An annual inspection from a property manager can be stressful enough, yet after one Melbourne renter’s home was put up for sale, they faced 20 unwanted home visits in three months.

On a six month lease in an inner north west Melbourne suburb, renter Sam Smith told Domain the landlord put the home up for sale shortly after he moved in.

From that date onwards, he routinely received notices 24 hours in advance to alert him of private inspections from buyers.

These inspections were often up to two a week.

“We requested compensation during the meeting [with the property manager] and he said he’d chat with the landlord,” Mr Smith said.

Yet the letters kept coming advising of more inspections.

“We were worried about security with all these people coming through the house, so we tried to make sure we were always there,” he said.

After a while, he said, “I gave up counting” but estimated it was between 20 and 30 private inspections. This included an auction, that subsequently passed in, and open homes.

Despite the inconvenience and the stress, the situation is actually commonplace, said Tenants Union of Victoria policy officer Yaelle Caspi.​

A landlord in Victoria must give 24 hours notice for a private inspection to take place for potential buyers to view the home, with no consent needed from the tenant.

For an inspection for a home on the market, this could be for an open home with multiple people coming through.

“In Queensland you need to get consent to have an open home,” Ms Caspi said. This consent must be in writing.

“We think you should need this in Victoria too.”

In NSW, two weeks written notice before the first inspection is required. Following that, subsequent inspections should be agreed with the tenant or, without agreement, with 48 hours notice with a maximum of two inspections a week.

While Ms Caspi said Mr Smith’s was an extreme situation, it all comes down to how the sales campaign performs.

“If someone is having trouble selling [their home] they’ll have to hold multiple open homes,” she said.

She said the union was tackling the issue head on.

The TUV response to the Residential Tenancies Act Review Discussion Paper in August specifically requested changes in the Act relating to open homes, claiming they cause “disruption and stress to tenants”.

“Generally the landlord requires the property to be kept in immaculate condition, and they may conduct multiple open house inspections for months at a time,” the paper stated.

“The Act does not specifically prohibit open house inspections being conducted without consent, although tenants have successfully obtained restraining orders prohibiting open house inspections on the basis that this is not a ground for entry under the Act.”

The union also rallied against holding auctions on site, describing them as an unnecessary disturbance to the tenant.

In 2014, a tenant successfully took their property manager to VCAT to stop open for inspections without consent, forcing the landlord to only show the home to one person at a time.