Rental Turnover Cleaning for Landlords

Short answer: A turnover clean should bring the unit to the standard you would expect as a tenant moving in: every cabinet inside, appliance interiors, bathrooms fully descaled, window tracks, and all floors. Document condition with photographs before and after, and time it so the unit can be shown immediately.

Empty days cost more than the clean

The arithmetic is simple and often overlooked. A unit sitting empty for a week costs a quarter of a month’s rent. A professional turnover clean costs a fraction of that and can usually be done in a day. Any landlord trying to save money by cleaning it themselves over two weekends is losing money on the exercise, not saving it.

What the clean should cover

Kitchen — inside and outside every cabinet and drawer, oven, refrigerator inside and behind, dishwasher, range hood, sink descaled
Bathrooms — full descale, toilet inside and out including the base, vanity inside and out, exhaust fans, silicone checked for mould
Throughout — floors, baseboards, doors and frames, light fixtures, switch plates, closets inside, window sills and tracks
Check and report — smoke alarms, visible leaks under sinks, damaged blinds, anything needing repair before the next tenancy

Documenting condition properly

Photograph the property when the tenant hands it back, before anything is touched, and again after the clean. This is what makes a deduction defensible if it is disputed, and it is what protects you against a claim that damage predated the new tenancy. Date-stamped photographs of the oven, the refrigerator, bathrooms and floors take five minutes and are worth having every single time.

What you can fairly deduct for

Cleaning to bring the property back to its condition at the start of the tenancy, less fair wear and tear. What that means in practice: you can reasonably charge for an oven left filthy, a refrigerator left dirty, limescaled bathrooms and general uncleanliness. You cannot charge for carpet worn thin over three years, or for repainting because the walls are three years older. Keep receipts for anything you deduct.

The five items that come up every time

Oven, refrigerator interior, inside kitchen cabinets, bathroom limescale, window tracks. If you inspect nothing else, inspect those — they are where tenants run out of time and where the genuine cost of putting it right sits.

Show it immediately

A property photographs and shows dramatically better clean and empty than clean and lived-in. Schedule the clean so the unit can be photographed and listed the same day rather than a week later. If you have several units turning over, book them together rather than one at a time — it is easier to schedule and the whole set is ready at once.

Working with us

We do turnover cleaning for landlords and property managers across Lancaster County, including repeat work on multiple units. Tell us the handover dates and we will plan around them.

Frequently asked questions

How quickly can a turnover clean be done?

Most units in a single day. Tell us the handover date and we will schedule around it so you can show the property immediately.

Can I deduct cleaning costs from a deposit?

You can deduct the cost of returning the property to its condition at the start of the tenancy, less fair wear and tear. Keep receipts and photographs.