Does ‘Fair’ on a Rental Condition Report Mean the Property Is in Good Condition?

Geoffrey Chen

Why Do Australians Say It This Way? · Season Three: Making It Clear · Article 29

When you move into a rental property, you may receive a condition report. It records the state of walls, floors, appliances and other features item by item. Some forms ask whether something is clean, undamaged or working. In conversation, you may also hear that the carpet is in fair condition.

In everyday English, fair can mean just, moderately good or even clear when describing weather. As a description of property condition, it usually suggests acceptable but not especially good. The word still depends heavily on the observer. It cannot replace a record of what is already wrong. If the carpet is worn at the entrance and the bedroom wall has two scratches, writing fair does not tell a future reader dealing with a bond dispute what existed when the tenancy began.

This article is limited to the rental rules of New South Wales. Deadlines, forms and procedures differ in other states and territories. The language problem is more general: an adjective gives an impression, while evidence needs detail.

It is not a move-in satisfaction survey

NSW Fair Trading explains that the condition report records the property room by room before the tenant moves in, including fixtures and fittings. It can later be used to compare the property’s condition, distinguish fair wear and tear from damage and provide evidence if a dispute occurs.

The form is not asking whether you like the home. Record an existing issue accurately even if it does not yet interfere with daily life. For example:

Two small chips in paint beside the bedroom window.
Carpet worn at doorway; brown stain approximately 10 cm near wardrobe.
Oven light not working when tested.

There is no need for elegant prose. Location, quantity, size, whether an item works and when you observed or tested it are generally more useful than old, bad or not perfect. Photographs should be capable of being matched to the words. See photo is not particularly useful if the files have no room name, date or intelligible order.

NSW guidance recommends noting all damage, including minor damage, and supporting the report with time-stamped photographs. A tenant should complete their part, return a copy to the landlord or agent within seven days of moving in and keep a copy. The procedure matters as well as the images. A collection of undated photographs stored only on a phone is not equivalent to a completed and returned report.

Fair wear and tear is not a fair amount of damage

Fair wear and tear is an established rental expression for deterioration that occurs reasonably through normal use and the passage of time. It does not give a tenant permission to cause a “fair” quantity of damage. NSW Fair Trading gives examples: furniture indentations and traffic marks on carpet may be wear and tear, while stains or burns may be damage. Faded or cracked paint differs from damage caused by an unapproved poor-quality paint job.

The examples are not an automatic judgment table. The property’s age, the material, the use and the cause can all matter. In the entry report, avoid deciding a future dispute in advance. Instead of fair wear and tear on floor, first record what you see: three long scratches beside dining area, supported by photographs. Whether those marks are ultimately wear and tear or damage can be assessed from the evidence if it becomes necessary.

Printed labels such as as new, good and clean are not automatically accurate either. If the agent has marked the oven as clean and you find grease inside it, record the disagreement in the tenant’s section. The language does not need to become emotional: Tenant does not agree—grease residue inside oven on entry; see photos 14–16 is clear.

Recording a fault is not necessarily requesting a repair

This is the layer many tenants miss. A condition report establishes the state of the property at entry; it does not necessarily start a repair process. A loose power point belongs in the report, but it may also need to be separately reported as a safety issue or urgent repair. NSW guidance specifically tells people to record visible electrical hazards, and a dangerous electrical fault is among the matters that can meet the statutory meaning of urgent repair.

Do not assume that I put it in the condition report completes every kind of communication. If work is required, send a separate written message with the address, the item, what it is doing, when you first noticed it, whether there is an immediate safety concern and how access can be arranged. Keep the sent message and the reply.

If the response is We’ll note it on the file, ask: Could you confirm whether a repair has been requested, and when I should expect an update? Being noted and being scheduled for action are different states.

You do not need to become a building expert to complete a condition report. Do not guess what is leaking behind a wall or turn each mark into a legal submission. Record what you can observe. Where you are uncertain, use appears to or not tested. The purpose is to create a common starting point.

Fair can provide an overall assessment, but it should not swallow important detail. A reliable entry record allows a future reader to see the same property rather than merely discover that two people once chose different adjectives. Clarity in rental communication does not require aggressive language. It requires time, place, condition and next action to leave a record that can later be checked.

Primary sources and further reading

Continue reading: Why Do Australians Say It This Way? — series page

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