Perth Agency Asks Tenants to Conduct Virtual Property Inspections

A Perth real estate agency has asked tenants to conduct their own routine property inspections, citing current fuel supply constraints. In an email sent last month, Davey Real Estate told tenants they must take a minimum of 10 recent, clear, well-lit and unedited photos of each room.

The agency said the virtual format would reduce travel while still meeting inspection requirements and identifying maintenance concerns. Tenants received a link and a deadline to complete the inspection. The email warned that a further inspection would be required if the tasks were not completed.

A Consumer Protection spokesperson said the request may breach Australian Consumer Law. The spokesperson noted that a person cannot claim they are unable to deliver a service they are obliged to provide because of fuel supply during a period when fuel was readily available in Western Australia.

The spokesperson added that the property manager should consider whether conducting the inspection this way is in the best interest of their client and whether they would still be doing their job with the due care and skill required under the Real Estate and Business Agents Act 1978.

Fuel prices have jumped but supply in the Perth metropolitan area has not been interrupted during the United States' war on Iran. At the time the email was sent, the state and federal governments announced a fuel excise that would save motorists 32 cents a litre.

An extra five million litres of fuel was sent to the Wheatbelt and other regions experiencing higher petrol prices. Davey Real Estate did not respond to requests for comment and did not detail whether it had charged its full fee as a property manager.

Whether the practice of remote inspections done by the tenant entitles the agent to charge their client an inspection fee is determined by the individual contract.