Landlord turnover cleanouts in Cleveland

The short answer

Turnover cleanouts are priced by truck fill or by item, with the price shown before booking. A typical left-behind load in a Cleveland unit is often a 1/4 truck ($241) or a 1/2 truck ($431). Crews carry from any floor, including the upper unit of a double and the basement, with no stairs fee. Property managers can set up an account covering several properties.

Cleveland's rental stock

Cleveland is a renters' city: only 42% of homes in the city are owner-occupied. The rental stock has a particular shape:

• Doubles. Two-unit, up-and-down houses are 14.5% of the city's homes, and 21 to 24% in Old Brooklyn, Clark–Fulton and Slavic Village. Many landlords own one or several.
• Old buildings. The median home was built in 1941. Shared basements, narrow rear stairs and detached garages come with the territory.
• Apartments near the institutions. University Circle (CWRU, University Hospitals), Fairfax near the Cleveland Clinic, and the Campus District near Cleveland State all have steady turnover.
• Shaker Square. More than 4,000 rental and condo units, the largest concentration of multi-family housing in Cleveland.

Why bulk week does not help landlords

City bulk collection runs in the first full week of the month, up to three items per home. A tenant who moves out on the 30th leaves you waiting for the next first full week, which can be a week or more away, and three items rarely covers what was left.

Also excluded: renovation debris from the turnover work, e-waste, and appliances that have not been drained of coolants and fluids. In Cleveland Heights, the City says it does not accept bulk from large move-outs or clean-outs, and Shaker Heights caps bulk at three items per request.

Lakewood landlords have their own hurdles: mattresses, upholstered furniture and carpet have to be wrapped and sealed in plastic, construction debris must go out in 50-pound bundles with lumber cut to 4 feet, and an improper set-out draws a minimum $100 fee.

Every week a unit sits empty is lost rent.

Typical turnover loads

Small loads by item:

• Queen mattress + armchair + 10 bags: $103 + $77 + $132 = $312.
• Sofa + box spring + TV: $126 + $92 + $68 = $286.
• Dead fridge + carpet removal for one room: $164 + $71 = $235.

Three Cleveland turnovers, priced

Slavic Village double, both floors at once

The upstairs tenant leaves most of their furniture, and the downstairs unit has a partial load. Upper unit as a 1/2 truck, lower as a 3/8 truck: $431 + $338 = $769, both on one visit.

University Circle student unit, end of May

Two roommates leave a futon, a desk and two twin mattresses: $111 + $83 + $82 + $82 = $358. In a building that requires a COI, it's emailed within 1 hour of the request.

Clark–Fulton make-ready

After the tenant's things are gone, the make-ready crew pulls the carpet in three rooms and replaces a vanity and toilet. Carpet removal per room plus the fixtures: $71 + $71 + $71 + $69 + $64 = $346. The City won't take any of that in bulk week, because it's renovation debris.

How it works when you are not there

Most landlords cannot meet a crew at every unit. The process is set up for that:

1. Get photos from the departing tenant, your handyman or your own walk-through.
2. Get the quote on the instant quote. The price is shown before booking and only changes if you approve.
3. Arrange access with a lockbox, a tenant in the other unit, or your property manager.
4. Pick a 2-hour window, any day 8am to midnight.
5. Leave a note on what stays: appliances that belong to the unit, paint for touch-ups, anything else.

Keep the move-out photos with the lease file. They document the unit's condition, and they're the same photos the quote uses.

Shared stairs and the other tenant

In a double, the upper unit often shares a side entrance or a rear stair with the lower unit. Let the downstairs tenant know when the crew is coming so they can keep the path clear and are not surprised. If there are bed bugs in the vacated unit, tell us when you book. Bag mattresses in the room before they move through a shared hallway.

In winter, from mid-November into February, shovel and salt the shared walk and rear steps before the window. Lake-effect snow can stack up fast on a narrow side path between houses.

Timing turnovers around the Cleveland year

• Month-end: most leases end on the last day of the month, and bulk week is the first full week of the next. The gap can leave a unit sitting with a couch in it for days.
• May: CWRU, Cleveland State, John Carroll and Baldwin Wallace students move out at the end of the spring semester.
• Summer: residents and fellows at the Clinic, University Hospitals and MetroHealth turn over when their programs do.
• Spring thaw: April to June is when shared basements get cleared after the winter.

Same-day pickup is available when you book by 4 PM, 7 days a week.

Accounts for multiple properties

If you manage several doubles or buildings across Cleveland and the inner ring, a property manager account can cover all of them. Buildings that need a certificate of insurance get one emailed within 1 hour. Our crews are vetted, insured local haulers. There are no volume discounts and no recurring pickups, but each turnover is priced the same flat way.

Frequently asked questions