Quick answer: A turnover checklist is the step-by-step plan you follow between tenants to reset a unit for re-lease. It covers cleaning, paint, repairs, safety, locks, and documentation. In LA, the core Make Ready clean with a 12-point photo report runs $225 to $425 with TurnOver LA, delivered in 48 hours, then you add optional paint or repairs as needed.
A turnover checklist is a written sequence of tasks that takes a unit from move-out condition to rent-ready. It ensures no item is missed, keeps you compliant on documentation, and minimizes vacancy days. The core includes make ready cleaning, minor paint and repairs, safety checks, lock changes or rekeys, and a dated photo report that supports deposit deductions under California Civil Code.
Get instant quote in 30 seconds
What is a turnover checklist?
A turnover checklist is a standardized list of inspections and tasks you run immediately after a tenant vacates. It starts with entry photos, meter reads, and key inventory, then moves through cleaning, paint, repairs, appliances, plumbing and electrical checks, locks, and final photos. In LA, you also document items needed to justify deposit deductions under California Civil Code §1950.5 and you confirm compliance with LAHD Rent Stabilization Ordinance for habitability standards. A good checklist is unit size agnostic, but ordered to avoid rework and lost days.
What sections belong on a solid turnover checklist?
A practical apartment checklist usually includes these sections in this order:
- Entry documentation and photo log, including keys and meters
- Cleanout of trash, bulk items, and fridge contents
- Make Ready cleaning across kitchen, baths, floors, windows, and fixtures
- Paint touch-ups or room repaints and small drywall repairs
- Punch list of repairs, safety items, and replacements
- Appliances, plumbing, and electrical function tests
- Rekey or lock service and mailbox keys
- Final walk with 12-point photo report and supply staging
- Listing media and ad ready copy
- Move-in readiness, including smoke and CO alarms and fire extinguisher tags
Link your checklist to a dated photo folder, and keep a space-by-space format. See our detailed printable in the TurnOver LA Apartment Turnover Checklist.
How do you use a turnover checklist step by step?
Treat the checklist like a work order with time blocks and owners. Here is a field-tested sequence that keeps you from repainting twice or re-cleaning after repairs:
- Secure the unit and document condition. Photograph every wall, ceiling, floor, inside cabinets, appliances, windows, and doors before touching anything.
- Cut utilities on for testing. You need water, power, and gas to verify appliances and run cleaners.
- Remove trash and bulk. Empty the unit and wipe loose debris so cleaning chemicals can work.
- Run Make Ready cleaning. Degrease kitchen, descale baths, detail floors, wipe blinds and baseboards, and clean interior glass.
- Identify paint scope. Mark chips and scuffs for touch-up or call full-room repaint if walls are beyond blending.
- Complete repairs. Patch drywall, replace caulk, adjust doors, swap damaged blinds, and test GFCIs.
- Rekey locks. Issue new keys. Update lockbox codes and mailbox keys.
- Final detail and photo report. Reclean touch points, stage a clean scent, and capture a 12-point photo set.
- Capture listing media if you are advertising. You get better rent with clean, well-lit photos.
- File documentation. Store photos, invoices, and meter reads with the move-out file for deposit accounting.
If you prefer a one-call handoff, our Make Ready service follows this flow with a 12-point photo report.
What is apartment turnover cleaning?
Turnover cleaning, sometimes called make ready cleaning, is a deeper process than a regular maid service. It focuses on full kitchen degrease, bath descaling and re-caulking, interior oven and fridge, cabinet interiors, baseboards, blinds, interior windows, light fixtures, outlet cover wipe-down, and floor detailing including grout where applicable. Across LA, market rates for a 1 bedroom turnover clean often run 250 to 400 depending on scope. With TurnOver LA, Make Ready is flat priced at Studio 225, 1 Bedroom 255, 2 Bedroom 335, and 3BR or larger 425, and includes a 12-point photo report with a 48-hour turnaround. For scope details, see What is Make Ready and our deeper dive on Move Out Cleaning in Los Angeles.
Get instant quote in 30 seconds
What does it cost to execute a turnover checklist in LA?
Across LA, a straightforward 1 bedroom turnover that includes cleaning, minor paint touch-ups, one or two drywall patches, and a few handyman items can land between 600 and 1,400 before any rekey or media. With TurnOver LA, you pick only the line items you need from our live catalog, each completed in 48 hours without a rush fee:
- Make Ready cleaning: Market 250 to 400 for 1 bedroom. TurnOver LA is 255 for 1 Bedroom, 225 for Studio, 335 for 2 Bedroom, 425 for 3BR or larger.
- Paint touch-up: Market 150 to 300. TurnOver LA is 200 for touch-up only. Full room repaints in LA often run 350 to 650 per room. TurnOver LA is 395 per room, with ceilings and baseboard or trim at 125.
- Drywall repair: Market 175 to 300 for small patches and 250 to 450 for medium. TurnOver LA is 150 per small patch and 240 per medium patch.
- Handyman punch: Market 250 to 400 for a half day and 450 to 700 for a full day. TurnOver LA is 230 for a half-day punch list and 425 for a full day. A targeted maintenance or safety visit is 125.
- Cleanout or junk haul: Market 300 to 600 for a 1 bedroom. TurnOver LA is 310 for 1 Bedroom, 200 for Studio, and 420 for 2 Bedroom or 3BR or larger. Additional junk loads are 200 per load.
- Rekey: Market 125 to 200 for the first lock. TurnOver LA is 100 to rekey the first lock, 50 per additional, 110 for front plus deadbolt, or 150 for a full apartment rekey up to 2 locks. A smart lock install is 210, knob or handle swap is 100 per knob.
- Listing media: Market 300 to 600 for photos and floor outline. TurnOver LA’s TLA Launch Pad Media Package is 399.
Your total is the sum of only what you approve. If you just need a Make Ready clean and a rekey on a 1 bedroom, that is 255 plus 100 or 110 depending on the lock. The faster you finish, the less vacancy loss you carry in Koreatown or West Hollywood where 80 to 200 per day in lost rent is common.
What is the 20 10 rule in cleaning and does it apply to turnovers?
The 20 10 rule is a consumer cleaning tip where you clean for 20 minutes, then rest for 10, to reduce fatigue. Turnovers are different. You schedule by task and trade, not by time blocks, because vacancy loss is real money in LA. Assign blocks like 2 hours for kitchen degrease, 1 hour for bath descale and recaulk, then 30 minutes for interior windows. Use the checklist to sequence paint and repairs before the final clean. If you are hiring a service, a flat Make Ready price is more predictable than time and materials.
What is a good turnover rate for apartments and how do you calculate it?
Turnover rate is the number of move-outs over a period divided by your total units. A common annual benchmark for stabilized LA properties is 30 to 60 percent depending on submarket and tenant profile. Calculate it as Move-outs in period divided by Total units in property, then multiply by 100. To manage the cost impact, measure days vacant per turn. Every day you shave from the checklist saves 80 to 200 in vacancy loss in places like North Hollywood or Santa Monica. Faster turns with consistent checklists usually matter more than the raw rate once residents are stable.
Need the unit turned before the next tenant?
We do the move-out clean and send you a photo report you can attach to the deposit itemization.
Get an instant quoteHow should you document a turnover to stay compliant in LA?
Document in two passes. First, a move-out condition set to support deposit accounting under California Civil Code §1950.5. Second, a final rent-ready set that proves habitability and cleanliness. Keep date-stamped photos of each room, appliance interiors, under sinks, window sills, baseboards, tub surrounds, and exterior doors. File meter reads and key counts. For rent-controlled units, confirm required habitability standards under the LAHD Rent Stabilization Ordinance. New deposits under AB 12 (2023) security deposit cap are limited, so photographic proof is even more important when itemizing lawful deductions.
What order of operations prevents rework and days lost?
Most lost days come from doing work in the wrong order. Follow this sequence:
- Photo and condition documentation first. Nothing moves until the baseline is captured.
- Cleanout and rough sweep. Give cleaners a surface they can actually detail.
- Deep clean. You need clean surfaces to evaluate paint and patch scope accurately.
- Paint and drywall. Touch-up may blend post-clean. Full repaints and patches happen before the final clean.
- Handyman punch. Adjust doors, replace hardware, swap blinds, and set smoke and CO alarms.
- Locks. Rekey after the last vendor so keys are controlled and new.
- Final clean and photos. Capture the 12-point set, then list.
This order avoids repainting after greasy hands touch walls, and it keeps you within a 48-hour window for most standard turns.
When should you use professionals versus DIY on the checklist?
DIY works for small buildings if you have time and tools. Bring in pros when you see any of these:
- Heavy grease or smoke residue in kitchens or baths
- Multiple wall patches or color-matching issues
- Appliances requiring diagnostic tools, or frequent GFCI trips
- Pet odor binding to carpet tack strips or baseboards
- Rekey or hardware beyond a simple knob swap
Across LA, coordination alone can cost you a day or two. If you want a predictable window with documentation, our Make Ready service includes deep cleaning plus a 12-point photo report in 48 hours. Painting, drywall, handyman punch, rekey, and cleanout are add-ons you can approve line by line.
How does the checklist tie into deposit deductions and resident communication?
Your checklist should map each deduction to a photo and invoice. Send a summary with photos that correspond to the line items on your deposit accounting. Many disputes evaporate when the resident sees the exact oven interior or tub surround that required extra cleaning. For process clarity, include the move-out guidance you gave the resident and the condition at key return. The state’s California DCA Landlord-Tenant Guide is a good reference when you draft move-out instructions and pre-inspection notices.
What will a cleaner do in 3 hours and how do you scope that on your list?
A typical 3-hour block in a lightly soiled studio can cover appliance exteriors, bath scrub, quick floor detail, and dusting, but not interiors or heavy degrease. Turnovers usually need more. That is why flat Make Ready pricing tied to unit size and scope is useful. For example, our Studio Make Ready at 225 is designed for a full interior reset and includes the 12-point photo report, not just a surface pass. Use your checklist to call out oven and fridge interiors explicitly.
Get instant quote in 30 seconds
Quick reference: what goes in the 12-point photo report?
Use this exact set so your file stands up if questioned later:
- Front door exterior and lockset
- Entry and living room wide shots plus floor detail
- Kitchen wide and stovetop close-up
- Inside oven, inside fridge and freezer
- Under-kitchen-sink cabinet and traps
- Dishwasher interior and filter area if present
- Bath vanity, sink, and mirror
- Tub or shower surround and grout lines
- Toilet base and behind toilet
- Bedroom wide and closet interiors
- Window sills and tracks close-up
- Balcony or patio and any exterior storage
Tie each to a dated folder labeled with property, unit, and turn date. These angles close the loop on most habitability and cleanliness disputes in LA markets.
Should you add listing media to your checklist?
Yes. If the unit is hard to rent in colder weeks or you are listing in competitive areas like Downtown LA or Pasadena, schedule media the same day as your final photo set. Across LA, basic listing photography often runs 300 to 600. TurnOver LA’s TLA Launch Pad Media Package is 399 and is designed for rentals. Good, current photos shorten days vacant, which matters more than shaving a few dollars off a cleaning bill.
Final thought: why the checklist saves you money
The checklist is not paperwork. It is a tool that trades a little structure for days off market. In LA submarkets where a day costs 80 to 200 in lost rent, two saved days on a standard 1 bedroom is often more than the entire Make Ready cost. If you want a simple path, approve the Make Ready and any add-ons you need, then set your rekey and listing media date.