Rental turnover checklist for landlords.
What a rental turnover covers
A turnover covers more than cleaning. The work that protects your rent-ready date and your security deposit happens before the cleaners arrive. This is the sequence we run on every unit.
The Reliant turnover checklist
- Walkthrough and documentation: photograph the unit's condition at move-out before anything is touched, so there's a clear record of what existed already.
- Punch-list repairs: drywall patches, door and hardware fixes, caulking, and anything else flagged in the walkthrough.
- Paint: touch-ups where the walls are otherwise in good shape, full rooms where they're not.
- Flooring repair: damaged sections replaced or repaired, transitions checked, squeaks addressed.
- Hardware and lock changes: new tenant, new keys, and any worn hardware swapped.
- Appliance and fixture check: everything turns on, drains, and closes the way it should before a new tenant moves in.
- Final photo documentation: the finished unit, photographed room by room, for your file.
Why photo documentation matters for security deposits
Move-out photos give you a record to support security deposit deductions, so a disagreement with a former tenant can be settled with dated photos instead of memory. For owners with several units, the same photo standard shows every unit was handled the same way without visiting each one.
How long a turnover should take
Timing depends on scope. A punch list with paint touch-ups is a smaller job than a unit that needs full-room paint, flooring repair and several fixture replacements. Ask any contractor for a written, itemized estimate that says what is included and when the work will be finished. If two very different scopes get the same quick timeline, ask how.