How to Improve Your Unit Turnover Process

Late spring and summer are peak seasons for unit turnovers—especially in off-campus student housing—but properties with year-long leases also face a wave of move-outs around this time. Staying on top of your unit turnover process is essential for maintaining profitability and resident satisfaction. From maintenance costs to rent lost during vacancies, the impact of inefficient unit turnovers can add up quickly.

Property managers who understand their turnover rate and prepare accordingly can avoid unnecessary stress and expenses. While managing consecutive turnovers may feel overwhelming, there are proven ways to streamline the process and make it more efficient. With the right approach, you can improve your unit turnover process, minimize downtime, and enhance your bottom line.

The Real Cost of Unit Turnovers

Unit turnovers often require a combination of cleaning, repairs, inspections, and property updates. Each of these tasks comes with a cost. Add the potential vacancy period between residents, and you may be looking at thousands of dollars per unit. According to Zego, Rent Manager’s built-in payment provider, the average resident retention rate in 2024 was 60%, and the cost of turnover reached $4,000 per unit.

Reducing that cost starts with minimizing the time it takes to get a unit ready for the next resident. A faster and more efficient turnover process means fewer lost rental days and less strain on your maintenance and leasing teams.

Steps to Improve the Unit Turnover Process

Reducing turnover periods can be a challenge, so Rent Manager provides a Make Ready feature to help streamline the turnover process and make your business more efficient.

1. Have a Plan and Communicate It

One of the most effective ways to reduce turnover time and improve the experience for everyone involved is to build a proactive plan. Clear communication with residents, timely maintenance, and structured scheduling can make a major difference. Start by making sure residents are always aware of lease updates and expectations. A well-informed renter is more likely to give proper notice and follow move-out instructions, which can reduce unexpected delays.

2. Complete Work Orders and Improve Response Times

During the lease period, consistently completing service requests and responding to issues in a timely manner builds trust and increases the likelihood of lease renewals. When move-outs do happen, providing tenants with a clear timeframe and setting expectations can make the transition smoother for both parties.

3. Prospect Proactively

On the leasing side, it’s smart to begin attracting new prospects before a unit is officially vacant. Posting listings on your website and through Internet Listing Service sites ensures that new renters are lined up as soon as the unit is ready.

Even with a well-structured plan, managing all the moving parts of unit turnovers can be difficult without the right tools. That’s where Rent Manager Express comes in.

Streamline Unit Turnovers with Rent Manager Express

Rent Manager’s Make Ready functionality is designed to simplify the unit turnover process from start to finish. It gives your team a complete visual representation of every task, inspection, and service order associated with preparing a unit for new occupancy.

Make Ready includes three key components that work together to improve efficiency.

Make Ready Actions let you define the specific maintenance and inspection tasks required during a unit turnover. These are prioritized based on urgency and availability, ensuring the right work gets done at the right time.

Make Ready Templates bundle those tasks into standardized workflows that you can apply to individual units or properties. By using templates, you eliminate guesswork and speed up your prep timeline. You can even include Inspection Templates to make sure every turnover follows your established standards.

The Make Ready Board brings everything together into a centralized dashboard. Units assigned to a Make Ready Process appear on the board with color-coded task statuses, showing whether each item is scheduled, in progress, or completed. This visual tracking system keeps everyone aligned and helps your team move faster through each stage of the turnover.

All of these tools live within Rent Manager Express, making them easy to access and manage as part of your everyday operations.

Go Further with Integrated Turnover Solutions

For property managers looking to improve unit turnover efficiency, Rent Manager also offers integrations with technology providers that specialize in maintenance, inspections, and more. These solutions can enhance your workflows, extend your team’s capabilities, and make your turnover process even more seamless.

Whether you manage one property or many, the right system can make a significant difference in your unit turnover results.

Keep Your Unit Turnovers On Track

Turnover season doesn’t have to disrupt your operations or your peace of mind. With a clear plan, proactive communication, and purpose-built tools like Rent Manager’s Make Ready system, you can cut costs, reduce downtime, and ensure your units are move-in ready faster than ever.