Make-Ready (Unit Turnover) Checklist Template

Owned by the property manager. Enter the move-out date and the target ready date on the first task: every due date counts back from the ready date in working days, and this template plans the move-out walk 10 working days before it. Say where the unit is, and for the US whether the building was built before 1978: that answer adds the lead paint steps, the UK safety records or the local checks, with notes for the country.

• Set up the turn: the unit, the dates and the people — the property and unit, the move-out date, the target ready date, where the unit is and when the building was built, and the people; later tasks are assigned from these fields and every due date counts back from the ready date
• Record the notice to vacate and check it against the lease — the date the notice arrived, the move-out date it gives, whether it is in writing and meets the notice the lease or tenancy needs, and the resident’s forwarding address
• Pull the move-in report, photos and the unit’s history — the move-in condition report and photos, past work orders, the age of the paint, flooring and appliances, warranties, paint colours and anything the resident reported during the tenancy
• Check the EPC is valid, and meets any minimum rating, before the unit is advertised — find the certificate on the Find an energy certificate service, note its rating and the date it ends, and order a new one if there is none or it is out of date; in England and Wales the rating must be E or above unless an exemption is registered
• Give the leasing agent the move-out and ready dates — so they can plan marketing and viewings around the ready date, and know what work is planned
• Pencil in the vendors for the turn — the cleaners, painters, flooring, pest control and any trade the history suggests, held for the dates between the move-out and the ready date and confirmed after the walk

A visit before the resident leaves, then the move-out walk against the move-in report, with dated photos. Anything that needs a specialist, such as pests or damp, is ticked on the walk and adds its task in Phase 4. Charges and the deposit stay in the Move-In / Move-Out Inspection Checklist.

• Offer the resident a visit before they move out — walk the unit with them, explain the move-out standard and what will be checked, and note work you can plan for now
• Collect the keys, fobs, remotes and permits — every key, fob, garage or gate remote and parking permit handed out at the move-in, checked against the key log, with anything missing noted for the rekey
• Walk the unit room by room against the move-in report — each room, fixture and appliance compared with the move-in report, with what is normal wear and what is damage, and the work each item needs
• Take dated photos of every room — wide shots of each room and close-ups of any damage, dated, kept with the unit’s file for the work orders and the next move-in report
• Read the meters and secure the empty unit — meter readings taken, the utilities moved into the owner’s name for the empty period, the heating set to protect against frost, windows and doors locked, and the water turned off where the unit will be empty for long
• Pass any damage charges to the move-out inspection — the items the walk found as damage, with photos and the cost of the work, sent to whoever runs the Move-In / Move-Out Inspection Checklist for this resident; the condition report, any deductions and the deposit are handled there, not here

The walk decides the scope. A standard turn is touch-up paint, carpet cleaning and minor repairs; a full make-ready replaces flooring, appliances or fixtures and adds the owner’s approval, ordering and fitting tasks. These definitions are this template’s, so set your own. If the work needs longer than the plan allows, move the target ready date when the scope is approved. For a US building built before 1978, the paint work is checked against the EPA’s Renovation, Repair and Painting rule here.

• Set the scope: a standard turn or a full make-ready — from the walk, the unit’s history and the budget, with the reason for the choice
• Write the work orders by trade — one line per job, with the trade, who does it (staff or vendor) and the estimate, so the schedule and the budget come from one list
• Check the paint work against the EPA’s RRP rule — for housing built before 1978, decide whether any job disturbs painted surfaces beyond the rule’s minor repair and maintenance limits, and if so book a lead-safe certified firm with a certified renovator assigned to the job
• Get quotes for the larger jobs — quotes for any job over the spending limit in the management agreement, compared on price, dates and what is included, so the scope can be approved
• Get the owner’s approval for the full make-ready budget — the replacement items, their cost and the effect on the ready date, approved in writing by the owner or asset manager
• Approve the scope, budget and schedule — the property manager approves the work orders and their total against the budget, and confirms the ready date still holds; if it does not, change the target ready date on the first task and every due date moves

Vendors are booked in the order the work needs: clear-out and any specialist treatment first, then repairs, paint, flooring and the clean last, so no trade undoes another. Long-lead items are ordered now for a full make-ready.

• Book the vendors in order and send the work orders — each vendor or staff member booked with a date and access arranged: clear-out, specialist work, repairs, paint, flooring, then the clean
• Order the long-lead items for the full make-ready — flooring, appliances, worktops, cabinets or fixtures ordered, with delivery dates checked against the schedule
• Clear out what was left behind — rubbish, furniture, food and anything else the resident left removed; check the lease and local law before disposing of anything of value, and note what was kept
• Book pest treatment and confirm the unit is clear — a treatment booked with a qualified (in the US, licensed) pest controller, neighbouring units checked where the pest spreads, and the unit confirmed clear before the clean
• Find and fix the cause of damp, mould or a leak — the source found and repaired, affected materials dried or replaced, and mould treated before the unit is painted

Repairs and the systems first, then the paint, then the flooring, so new floors are not splashed. In a US building built before 1978, paint work above the minor repair limits follows the RRP rule’s work practices and ends with the cleaning verification.

• Make the repairs on the work orders — doors, locks, handles and hinges, cupboard doors, window catches and blinds, holes in walls, fixtures and fittings, with each work order closed as it is done
• Check the plumbing, heating, cooling and hot water — taps, toilets, showers and drains run and checked for leaks, the water heater or boiler and the heating working, air conditioning tested where there is any, and filters changed
• Check, clean or replace the appliances — oven and hob, extractor, fridge and freezer, dishwasher, washing machine, dryer and microwave run, cleaned and checked, with any replacement recorded
• Fit the replacements in the full make-ready — the flooring, worktops, cabinets, fixtures or appliances ordered for the full make-ready fitted, with warranties and manuals kept with the unit’s file
• Paint the unit — touch-up for a standard turn or a full repaint for a full make-ready, walls, ceilings, doors and trim, with the colours and codes recorded for the next turn
• Use lead-safe work practices and verify the cleaning — for paint work above the minor repair limits in housing built before 1978: a certified renovator assigned, the work area marked with signs and contained, no prohibited practices, and the cleaning verification done by the certified renovator before the work area is opened; the firm keeps its records for 3 years
• Clean, repair or replace the flooring — carpets cleaned or replaced, hard floors repaired or refinished, and thresholds and skirting checked, after the paint is finished

The alarms, locks and escape routes every unit needs, then the records the next tenancy needs. England gets the gas safety record and the electrical safety report, with their rules. Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland get the same two tasks: the gas regulation covers Wales and Scotland too, and the notes say where to check the nation’s own rules. The US and England get a check of local registration, licensing and inspection rules.

• Test the smoke and carbon monoxide alarms — each alarm tested, batteries changed, and any alarm that fails or is past the manufacturer’s replacement date replaced, with where each alarm is
• Check the doors, window locks and escape routes — entrance door locks and closers, window locks and restrictors, windows that are escape routes opening fully, handrails, and outside lights
• Check the gas safety record covers the new tenancy — every gas appliance and flue checked within the last 12 months by a registered gas engineer, the record on file, and a new check booked if the last one will be more than 12 months old when the tenancy starts
• Check the electrical safety report is in date — the most recent electrical installation report, the date by which it says the next inspection is due, and any remedial work it asks for done and confirmed in writing
• Check local registration, licensing and inspection rules — whether the council, city or county requires the unit to be registered or licensed, or inspected before the next tenancy, and anything due booked before the ready date

The clean comes after every trade has finished, so the unit is shown and inspected as the next resident will find it.

• Clean the unit top to bottom — kitchen, inside the appliances and cupboards, bathrooms, windows, sills and blinds, vents and light fittings, skirting, floors and any balcony
• Run the taps and fit new bulbs, filters and batteries — every tap and shower run to flush water that stood while the unit was empty, bulbs replaced, extractor and air filters changed, remote and thermostat batteries replaced, and the heating set for viewings
• Check the outside spaces that come with the unit — balcony or patio, garden, parking space, storage and bin area cleared and clean

The QC inspector walks the finished unit and records snags, the maintenance team fixes them, and the inspector signs the unit off as ready. The checklist halts at the sign-off: nothing after it can be completed until the inspector approves. Not passed keeps it halted and adds a task to put right what failed.

• Inspect the unit room by room against the make-ready standard — each room checked as a new resident would see it: paint, floors, fixtures, appliances, the clean, the alarms, and every work order closed, with the snags listed
• Fix the snags from the inspection — each snag fixed and the line ticked on the inspection table, before the inspector’s sign-off
• Put right what failed the inspection — after a Not passed decision only: fix what the inspector recorded, ask them to inspect again, and change the decision on the sign-off to Passed when it passes; if the ready date will slip, change the target ready date on the first task and every due date moves
• Sign off the unit as ready to lease — Passed or Not passed, with what was checked, recorded by the QC inspector alone

After the sign-off: the locks are changed once the last vendor has left, the listing photos are taken, the listing is updated with the rent and the date, the records the next resident must receive are handed to leasing, and the unit is marked ready to lease.

• Rekey or change the locks and log the new keys — every lock the last resident or a vendor could open rekeyed or changed after the last vendor has left, codes and fobs reset, and the new keys logged
• Take the listing photos — every room photographed in daylight after the clean and the sign-off, with the outside spaces and any shared facilities
• Update the listing with the rent and the ready date — the advert updated with the photos, the rent, the date the unit is available and what is included, and viewings opened
• Check the rental property registration for the next tenancy — whether the property is, or must be, on the Register your rental property service when the next tenancy starts, and that its gas, electrical and EPC details are up to date there
• Hand the unit’s records to leasing for the move-in — the records the next resident must receive before they move in, the key log, the appliance manuals and the unit’s condition, passed to whoever runs the move-in
• Prepare the lead disclosure for the next lease — the EPA’s Protect Your Family From Lead in Your Home pamphlet, what is known about lead-based paint and its hazards in the unit, and every record or report about it, including any from this turn, ready for leasing to give before the next resident signs
• Mark the unit ready to lease — the actual ready date recorded, the unit status changed to ready in your systems, and the next resident’s screening and move-in started
• Review the turn: cost, time and what to change — the actual cost against the budget, the working days from the move-out to ready, what held the turn up, and notes for the next turn of this unit