The short answer
A flat-rate apartment turnover in Los Angeles costs $225 to $425 through a dedicated turnover company. Itemized contractor bills typically run $1,500 to $5,000 once you add painting, repairs, and specialist cleaning on top of the base unit prep. The gap between those two numbers is what LA landlords are paying for fragmented vendor management.
Below is the 2026 TurnOver LA flat-rate pricing by unit size:
| Unit Size | Base Turnover Cost | What's Included |
|---|---|---|
| Studio | $225 | Deep clean, appliance degreasing, baseboards, vents |
| 1BR (Make Ready) | $255 | Adds carpet steam clean, wall scuff removal, HEPA air pass |
| 2BR Turnover | $335 | Multi-bath clean, kitchen degreasing, balcony pressure wash |
| 3BR+ Full Turnover | $425 | Complete protocol + HVAC filter swap, storage restoration |
What drives LA apartment turnover cost up
1. Vacancy loss
In most LA neighborhoods, a 1BR sitting empty costs a landlord $80 to $200 per day in lost rent. A sloppy turnover that drags two extra weeks costs more than the entire turnover package. Speed is the single highest-leverage factor.
2. Line-item painter and cleaner markup
Independent painters in LA charge $350–$800 per room for interior repaints. Independent cleaners charge $40–$60 per hour with a 4–8 hour minimum for deep cleaning. Stacking separate vendors means paying each one's overhead, scheduling friction, and LA traffic surcharges. A bundled make-ready package cuts that stack by 30–50%.
3. Rent-controlled building paperwork
Santa Monica, West Hollywood, and LA city rent-stabilized buildings require itemized invoices and photo evidence for any repair pass-through. Using a contractor who doesn't document the work can cost you the ability to recover those costs from security deposit or RSO filings.
4. Coastal and high-rise premiums
Venice, Santa Monica, and Marina del Rey units accumulate salt residue that generic cleaners under-estimate. Downtown LA high-rises require loading-dock coordination and elevator reservations. Both are typical in LA and both routinely add $100–$300 if the contractor isn't local.
What's actually in an apartment turnover cost?
- Deep cleaning, kitchen, bathrooms, floors, windows, appliance interiors, vents, baseboards, closets
- Painting, touch-ups or full repaint, scuff removal, wall texture matching
- Minor repairs, drywall patches, fixture replacements, hardware upgrades, smoke detector checks
- Carpet & flooring, steam cleaning, stain treatment, hardwood polish, vinyl plank restoration
- Security prep, lock rekey, deadbolt inspection, entry hardware replacement
- Junk removal, tenant-abandoned furniture, boxes, cleanout
- Photo documentation, 12+ inspection points, sent to your phone for records
How to lower your LA apartment turnover cost
- Bundle into a flat-rate package instead of itemizing. A $255 1BR Make Ready package replaces a $180 cleaning bill + $400 painting bill + $150 repair bill, same quality, 40% less.
- Book multi-unit if you manage a portfolio. Landlords with 10+ monthly turnovers get bulk discounts + dedicated scheduling that removes most of the coordination overhead.
- Document everything so repair costs are deposit-deductible under California Civil Code §1950.5. TurnOver LA sends photo reports you can attach directly to deposit itemizations.
- Book the turnover the day keys come back. Getting a unit from move-out to market-ready within the standard 48 hours cuts vacancy loss by more than most landlords spend on the turnover itself.
Costs in popular LA neighborhoods
Flat-rate pricing stays the same across every neighborhood TurnOver LA covers, what changes is the building stock, rent-stabilized paperwork, and coastal salt or high-rise logistics that drive itemized contractor bills up. Here's how the cost story plays out in the most-booked LA neighborhoods:
- Hollywood apartment turnover cost , heavy mix of 1920s–1940s walk-ups and modern conversions; expect more drywall and fixture work than newer builds.
- Santa Monica apartment turnover cost , coastal salt residue on appliances and rent-stabilized paperwork push itemized contractor bills $100–$300 higher than flat-rate packages.
- Venice apartment turnover costsame coastal cleaning premium as Santa Monica, plus tighter parking and loading-zone coordination on most blocks.
- Downtown LA apartment turnover cost , high-rise loading-dock coordination and elevator reservations add time but don't change our flat-rate.
Neighborhood cost matrix: what landlords actually pay
Flat-rate package pricing does not change by neighborhood, that is the point of a flat rate. What changes is the typical itemized-vendor bill for the same unit when a landlord pieces it together from separate cleaning, painting, and repair vendors. The matrix below reflects what LA landlords report paying piecemeal in 2026.
| Neighborhood | Studio (itemized) | 1BR (itemized) | 2BR (itemized) | Driver |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hollywood | $1,400-$1,900 | $1,900-$2,800 | $2,800-$4,200 | Older walk-up drywall + fixture work |
| Santa Monica | $1,600-$2,200 | $2,200-$3,200 | $3,200-$4,800 | Coastal salt + RSO paperwork |
| Venice | $1,500-$2,100 | $2,100-$3,100 | $3,100-$4,600 | Coastal premium + parking logistics |
| Koreatown | $1,300-$1,800 | $1,800-$2,700 | $2,700-$4,000 | Higher unit density, faster relistings |
| Downtown LA | $1,500-$2,000 | $2,000-$3,000 | $3,000-$4,500 | High-rise elevator + loading-dock |
Across every neighborhood the TurnOver LA flat-rate package (Studio $225, 1BR $255, 2BR $335) replaces the itemized stack and keeps the same scope of work. The cost gap is the coordination overhead landlords absorb when they sequence cleaners, painters, and handymen separately.
DIY vs professional turnover: what each really costs
Many LA landlords with one or two units handle the first turnover themselves and reconsider after the second. Here is the honest tradeoff on a typical 1BR LA make-ready in 2026.
| Factor | DIY (you do it) | Professional flat-rate |
|---|---|---|
| Out-of-pocket cost | $180-$320 supplies + paint | $255 1BR Make Ready package |
| Your time | 20-35 hours over 4-6 days | 0 hours, photo report delivered |
| Typical timeline to rent-ready | 4-7 days | 24-48 hours |
| Added vacancy cost (vs 48hr) | $160-$930 in lost rent | $0 added vacancy |
| Deposit-deduction risk | Hard to itemize without vendor invoices | Itemized invoice + 12-point photo report |
| Quality consistency unit to unit | Varies by your energy that week | Same 150-point checklist every job |
| Deposit-return-friendly? | Only if you photo-document every step | Yes, built for §1950.5 disputes |
DIY pencils out for a landlord with one unit and time on their hands. Professional pencils out the moment you count vacancy days, your own hourly value, and the dollar value of having defensible photo documentation if a tenant disputes a deposit deduction.
Frequently asked questions about LA turnover cost
Below are the questions LA landlords ask most often when sizing their turnover budget. All answers reflect 2026 market rates and the current text of California Civil Code Section 1950.5.
What does an apartment turnover cost in Hollywood vs Santa Monica?
TurnOver LA's flat-rate pricing is the same in every LA neighborhood: $225 studio, $255 1BR, $335 2BR, $425 3BR+. The difference is itemized-vendor billing. Hollywood walk-ups built between 1920 and 1940 often need extra drywall and fixture work, pushing piecemeal vendor totals to $1,800-$3,200. Santa Monica adds coastal salt residue plus rent-stabilized paperwork, typically $100-$300 above inland LA when billed line by line.
How long should an LA apartment turnover take?
A clean 1BR move-out with no major damage runs 24-48 hours with a coordinated vendor. Add 1-2 days for full repaints, 3-5 days for smoke or pet contamination, and up to a week for drywall replacement or HVAC duct work. Every extra day of vacancy in LA costs $80-$200 in lost rent, which is why speed compounds the dollar value of bundling vs sequencing vendors.
What does California law require landlords to itemize for turnover costs?
California Civil Code Section 1950.5 requires landlords to return security deposits with an itemized written statement within 21 days of move-out. Each deduction needs a specific dollar amount, a description of the damage, and receipts or invoices for repairs over $125. A single line that says 'turnover cleaning $400' is not compliant. TurnOver LA photo reports document 12 inspection points to support deposit deductions under this statute.
What is NOT included in a flat-rate apartment turnover?
Flat-rate packages cover cleaning, scuff removal, touch-up paint, minor repairs, and lock rekey. They do not include full-room repaints, drywall replacement, appliance replacement, smoke or pet contamination remediation, HVAC duct cleaning, carpet replacement, or hazardous-material abatement like pre-1979 popcorn ceilings. These are quoted line-item on top of the base package after the move-out walkthrough.
When does LA apartment turnover cost spike above the typical range?
Costs spike past $5,000 when one of five conditions is present: heavy long-term smoking damage requiring shellac primer and HVAC duct cleaning, pet urine saturation that reached the carpet pad or subfloor, abandoned-property removal beyond normal trash, water-damage remediation with mold testing, or rent-stabilized building paperwork that requires permit-grade documentation. Each of these can add $1,500-$4,000 individually.
Can a landlord charge the tenant for the full turnover cost?
No. Under California Civil Code Section 1950.5, landlords can only deduct for damage beyond normal wear and tear, unpaid rent, and uncleaned conditions caused by the tenant. Standard between-tenant cleaning and refresh painting is the landlord's cost. A repaint required because the tenant smoked indoors is deductible; a refresh repaint after five years of normal tenancy is not. The line is conduct-caused damage versus age.
How much does vacancy loss add to total LA turnover cost?
An LA 1BR renting at $2,800 per month loses about $93 per day in vacancy. A turnover that drags from a typical 48 hours to 14 days adds roughly $1,116 in pure rent loss, often more than the entire physical make-ready cost. This is why bundled 48-hour turnovers usually beat sequential cheaper vendors on total dollars, even when the line-item make-ready price looks higher.