Landlord turnover cleanouts in Detroit

The short answer

Turnover cleanouts are priced by item or by truck-fill tier, set from photos before you book. A few leftover pieces cost their list price, such as a sofa at $126 and a queen mattress at $103. A unit with a full basement of tenant leftovers is often a quarter truck (about 4 cubic yards, $241) or half truck (about 8 cubic yards, $431). Property managers can set up one account covering several properties, and a certificate of insurance is emailed within 1 hour when a building needs one.

Detroit's rental stock

The City of Detroit is 50.3% owner-occupied. Downtown's 48226 is just 6.3%; Midtown's 48201, 11.0%. On the east and west sides, many rentals are single-family houses and two-flats built before 1940, owned by small landlords with a few doors each.

Those houses have basements, often a detached garage, and sometimes an attic. When a tenant leaves, what they leave tends to be spread across all three.

What tenants leave behind

• A mattress or two, often in the basement.
• A sofa that did not fit the moving truck.
• Bags of trash in the garage or by the side door.
• A broken TV, a microwave, a mini fridge.
• Tires in the garage, which the city's bulk program will not take.

Before removing anything, make sure the tenant has actually surrendered the unit and that you are following the legal process for any personal property left behind. If in doubt, talk to your attorney first.

Turnovers by property type

• East and West Side single-family rentals: the basement is where leftovers concentrate. Photograph it first; it is usually the biggest part of the price.
• Two-flats: upper and lower units often turn over at different times, but share a basement and garage. Clear the shared spaces when the second unit turns, so you are not paying to haul the same pile twice.
• Hamtramck and dense inner-ring blocks: narrow lots and alley garages. Tell us if access is alley-only.
• Student rentals near Wayne State, EMU in Ypsilanti and Oakland University: furniture-heavy, often the same pieces every year: futons, desks, mattresses and mini fridges.
• Managed buildings Downtown, in Midtown and in Southfield: elevator bookings and COIs. The certificate is emailed within 1 hour.

Pricing for turnovers

A light turnover with a sofa, a queen mattress and box spring left behind: $126 + $103 + $92 = $321. Add the old carpet from two bedrooms: $321 + $71 + $71 = $463.

A sample two-flat turnover

A West Side two-flat where the lower tenant has left. Inside the unit: a sofa, a full mattress, a broken TV and ten bags of trash. In the shared basement: a set of tires and the tenant's old washer.

$126 + $94 + $62 + $132 + $87 + $133 = $634, priced item by item from the walkthrough photos. If the basement turns out to hold a lot more loose clutter than the photos showed, the crew shows you the change and it only goes ahead if you approve it.

Compare that with the curb: the same load is well over Detroit's 2-cubic-yard weekly limit, and the tires are excluded entirely. Spread over several weeks, the unit sits empty while you wait.

Do not let it hit the curb wrong

The City of Detroit's free weekly bulk pickup takes up to 2 cubic yards at the curb, out by 7 a.m., never in front of a vacant lot. For a landlord, three things go wrong often:

• Volume. A full unit is far over 2 cubic yards. Outlier Media reported in 2022 that exceeding the limit can bring a $1,500 fine.
• The lot next door. On blocks with empty parcels, a pile drifts onto them. That is dumping.
• Your contractor. Michigan's dumping law holds an employer liable when dumping happens at its direction or with its knowledge. If your handyman's truck ends up unloading somewhere it should not, the property address may lead back to you.

Detroit's dumping fines, per Outlier Media's 2022 reporting, start at $200 for a first offense under 5 cubic yards.

Speed between tenants

Every vacant week costs rent. The quickest turnovers line up in this order: walkthrough and photos, cleanout, repairs, cleaning, listing.

• Book same-day when you book by 4 PM. We run 7 days a week, 8am to midnight.
• Send photos from the walkthrough for a price before anyone drives out.
• No one needs to be there if you can arrange access with a lockbox.
• Plan around month-end. That is when most leases turn and when elevator slots in managed buildings are hardest to get.

Accounts for property managers

Managers with several properties in Detroit, Hamtramck, Highland Park, Dearborn, Ypsilanti or across the suburbs can set up one account covering all of them. Pricing is the same published list; there are no volume discounts and no recurring pickups, so each turnover is booked when it happens.

Get a photo quote for the next unit. For bigger rehabs, see renovation debris removal in Detroit.

Frequently asked questions