Turnover cleanouts for Cincinnati landlords

The short answer

Turnover cleanouts are priced like any other job: per item for a few things, by truck tier for a pile. A left-behind mattress is $103 for a queen, a sofa $126, a quarter truck $241 and a half truck $431. There is no stairs fee, which matters in walk-up rentals, and a certificate of insurance is emailed within one hour. Property managers can set up one account covering several properties.

Why turnover junk piles up here

Cincinnati and Northern Kentucky have a lot of small-landlord rental stock. Two- and three-family houses in Northside, Norwood, Westwood and Price Hill. Converted rowhouses in Over-the-Rhine and Covington. Student rentals around UC in Clifton Heights and Corryville, and around NKU in Highland Heights. Norwood, a city of about 19,000 inside Cincinnati, has a lot of rental turnover in older, dense housing. Every lease end has a chance of leftovers: a mattress, a couch, a bag of trash in each room, a broken TV. Spring and August, when the university leases turn over, bring a wave of it. Getting the unit cleared fast is how you keep the vacancy short.

Typical turnover jobs, priced

A student unit with two full mattresses and two desks is $94 + $94 + $83 + $83 = $354. A unit with a sofa, a queen set and ten bags of trash is $126 + $143 + $132 = $401. Both include carrying everything out, from any floor.

Before you clear: abandoned property rules

Before removing a former tenant's belongings, make sure the tenancy has ended under the lease and under local rules on abandoned property. Ohio, Kentucky and Indiana each have their own landlord-tenant laws, and the rules can differ for a tenant who left voluntarily versus one who was evicted. Document the condition of the unit and the items with dated photos. If there is any doubt, check with an attorney or your local landlord association before anything leaves. Once you are clear to proceed, the cleanout itself is straightforward. Take out anything with obvious value or personal documents and set them aside according to your process.

Why the curb and the dumpster do not work

The City of Cincinnati's bulk pickup is free but appointment-only, five items per appointment, at the curb, set out no earlier than the night before. For a single mattress at a city duplex, that can work. For a unit with twenty bags and a sectional, it does not, and you or a maintenance person still have to carry everything out. Building dumpsters fill up fast with bulky items and may draw complaints or extra charges from your hauler. In Newport and Rumpke areas, mattresses must be wrapped and sealed in plastic and Freon appliances need a technician's sticker. Norwood, the townships and other cities have their own rules. A pickup avoids all of that and clears the unit in one visit.

Walk-ups, hills and older buildings

A lot of Cincinnati rental stock is not easy to clear. Over-the-Rhine buildings from the 1860s to 1880s have narrow, steep stairs. Clifton Heights converted houses put units on the third floor. Price Hill and Mount Auburn rentals sit on hillside lots with long exterior steps. Basements in older two-families collect years of leftovers from past tenants. All of that is included in the flat price. There is no stairs fee and no walk-up fee, so the third-floor unit costs the same as the first-floor unit for the same load. Appliances left behind are common in older doubles, and they are priced the same way: an old fridge and an electric range from a Norwood kitchen are $164 + $134 = $298, and a basement washer and dryer are $133 + $128 = $261. In Newport and other Rumpke areas, that saves arranging a Freon sticker before the fridge can go to the curb.

Accounts for property managers

If you manage several properties, whether a handful of doubles in Northside or larger buildings across Cincinnati and Northern Kentucky, you can set up an account covering all of them. That keeps billing and addresses in one place. Each job is booked when you need it; there are no recurring pickups. There are no volume discounts either, but the published prices are the same every time, which makes turnover budgets simple. If a building or HOA requires a certificate of insurance, it is emailed within one hour of the request. Vetted, insured local haulers do the work.

Getting it done fast

The fastest turnover cleanouts start with good photos. Walk the unit and photograph each room, closets, the basement storage area and any outdoor space. Upload them for an instant price. If a maintenance person or cleaner will be there, the crew can work around them. Pick a two-hour arrival window. Same-day pickup is available when you book by 4 PM, seven days a week, 8am to midnight. The price only changes if you approve, for example if you add the old appliances while the crew is there. We try to donate usable items when local charities accept them and recycle whatever we can.

Frequently asked questions