‘Run a mile’: hidden signs of a nasty rental

These are the red flags you need to be aware of when looking for your next rental home.

Attending a rental inspection can feel like a reality TV show challenge: you’ve got 15 minutes to decide if a property is suitable for your family to live in for one year without running into 30 other desperate contestants. But to pass the test you will have to avoid tripping on multiple half-packed boxes and turn a blind eye to evidence of the current tenant’s “unusual” living habits.

And behind basic questions of size, storage space and whether the owner accepts pets, there’s another important thing to consider – how well the property has been looked after. A poorly maintained property can harbour a range of hidden nasties that can come back to bite you (sometimes literally) later on. Luckily there are several red flags renters can look and smell for during an inspection that can save them from a bad rental.

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Keep your eyes open to poor maintenance. Picture: Richard Walker

Tenants’ Union of NSW Policy and Advocacy manager Eloise Parrab says renters in NSW are crying out for better maintenance from their landlords.

“In 2024, one in four people calling the Tenants’ Advice and Advocacy Services raised repairs and maintenance issues, and we know many more live with unresolved repairs issues to avoid conflict which may lead to unfair evictions or negative references,” she says.

It’s a problem that extends to the rest of the country.

“The 2022 survey of Australian Housing Conditions from UniSA found rental housing quality is often very poor – 45 per cent of renters rate the condition of their dwelling as ‘average, poor, or very poor’,” Parrab says.

“Forty-three per cent report problems with damp or mould, and 35 per cent have difficulty keeping their homes warm in winter or cool in summer.”

HOW TO SPOT MOULD

When it comes to identifying mould or rising damp at an inspection, it’s important to go further than what the eye can see, says The Rent Fairy director Sarah Elkordi.

“Become a sniffer dog when you get to a property,” she says. “Sometimes you can’t see the mould but, my god, can you smell it.”

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Not all mould is as obvious as this – it might be even be freshly painted over. Picture: Supplied

Sometimes the mould has been cleaned or painted over, but if you can see bubbling on the walls it is a telltale sign of a moisture problem,” she says.

Sydney Rental Search director Marcelle Wever says the first thing she looks at when checking for mould are the corners of the ceilings.

But if you really want to avoid mould, she suggests choosing a property with lots of north-facing windows that are unimpeded by trees or tall buildings.

“Avoid places that have a lot of rooms where their windows just face south because you’re never getting any natural light coming into those properties,” she says.

PEST PROBLEMS

While Wever avoids looking in cupboards during inspections if properties are still tenanted, she does check the kitchen cupboard under the sink for cockroach casings.

“If you see any little black specks you know there’s going to be a cockroach nightmare,” she says.

Other pests to consider include fleas, rats and bedbugs – the latter of which this reporter has come across herself.

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Bedbugs are only the size of an apple seed and can hide under skirting boards, in cracks and under carpets.

Reddish-brown stains on the walls along the skirting boards are a telltale sign of a bedbug infestation (they can hide under the carpet). If you see these, run a mile.

SMALLER DETAILS

Elkordi says renters should also check the basic shell of the property to see how it has been looked after both by the tenants and the landlord.

“Are the gutters overflowing, are they cleaned and whose responsibility is it?” She says. “If the gutters are cleaned regularly and it’s the landlord’s responsibility, then you know you’ve got a landlord who cares for their property.”

Director and founder of The Rent Fairy Sarah Elkordi. Picture: supplied. NSW real estate

The same goes for garden maintenance – if the tenant hasn’t been keeping on top of this and it is their responsibility, why hasn’t anything been done about it?

She says it’s also important to check whether any roof tiles are missing, as this could lead to issues with leaks and animals coming into the property.

Inside, non-foundational cracks on the walls, holes that haven’t been patched and water damage from leaks can all indicate a lack of action when it comes to conducting repairs and maintenance.

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The condition of the gutters will say a lot about how well the property has been look after over time

Yellowed walls may be from tenants smoking or vaping inside, she says.

Wever says it’s important to check if there is an exhaust fan in the bathroom and that the window opens properly in order to prevent against mould growing. She also suggests lifting the toilet lids.

“Sometimes the toilets are just so disgusting so they keep the lid down – some of those stains just don’t come out,” she says.

Originally published as ‘Run a mile’: hidden signs of a nasty rental