Quick answer: Move out cleaning includes a deep clean of the kitchen, bathrooms, cabinets, appliances, floors, fixtures, and high-touch detail areas after belongings are removed. Across LA, a professional one bedroom move out clean often runs $200 to $450 depending on condition and scope. TurnOver LA's 1 Bedroom Make Ready is a flat $255 and includes a deep clean plus a 12-point photo report, completed within 48 hours.
Move out cleaning is the reset between an occupied unit and a rentable one. It should leave surfaces, storage areas, and floors clean enough to inspect, photograph, repair, and show, while separating cleaning work from damage repairs or hauling. Get instant quote in 30 seconds
What does move out cleaning actually include?
A proper move out clean covers the areas a resident uses every day and the detail areas that tend to get skipped during ordinary housekeeping. In the kitchen, that means counters, sinks, cabinet and drawer interiors, appliance exteriors, the range top, backsplash, and visible grease around handles and controls. In bathrooms, it means the toilet, tub or shower, vanity, mirror, sink, fixtures, and buildup on accessible surfaces.
Across the rest of the unit, the crew dusts and wipes reachable surfaces, cleans switches and door hardware, wipes baseboards where needed, cleans closets, vacuums or mops floors, and removes normal loose debris. The work begins only after the unit is substantially empty. Furniture, bagged trash, and abandoned belongings block access and should be handled first through a separate unit cleanout and junk haul when necessary.
The goal is not to make an older rental look newly remodeled. It is to return the unit to a clean, inspectable condition so the next steps are visible and documented.
Which kitchen and bathroom details should be on the scope?
The kitchen and bathroom determine whether a move out clean feels complete. These rooms collect grease, soap residue, food particles, hair, hard-water spotting, and grime in seams that a quick wipe misses. Cabinet interiors matter because the next resident will open them immediately. Appliance interiors should be confirmed in the quote scope, especially ovens and refrigerators, because condition and access can vary.
A practical kitchen and bathroom scope should include:
- Emptying and wiping accessible cabinets and drawers.
- Degreasing counters, backsplash, range surfaces, and hood exteriors.
- Cleaning the sink basin, faucet, and surrounding counter edges.
- Scrubbing the toilet, tub, shower walls, vanity, and bathroom floor.
- Wiping mirrors, light fixtures within reach, switches, and door handles.
- Removing loose debris from drains where reachable without plumbing work.
Cleaning is not plumbing repair. A slow drain, failed disposal, broken cabinet hinge, or leaking trap should be called out for a handyman punch list, not treated as a cleaning miss. For kitchen-specific detail, see our guide to apartment kitchen degreasing after move-out.
What is not included in a standard move out clean?
Move out cleaning does not automatically include every issue discovered in an empty apartment. Damage repair, paint restoration, pest treatment, hazardous waste, exterior windows, heavy hoarding conditions, and removal of large abandoned items are separate scopes. A cleaner can remove surface dirt from a wall, but a gouge, nail-hole cluster, or stained paint field may need patching or repainting.
That distinction protects both the owner and the resident. California's security-deposit rules allow deductions for cleaning needed to return the premises to the level of cleanliness at move-in, subject to the facts and documentation. Review California Civil Code §1950.5 before treating a turnover bill as an automatic tenant charge. Normal aging is not the same as chargeable cleaning or damage.
TurnOver LA prices paint touch-up only at $200, and a small drywall patch plus texture at $150 per patch. Those are repair line items, not additions hidden inside cleaning. For the legal and practical distinction, read normal wear and tear in California.
Why does move out cleaning cost more than regular cleaning?
Move out cleaning costs more because the work is detail-intensive, done against an empty-unit inspection standard, and often reveals buildup that furniture previously hid. A recurring cleaner can focus on maintained surfaces. A turnover crew must clean cabinet interiors, closet floors, appliance edges, baseboards, and bathroom buildup while working around repair decisions and a leasing deadline.
Across LA, a professional one bedroom move out clean commonly falls around $200 to $450 before separate hauling, repairs, or specialty remediation. With TurnOver LA, a 1 Bedroom Make Ready is $255, a Studio is $225, a 2 Bedroom is $335, and a 3BR or larger is $425. Each Make Ready includes the deep clean and 12-point photo report, with a flat 48-hour turnaround.
The quote covers labor and the crew's own supplies. Paint, replacement parts, and fixtures needed for the job are identified at the on-site inspection and added to the final invoice only with owner approval. Get instant quote in 30 seconds
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We do the move-out clean and send you a photo report you can attach to the deposit itemization.
From $225 · 48-hour turnaround
Get an instant quoteHow should landlords apply the 80/20 rule to turnover cleaning?
The 80/20 rule is a planning tool, not a cleaning standard or a legal rule. In a turnover, roughly 80 percent of visible improvement often comes from the few areas prospects inspect first: the kitchen, bathroom, floors, entry, odor, and walls at eye level. That helps a manager triage work when leasing needs the unit back quickly.
Do the high-impact areas first, but do not use the rule as a reason to skip cabinet interiors, closets, or basic sanitation. Those omissions produce callbacks and make a unit feel unfinished during a showing. A practical sequence is: remove belongings, inspect for damage, complete repairs that create dust, clean from high to low, then photograph and final-walk the unit.
For an occupied-to-vacant handoff, the apartment turnover checklist is more useful than relying on memory. It keeps cleaning, maintenance, access, and documentation in the right order. This matters in LA buildings where one delayed repair can add another $80 to $200 per day in vacancy loss, depending on submarket.
How much does cleaning a 2,000 square foot house cost in LA?
For a 2,000 square foot house, market cleaning quotes are usually built around condition, bedroom and bathroom count, appliance scope, number of stories, and whether the property is empty. Across LA, move out cleaning for a house of that size commonly lands around $350 to $800, with heavy buildup, interior appliances, and leftover belongings increasing the scope. That is a general market range, not a TurnOver LA price.
TurnOver LA prices its apartment Make Ready work by unit size, not by a published square-foot rate. The catalog rate for a 3BR or larger Make Ready is $425, covering the deep clean and 12-point photo report. If the property needs a cleanout before cleaning can begin, unit cleanout and junk haul is $500, with an additional junk load at $500 per load.
A square-foot figure alone can mislead. A clean, empty three bedroom with one bath can take less operational effort than a smaller home with two grease-heavy kitchens, pet odor, or packed storage areas. Confirm condition before promising a finish date.
How do cleaning, repairs, and access tasks fit together?
The fastest turnovers treat cleaning as one workstream in a defined sequence, not the whole job. First, secure access and confirm the unit is empty. Then inspect for leaks, safety issues, wall damage, failed lights, missing hardware, and items that need owner approval. Complete dusty patching and paint before the final clean. Finish with cleaning, photos, and a leasing-ready walk-through.
For example, a manager may combine a $425 3BR or larger Make Ready with a $200 paint touch-up only visit and a $150 full apartment rekey for up to 2 locks. Those are separate catalog line items, totaling $775 before any approved materials. It is clearer than calling everything "cleaning" and losing track of what the unit actually needed.
LA rent-regulated properties add another reason to document the process. Owners should understand the applicable rules, including the LAHD Rent Stabilization Ordinance, and retain condition photos, invoices, and move-in records. A clean unit helps leasing, but documentation supports the decision-making behind the turnover.
What should you confirm before booking a move out clean?
Before booking, confirm that personal property is removed, utilities are on, water access works, and the crew can enter at the scheduled time. Send current photos of the kitchen, bathrooms, floors, appliances, and any large debris. Identify whether the unit needs only cleaning or also paint, patching, maintenance, locks, or a cleanout.
Also set the finish standard in writing. If the property manager needs listing-ready documentation, Make Ready is the appropriate package because it pairs the deep clean with the 12-point photo report. If cleaning is the only need, review the scope on the LA deep cleaning service page. Do not wait until the final walk to raise oven interiors, blinds, odor, or abandoned furniture, since those details can change the crew plan.
A documented scope avoids the two most common turnover problems: paying for a clean that could not reach blocked areas, and discovering repairs after the cleaning crew has left. Get instant quote in 30 seconds