Tenant Turnover Cost Calculator

How to use the turnover cost calculator

Enter what one turnover costs you, line by line:

• Vacant days: from the day the old tenant moves out to the day the new lease starts.
• Monthly rent: the tool turns it into a daily figure for lost rent.
• Cleaning: professional cleaning, carpet cleaning, trash haul-off.
• Repairs: paint, patching, replacing worn items, and anything the deposit doesn’t cover.
• Listing: paid ads, signs, a premium listing or photos.
• Screening: what you pay for background and credit checks, if you pay rather than the applicant.
• Admin time: hours spent on showings, emails, move-in and move-out inspections, lease signing, and the hourly value you put on your time.

The result is the full cost of one turnover.

The turnover cost formula

• Lost rent = monthly rent x 12 / 365 x vacant days
• Admin cost = hours x your hourly rate
• Turnover cost = lost rent + cleaning + repairs + listing + screening + admin cost

A worked example

A two-bedroom in Columbus rents for $1,650. The tenant moves out on the last day of the month, and the new one moves in 30 days later.

Item	Cost
Lost rent: $1,650 x 12 / 365 x 30 days	$1,627
Cleaning	$350
Paint and repairs	$900
Listing (premium placement)	$50
Screening (paid by applicants)	$0
Admin: 10 hours x $40	$400
Total	$3,327

Now compare that with keeping the tenant. A 3% renewal raise on $1,650 is $49.50 a month, or $594 a year. One turnover costs about as much as 5.6 years of those raises. That’s why many landlords hold renewals below market for tenants who pay on time.

What a good result looks like

The lowest-cost turnover is short and boring: the unit is listed during the notice period, shown while the tenant is still there (with proper notice under your state’s entry rules), cleaned and painted in a few days, and re-let within a week or two. Every week you cut from the vacancy saves about $380 on this unit.

If your number is high, look at which line dominates. Long vacancies point to pricing or marketing. High repair costs point to finishes that don’t hold up, or to screening that let a careless tenant in. High admin time is often a sign that showings, applications and lease signing still happen by hand.

Limits and caveats

• One turnover, not a year. To see the yearly cost, multiply by how often units turn over. A four-unit building where one unit turns each year has one turnover a year, not four.
• Deposit deductions. If you recover part of the repair cost from the deposit, enter the net amount you actually paid.
• Utilities and carrying costs. Utilities, lawn care and insurance continue while the unit is empty. Add them to repairs if you want them counted.
• Your hourly rate is a choice. Use what your time is worth to you, or what a manager would charge to do the same work.