The short answer
- The worst problems at an open home are the ones that are hidden, not obvious — smells, damp, poor light and noise, not chipped paint.
- A fresh coat of paint in one room, a strong air freshener, or every window open in winter are all worth a second look.
- Agent behaviour is a red flag too: vague answers about heating, bond, or who the rental provider is.
- Cosmetic wear is normal and usually negotiable. Damp, mould, no heating and dodgy locks are not.
Fifteen minutes at an open home is not long, and most of it disappears into queueing, small talk and looking at the kitchen. If you only have one pass through a property, the useful question is not “what is here?” but “what is being covered up?”
This guide is about red flags specifically — the things that should make you pause, ask a direct question, or walk. If you want the systematic version, use our Melbourne rental inspection checklist alongside it.
What is the biggest red flag at a rental inspection?
Smell. It is the single most reliable signal at an open home and the one thing that cannot be photographed. A damp, musty or earthy smell usually means moisture somewhere — in the walls, under the floor, or behind a cupboard. A heavy air freshener, scented candle or freshly cleaned carpet smell in a property that is otherwise unremarkable is worth treating as a question rather than a courtesy.
Open a cupboard, particularly under the kitchen sink and in the bathroom, and smell there. Enclosed spaces hold the truth about a property better than an aired-out living room does.
How do you spot damp and mould at an open home?
Look where it collects rather than where it shows. Behind the bathroom door, along the bottom of external walls, in the corners of ceilings, around window frames and inside built-in wardrobes.
The signs are subtle: a faint dark speckling in a corner, bubbling or lifting paint, a skirting board that looks swollen, a patch of wall that is a slightly different shade. Fresh paint in only one room, or only on one wall, is a common cover.
Mould matters legally as well as practically. Victorian rental minimum standards require a property to be free from mould and damp caused by the building’s structure, so it is a repair obligation rather than something you accept and live with. Our guide to checking a rental property for mould goes into detail.
What red flags do listing photos hide?
| What the listing shows | What to check in person |
|---|---|
| Bright, airy rooms | Which direction windows face, and what time of day the photos were taken. A south-facing flat with a building opposite is dark year round. |
| A spacious living area | Wide-angle lenses exaggerate rooms badly. Pace the room out or photograph it from the doorway at eye level. |
| A neat, empty interior | Where anything would actually go. Empty rooms read as larger and hide the absence of storage. |
| A quiet street | Stand still for a full minute and listen. Trams, main roads, flight paths, a pub two doors down, a building site opposite. |
| A modern kitchen | Whether the cooktop, oven and rangehood look used and maintained, and whether there is any ventilation at all. |
| Nothing about the neighbours | Shared walls, bin areas, the state of the common areas and the building entry. |
What should make you ask a direct question?
Heating and cooling is the one renters most often skip. Victorian minimum standards require a fixed heater in the main living area, and from 2027 further energy efficiency requirements phase in. If there is no visible heater, ask where it is. “The previous tenant used a portable one” is not compliance.
Others worth naming out loud:
- Water pressure and hot water. Ask when the hot water system was last serviced and what type it is.
- Windows and locks. External doors and accessible windows need functioning locks. Test what you can reach without forcing anything.
- Power points. Count them. Older Melbourne properties often have one per room, which becomes a daily annoyance.
- Internet. Ask what connection type the building has. In some apartment buildings you have no choice of provider at all.
- Bins and access. Where they live, who moves them, and whether that is your job.
When is the agent the red flag?
Sometimes the property is fine and the process is not. Be cautious when an agent cannot or will not tell you who the rental provider is, is vague about whether repairs will be done before the lease starts, cannot confirm what is included in the rent, or pushes you to apply on the spot without letting you read anything.
Anything you are told verbally that matters — repairs promised, appliances included, parking, pets, a solar arrangement — should be confirmed by email before you sign. A promise made in a hallway at an open home is not a term of your lease.
Pressure to pay anything before signing is a harder stop. You should not be transferring money to hold a property you have not been approved for. If a listing or an agent feels wrong, Consumer Affairs Victoria publishes guidance on rental scams and Tenants Victoria can advise on what agents can and cannot ask for.
What is not a red flag?
Worth saying, because it is easy to over-correct. Scuffed paint, worn carpet in a hallway, a dated but functional kitchen, an old but working heater, and small chips in a benchtop are all normal in Melbourne’s rental stock and are not reasons to walk away from an otherwise good property.
What matters is that they are recorded. Everything cosmetic you notice at the inspection should end up on your condition report at the start of the tenancy, which is what protects your bond at the end of it.
Can’t be at the open home to check any of this?
We attend Melbourne open homes for renters who can’t be there and look for exactly these things — smell, damp, light, noise, storage and ventilation — then send you a video walkthrough, photos and a written report, usually the same day.
What should you do straight after the inspection?
Write it down within the hour, while you can still tell one property from another. Note anything that felt off, anything the agent said, and anything you want confirmed in writing.
Then email the agent the same day with your questions. It gets you a record, it puts your name in front of them, and their willingness to answer clearly is itself a useful signal about how the tenancy will run.