NSW Move-In Checklist: The First 7 Days in Your New Rental

Your first week in a new NSW rental is the most important week for protecting your bond. The decisions you make — and the paperwork you complete — in these seven days will either give you solid evidence when you move out, or leave you scrambling to explain damage that was already there when you arrived.

This checklist runs from the paperwork you should have before you sign, through moving day, to the hard deadline on Day 7. Follow it in order.

One mindset to carry throughout: document everything in writing. Photos, dates, signed forms. Not because your landlord is necessarily difficult — but because memories fade and disputes are won on evidence.

Before You Sign — The Paperwork Checklist

These obligations happen before the clock even starts on your tenancy. Don’t hand over your signed agreement until you can tick these.

[ ] Information statement received. The landlord or agent must give you an information statement in the approved form before you enter into the agreement (s26(4)). This is sometimes called the “New Tenant Checklist.” If you didn’t get it, ask.

[ ] Landlord contact details provided. The landlord must give you their name and contact details before or when you sign (s27(1)).

[ ] Material facts disclosed. Before you sign, the landlord must not knowingly conceal prescribed material facts (s26(1)). These include:

• flooding from a natural weather event or bushfire in the last 5 years (RTR cl 8(1)(a))
• significant health or safety risks not apparent on inspection (RTR cl 8(1)(b))
• the premises being listed on the LFAI Register (RTR cl 8(1)(c))
• a serious violent crime on the premises in the last 5 years (RTR cl 8(1)(d))
• use of the premises for drug manufacture or cultivation in the last 2 years (RTR cl 8(1)(e))
• combustible cladding notices or orders on the building (RTR cl 8(1)(j))
• if it’s a strata property: a proposed sale or mortgagee action (s26(2)), a copy of the strata by-laws (s26(2A)(a)), or scheduled major repairs to common property during your fixed term (RTR cl 8(1)(i))

[ ] Signed copy of your agreement. The landlord must give you a copy before or when you hand over your signed copy (s28(1)). If their copy isn’t yet signed by both parties, they must give you a fully signed copy as soon as practicable (s28(2)).

[ ] Bond not required before you sign. The landlord cannot require you to pay your bond before you have signed the agreement (s159(2)).

[ ] Bond cannot exceed 4 weeks rent. If the landlord asks for more, that is unlawful (s159(1)).

Day 1 — Moving Day

[ ] Condition report received. The landlord must complete a condition report and give you 2 paper copies, or 1 electronic copy, before or when you sign the agreement (s29(1)–(2)). Check you have it before you unpack a single box.

[ ] Test everything before furniture goes in. Taps, toilets, light switches, exhaust fans, windows, door locks, appliances provided with the tenancy. This is your best window — before your own wear makes anything ambiguous.

[ ] Photograph every room. Take dated photos from multiple angles. Cover floors, walls, ceilings, and every appliance. Back these up to cloud storage immediately.

[ ] Take a walkthrough video. A continuous video of the whole property, narrating what you see, is excellent supplementary evidence. Pan slowly across walls, floors, and ceilings, and test appliances on camera.

[ ] Mark pre-existing damage on your condition report. Note every scuff, stain, hole, and broken item — even if it seems minor. Your notes on this report are your main bond protection tool.

[ ] Check smoke alarms. The landlord must ensure smoke alarms are working and repaired within 2 business days of becoming aware of a fault (s64A; RTR cl 14(1)). If an alarm is missing or clearly broken on Day 1, notify the landlord or agent in writing that same day.

[ ] Note rent in advance. The landlord cannot require you to pay more than 2 weeks rent in advance (s33(2)). If they’re asking for more, you are not required to pay it.

[ ] Count every key and access device. You will need to return all keys and opening devices provided by the landlord when you eventually vacate (s51(3)(e)). Know exactly what you received.

[ ] Read starting meter numbers. Electricity, gas, water — photograph the meters with a date-stamp. Protects you against disputed usage charges from the moment you moved in.

If anything is broken or unsafe on moving day, notify the landlord or agent in writing straight away. You have an ongoing obligation to report damage as soon as practicable after becoming aware of it (s51(2)(b)). For urgent issues — no hot water, no locks, flooding — see our guide to what counts as an urgent repair in a NSW rental.

Day 3 — Documentation Window

You still have time to add items you missed on Day 1.

[ ] Back up all photos to a cloud service separate from your phone. Phones get lost or wiped.

[ ] Add anything you missed to your condition report notes. You have until Day 7, so use the time.

[ ] Set up utility accounts in your name — electricity, gas, internet.

[ ] Save landlord and agent contact details somewhere you can find them at 11pm during an emergency. A note in your phone is fine.

[ ] Redirect mail if you haven’t already.

Day 7 — Deadline Day

[ ] Return your completed condition report. You must complete and return one copy of the condition report to the landlord or agent no later than 7 days after taking possession (s29(3)). Return it by email with the scanned or photographed report attached, so you have a time-stamped record you sent it. If you must return it in person, ask for a signed and dated receipt confirming they received it.

[ ] Include written dissenting comments. For every item on the condition report you disagree with, write your dissent clearly on your copy before returning it. Dissenting comments are excluded from the rule that treats a signed condition report as correct (s30(2)(b)).

[ ] Keep your own signed copy. Both you and the landlord must each retain a copy (s29(3)).

[ ] Check your bond has been lodged. The landlord (or agent) must deposit your bond with NSW Fair Trading within 10 business days of receiving it — or, if paid to an agent, within 10 business days after the end of the month in which it was paid (s162(3)). Log in to the Rental Bond Online (RBO) portal and confirm your bond appears under your name.

If your bond isn’t showing in RBO after the 10-business-day window has passed, contact NSW Fair Trading. The landlord’s failure to lodge is an offence under s162(5). Our guide to getting your bond back in NSW covers what happens to your bond at the end of the tenancy.

What If the Landlord Doesn’t Provide a Condition Report?

If the landlord or agent failed to give you copies of the condition report as required, you are not obliged to return a completed one (s29(3A)).

But make your own record anyway. Take dated photos, write down the condition of every room, and email a summary to the landlord on Day 1. A self-made record is not a statutory condition report, but it is still evidence. It will help you at the Tribunal if a bond dispute arises.

Red Flags in Week One

Watch for these. They are signs something is off.

• Bond over 4 weeks rent. The maximum bond for a standard residential tenancy is 4 weeks rent (s159(1)). If you are asked for more, do not pay it.
• Rent more than 2 weeks in advance. The landlord cannot require more than 2 weeks rent upfront (s33(2)). Paying more is your choice, not their right.
• Pressure to sign or pay quickly. NSW residential tenancy rights do not expire because someone is in a hurry.
• No information statement before signing. You were entitled to one (s26(4)). If it was skipped, that is a breach by the landlord.

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Documents to Keep From Week One

File these somewhere you will find them. You may need them months or years from now.

[ ] Signed tenancy agreement (including signed by landlord)

[ ] Ingoing condition report — your copy, and evidence you returned the landlord’s copy

[ ] All dated photos from Day 1 (and Day 3 additions)

[ ] Bond receipt or RBO confirmation that bond is lodged

[ ] Information statement / New Tenant Checklist (s26(4))

[ ] Any written material fact disclosures you received (s26(1); RTR cl 8)

[ ] Landlord contact details as provided under s27

The first week takes a few hours of careful work. That work compounds: good documentation at the start is the most reliable way to protect your bond when you eventually move out.