Every day a Toronto unit sits empty is a day of rent you don't get back. So the turnover game is simple: move fast, but don't skip the things that generate maintenance calls three months later.
This is the walk-through order we use on make-ready jobs across the GTA.
Day one: the walk-through
Do it empty, in daylight, with the lights on anyway. You're building one punch list, in this order:
Safety first. Test every smoke and CO detector — replace the batteries regardless. Check that window locks work and the entry locks turn smoothly. Ontario landlords are on the hook for working detectors, so this is not optional.
Water second. Run every tap, flush every toilet, look under every sink with a flashlight. A slow leak under a kitchen sink is a small plumbing repair today or a rotted cabinet floor next year.
Then walls and doors. Nail holes, scuffs, the doorknob dent behind every bedroom door. Note which rooms need patching versus full painting. Most turnovers need drywall repair and paint in at least two rooms.
Floors last. Look for lifting planks, torn vinyl, carpet that smells. Decide now whether it's a repair or a replacement — flooring is the item that blows up timelines when people dither.
What's worth doing every single turnover
Some landlords skip these to save money. They're wrong, respectfully:
- Fresh paint in any room that shows wear — nothing photographs better in a listing
- Re-caulk the tub and kitchen backsplash — old caulk reads as "neglected" to good tenants
- New stove drip pans and a deep-cleaned oven
- Rekey or change the locks — cheap insurance
- Tighten every cabinet hinge and drawer pull, one pass through the whole kitchen
What's usually not worth it
New appliances when the old ones work fine, renovating a dated-but-functional bathroom, and expensive light fixtures. Tenants in Mississauga or Brampton rent on clean, bright and functional — not on your taste in pendant lights.
The scheduling trick
The reason turnovers drag out three weeks is trade sequencing — the painter can't start until the drywall guy comes, the flooring can't go in until the painter finishes. One crew that does all of it kills the waiting. That's the whole pitch behind our turnover service: one walk-through, one punch list, one crew, and a timeline we agree on before the work starts.
If you've got a unit going vacant, call (365) 360-1416 before the tenant leaves — walking it early means the plan is ready when the keys come back.
Real Toronto turnover
Downtown condo tenant turnover
Full make-ready on a two-bedroom condo: walls patched and repainted, floors cleaned and polished, bathrooms and fixtures serviced, and every room left rent-ready.
Need this handled at your property?
Scheduled appointments and urgent response timing are confirmed by phone.
