Can my agent take photos inside my home during an inspection in New South Wales?
For a routine inspection, yes — but they should focus on the property, not your belongings. For advertising photos, you can refuse, and they generally need your consent to publish images showing your possessions.
Want Compass to draft a letter setting out your photo and privacy rights in NSW?
In New South Wales the rules split by why the photo is taken. For a routine inspection, your landlord or agent can take photos to record the property's condition — but they should focus on the property, not your personal belongings, and they're bound by the Privacy Act 1988. For advertising (selling or re-letting), it's different: there's no automatic right to enter just to take advertising photos, so you can refuse access for that purpose, and photos showing your possessions shouldn't be published without your consent. Letting a photographer in is not the same as agreeing to those photos being used. If it happens without consent, you can raise it with NCAT or the privacy regulator.
What you can do right now
- Ask in advance whether photos will be taken, and for what purpose.
- Move or cover personal items, valuables and family photos before an inspection or marketing shoot.
- If photos of your belongings appear in an ad without your consent, raise it in writing and keep a copy.
Related questions
Free help
- Tenants' Union NSW
- NSW Fair Trading
- NCAT
General information, not legal advice.
Want Compass to draft a letter setting out your photo and privacy rights in NSW?