT).

For a typical campaign involving weekly open homes and occasional private inspections, this means the property manager or selling agent should be providing rolling 24-hour notices throughout the campaign, coordinating inspection times with the tenant where possible, and keeping records of each notice given.

How many inspections are reasonable

The RTRA Act does not specify a maximum number of inspections during a sale campaign, but it does require that entry not be unreasonably frequent. What constitutes unreasonable frequency depends on the circumstances, but as a practical guide, one open home per week and private inspections as required for genuine buyer interest are generally considered reasonable by Queensland tribunals. Running two or three opens per week throughout a long campaign would invite challenge.

The more useful approach is to coordinate with the tenant from the start. Tenants who are treated with respect, given proper notice, and kept informed about the campaign timeline are far more likely to cooperate. A tenant who feels their home is being used as a thoroughfare without consideration will exercise their legal rights to limit access, and they are entitled to do so. Practically, a cooperative tenant and a well-presented property are worth more to your campaign than one where the inspections are technically within the rules but the property looks unloved and the atmosphere is uncomfortable.

What rights tenants have during a sale

A tenant's rights under the RTRA Act do not diminish because the landlord has decided to sell. The tenancy agreement continues in full force. The tenant is entitled to quiet enjoyment of the property, to receive proper notice for all entries, and to have their interests considered in the sale process. They are not obligated to leave the property during inspections, although many tenants will absent themselves if the relationship is managed well.

If a tenant refuses entry despite having received proper notice, the landlord has limited immediate remedies. The practical options are negotiating with the tenant to find inspection times that suit them, or if the relationship has broken down, applying to QCAT for an order requiring access. Court orders take time and create the kind of adversarial dynamic that rarely helps a sale. It is almost always better to invest in the relationship with the tenant than to pursue formal enforcement.

A tenant cannot be required to clean the property to presentation standard, style it for photography, or vacate the property before the end of their lease simply because the property is listed for sale. If the landlord wants the property vacant for the campaign, the relevant notice provisions must be followed.

Fixed-term versus periodic tenancies: how they affect settlement timing

Whether the tenancy is fixed-term or periodic has significant practical implications for how you can time vacant possession at settlement. Note that notice period requirements under the RTRA Act were updated through 2022 and 2023 amendments. Always confirm the current applicable notice periods with a solicitor or the Residential Tenancies Authority (RTA) before issuing any notice, as the rules are specific to each ground for ending a tenancy.

A periodic tenancy (month-to-month) can be ended by the landlord where the property is being sold and the buyer requires vacant possession, by giving the required minimum written notice. The tenant must be given the prescribed period to vacate. Settlement can be timed to coincide with or follow the end of the notice period, but the landlord cannot guarantee vacant possession at an earlier date.

A fixed-term tenancy is more constrained. If the fixed-term lease has not expired by the proposed settlement date, the landlord cannot require vacant possession until the lease ends, unless the tenant agrees. A buyer who wants vacant possession at settlement cannot be given it if the tenant has a valid fixed-term lease extending beyond that date. This is a material fact that must be disclosed in the contract of sale and should be communicated clearly to prospective buyers.

For investment property sellers with fixed-term leases, the options are to wait for the lease to expire before listing, list for a settlement date that falls after the lease end, or list the property as tenanted and accept that the buyer pool is limited to investors who are comfortable with the existing tenancy.

Vacant possession versus tenanted settlement

This is the decision that most substantially affects both your buyer pool and your likely sale price. A property offered with vacant possession attracts both owner-occupiers and investors. A property offered with a tenant in place attracts only investors. In most inner-east Brisbane suburbs, the owner-occupier market drives the highest prices at the pointy end of the range. Selling tenanted closes off that segment of the market.

That said, selling tenanted is not always the wrong call. If the property is already leased at a strong yield and the tenancy is well-managed, an investor buyer may pay a premium for the income security. In some inner-east suburbs and price brackets, particularly in the unit and townhouse market, the pool of investor buyers is deep enough that a tenanted sale works efficiently. The question is whether the premium an investor buyer will pay outweighs what an owner-occupier buyer might have paid with vacant possession.

There is no universal answer to this calculation. It depends on the property, the suburb, the price point, the quality of the existing tenancy, and the current composition of the active buyer pool. An agent with current transactional data in your suburb should be able to give you a reasoned view on the trade-off rather than a generic preference for one approach over the other.

Disclosure obligations for tenanted properties

From 1 August 2025, Queensland sellers have been required to provide a Mandatory Seller Disclosure Statement to buyers before a contract is entered into, under the Property Law Act 2023. For tenanted properties, this statement must disclose the existence of the tenancy, the type of agreement (fixed-term or periodic), and any relevant terms that affect the buyer's rights at settlement. A fixed-term tenancy that runs beyond the proposed settlement date is a material fact that must be disclosed.

Your solicitor will prepare the Seller Disclosure Statement as part of contract preparation. Ensure you have accurate and current tenancy information available, including the lease expiry date, the current rent, and whether there are any outstanding disputes with the tenant, before you instruct your solicitor.

Marketing a property that shows as tenanted

A tenanted property can be marketed effectively, but it requires more coordination and often more tolerance for what the photography looks like. Tenants have the right to their possessions being in the property; a landlord cannot require the tenant to remove all their furniture and personal effects for professional photography. The practical result is that tenanted properties typically photograph and present less cleanly than vacant or styled properties.

Landlords who want the best possible photography should negotiate with the tenant to arrange the session at a time when the property looks its best, and consider offering an incentive (such as a rent reduction for the campaign period) in exchange for the tenant's active cooperation. Some tenants will participate willingly; others will view it as an imposition. Managing this relationship proactively before the campaign starts is far more effective than trying to manage it under deadline pressure once the listing is live.