The 22% Number
Across operator data we have reviewed from a sample of mid-size PM firms, the median per-unit turnover cost has climbed roughly 22% since 2022. The drivers, in order of magnitude:
- Labor cost inflation in skilled trades (15-20% over the period, more in coastal markets).
- Paint and flooring material costs that ran up in 2022-2023 and have not retreated.
- Longer vacancy windows in some markets as renter demand normalized after the 2021-2022 surge.
- Higher per-unit damage claims, partly tied to tenant turnover among renters who experienced multiple moves.
The Scope-of-Work Discipline
The single biggest cost-control lever is scope discipline. Most overruns come from "while we are in here" additions — repainting two extra rooms, replacing a working appliance because it looks dated, retiling because grout is discolored. A standardized make-ready scope, signed off by the assigned PM and the owner before any work starts, eliminates most of this.
A practical scope template:
- Mandatory items: lock change, smoke/CO detector check, deep clean, HVAC filter, paint touch-up (not full repaint unless damage justifies), carpet clean or replacement (use the 7-year rule below).
- Conditional items: full repaint, flooring replacement, appliance replacement — each requires a written justification and an owner approval signature.
- Photographed condition record both before and after.
The 7-Year Carpet Rule
Carpet replacement is the most over-spent line item across the operators we have looked at. The defensible standard most owners' insurance carriers accept: carpet has a 7-year useful life. If the carpet is under 7 years old and the damage is beyond normal wear, charge the tenant for prorated replacement. If it is over 7 years old, the replacement is the owner's capital expense regardless of condition. Apply this consistently, and the disputes drop.
Vendor Pricing Pressure
The painters and cleaners on your bench should know exactly what each unit type costs to turn. Build a per-square-foot price sheet for paint and carpet by unit type, and require vendors to either bid against it or explain in writing why a unit is outside the standard. Vendors quickly stop padding when they know the operator is benchmarking.
The firms doing this well report 12-18% lower turnover costs per unit compared to firms accepting line-item invoices without challenge.
The Vacancy-Days Trade-Off
A make-ready that takes 14 days to complete adds about half a month of vacancy cost on top of the make-ready spend. For a $2,100/month unit, that is $1,050 of opportunity cost. A 7-day make-ready costs roughly $400 of opportunity cost. The math says: pay your vendors a small premium for speed when the unit is in a tight market. Save the slow-cheap turn for when you have a soft submarket and time on your hands.
The Move-Out Inspection Is the Receipt
The single document that determines whether you can charge against the deposit is the move-out inspection. The walk-through should:
- Happen with the tenant present whenever possible.
- Be photographed in every room, including inside cabinets and appliances.
- Be tied to the move-in inspection photos for direct comparison.
- Be timestamped with the date and the inspector's name in the metadata.
Most security-deposit disputes that go to court turn on whether the operator can prove the unit's condition at move-in. Firms running tablet-based inspections with auto-stamped photo metadata win these disputes roughly 80% of the time. Firms relying on a written checklist with no photos lose them roughly 60% of the time.