Rental Turnover Checklist for Landlords & Property Managers

A turnover is a deadline with a punch list hiding inside it. Walk the unit once, write down what is actually wrong, and quote the work in lines — cleaning, haul-out, paint, floors — instead of a vague “make ready.”

This checklist is general guidance for landlords and property managers. It is not legal advice, not a habitability inspection, and not property management. Wilke Service Co. quotes rental turnovers as property work. We do not advertise units, screen tenants, or collect rent. Portfolio requests can start on the landlords and property managers page.

Before anyone starts

• Access: keys, lockbox, gate codes, and who meets the crew.
• Utilities: water, power, and HVAC available, or say they are not.
• Occupancy: vacant, still occupied, or a same-day move-out.
• Ready date: the day you need it showable — not a standing 24-hour promise.
• Photos: every room, plus anything you already know is damaged.
• Year built, if you know it: housing built before 1978 can bring extra rules when paint is disturbed (see below).

Walkthrough: what to look at

Whole unit

• Leftover contents, trash, and anything that has to go to the dump.
• Odors you can still smell with the windows closed.
• Smoke and carbon-monoxide detectors present — we do not inspect or certify them; note missing or hanging units for the manager.
• Windows, blinds, and tracks.
• Dryer vent if a hookup exists — lint in the run is a cleaning item, not a new appliance.

Kitchen and baths

• Appliances that stay: interiors, grease, and whether they even work. We clean; we do not repair refrigeration circuits.
• Cabinets, drawers, and the gunk at the toe kicks.
• Sinks, toilets, tubs, and the caulk line — cleaning versus a plumber or a recaulk.
• Exhaust fans in baths: cover cleaning is not a duct redesign.

Walls, paint, and trim

• Holes, crayon, grease film, and whether a wash will do or the room needs paint.
• Doors, jambs, and baseboard that took the moving damage.
• Cabinets that could be painted in place instead of replaced — a painting quote, not millwork.

Floors

• Carpet: wrinkles, burns, pet spots, seams — see whether it is a repair or a replacement.
• Hardwood: finish worn through, cupping, missing boards — refinish versus replace is its own decision.
• Vinyl and tile: loose planks, broken grout, stained grout that will not come clean.

Outside, if it is part of the unit

• Entry, porch, and the first impression from the sidewalk.

What Wilke can put on a quote

From the same request, when the access window allows: make-ready and move-out cleaning, cleanouts and haul-off of ordinary debris, interior paint, carpet cleaning and repair, hardwood sanding and refinishing, vinyl or other flooring replacement, tile and grout, odor treatment, dryer-vent cleaning, windows, and light exterior washing. Each line is optional. Biohazard, asbestos, mold remediation, and regulated waste are not offered.

Related reading: refinish or replace hardwood, and repair or replace carpet.

Pre-1978 paint — a federal rule, not a slogan

Paid renovation work that disturbs painted or coated surfaces in qualifying housing built before 1978 can trigger EPA’s Renovation, Repair and Painting (RRP) requirements, subject to applicable rules and exemptions. Ordinary sanding of an unpainted hardwood floor does not automatically trigger RRP. Wilke does not publicly claim RRP certification. Regulated RRP work is not undertaken without whatever certification or exemption is required. If the building is pre-1978 and the job will disturb paint or coating, say so on the quote request.