Turnover is the largest controllable expense in rental operations, and most of the numbers that circulate about it are unsourced. This page collects the figures that actually have publishers behind them — industry surveys, government data, and SEC filings — with a link to every source, so a turnover budget can be built on data instead of folklore.
The Headline Number: About $4,000 a Turn
Zego's 2026 Resident Experience Management Report, built on a February–March 2026 survey of 602 property management professionals at larger multifamily companies, puts a single instance of turnover at approximately $4,000 per turn. That is consistent with the $3,872 per resident its 2023 survey of 630 property managers found — the number has been stable near four thousand dollars for years.
The average hides a wide spread. Contractor-published make-ready data from twelve U.S. markets (Breasy, 2026) tiers it: a light turn at $800–$1,500, a standard turn at $2,500–$4,500, and a heavy turn — flooring, appliances, full paint — at $6,000–$15,000. The tier a unit lands in is mostly decided before the tenant leaves, which is why move-out inspections and mid-tenancy maintenance pay for themselves.
The Clock: What Vacancy Costs While You Work
| Benchmark | Figure | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Average vacant days between residents, stabilized apartments (end of 2024) | 34.4 days | RealPage |
| Average days to fill a vacant apartment (2025) | 41 days | RentCafe |
| Average days unoccupied between residents, single-family (2025) | 47 days | Invitation Homes 10-K |
| Same benchmark a year earlier, single-family (2024) | 40 days | Invitation Homes 10-K |
Put a dollar figure on those days and the priority becomes obvious. Zillow's Observed Rent Index for July 2026 puts typical U.S. asking rent at $1,962 a month — about $65 a day, dividing by 30.4. The Census Bureau's Q2 2026 Housing Vacancies release puts median asking rent at $1,531 — about $50 a day. A turn that runs two weeks longer than it should costs $700–$900 in rent alone, before anyone touches a paintbrush. The National Apartment Association's Income & Expense IQ benchmark, covering more than a million units, put vacancy and rent loss at $1,323 per unit per year in the 2024 data — its fourth consecutive annual increase.
The physical work is rarely what stretches the timeline. Industry guidance puts the hands-on portion of a standard turn at three to five days when trades are sequenced tightly, against a seven-to-fourteen-day industry norm — the gap is scheduling, not labor.
The Components, Priced
| Line item | Published range |
|---|---|
| Move-out / deep cleaning, empty unit | $120–$420 |
| Interior painting | $2–$6 per sq ft; whole-interior national average $2,022 |
| Carpet replacement, installed | national average $7.47 per sq ft |
| Vinyl plank (LVP) flooring, installed per unit | $2,500–$5,000 (contractor make-ready data) |
| Rekeying | $80–$150 per lock |
Two cautions on component pricing. These are consumer-facing published ranges, not negotiated portfolio rates — an operator turning units at volume should beat most of them. And the biggest line items are threshold decisions, not prices: whether flooring is replaced or cleaned, whether paint is full or touch-up. A consistent move-out inspection standard is worth more than any per-unit discount.
How Often the Meter Runs: Turnover Rates
| Benchmark | Figure |
|---|---|
| Multifamily annual turnover (Zego 2026 survey) | 43% |
| Multifamily turnover, year ending Oct 2024 (RealPage) | ~46% |
| Lease renewal rate, 2025 (RentCafe) | 63% |
| Single-family same-store turnover, 2024 and 2025 (Invitation Homes) | 22.8% |
The single-family number is the strategic one: SFR portfolios turn less than half as often as apartments, but each turn costs more and runs longer — 47 vacant days against 34. Multifamily operators optimize turn volume; single-family operators optimize turn depth.
The Eviction Multiplier
When a turnover starts with an eviction, the cost structure changes. The figure the industry still cites is TransUnion SmartMove's estimate of roughly $3,500 all-in — legal fees, court costs, two to three months of lost rent during the process, and the physical turnover afterward. That estimate traces to TransUnion survey data from 2013–2014, and no newer primary study has replaced it; in current dollars and current court timelines it is best read as a floor. Eviction-driven turns also skew heavy on the make-ready tiers above: abandoned property, deferred damage, and cleanout volume that a cooperative move-out never produces.
What the Numbers Say to Do
- Budget turns at the survey average — about $4,000 — and let light turns subsidize heavy ones, rather than budgeting the best case
- Track vacant days as the primary turnover metric; at $50–$65 a day, schedule compression beats price negotiation
- Set a written move-out inspection standard, because the light-versus-heavy tier decision is worth more than any component price
- Sequence trades before the move-out date, not after — the three-to-five-day physical turn only happens when cleaning, paint, and repairs are booked in advance
- Treat eviction turns as their own budget category at a multiple of a standard turn
Ethreon performs turnover and cleanout work for rental portfolios — scoped per unit, documented with before-and-after photos, and scheduled to compress vacant days. The maintenance cost estimator produces planning ranges by property type and condition.
Contact EthreonRelated Services
Ethreon delivers these services with full documentation and compliance reporting:
Frequently Asked Questions
1How much does a rental unit turnover cost?
Zego's 2026 Resident Experience Management Report, surveying 602 property management professionals, puts a single turnover at approximately $4,000 per turn for multifamily operators — consistent with the $3,872 per resident its 2023 survey found. Actual cost depends heavily on condition: light turns run well under that, and heavy turns with flooring and appliance replacement run well over.
2How long does a rental unit sit vacant between tenants?
RealPage measured 34.4 average vacant days between residents on stabilized apartments at the end of 2024, and RentCafe's 2025 year-end report put the average time to fill a vacant apartment at 41 days. Single-family rentals run longer — Invitation Homes reported 47 days average unoccupied between residents for 2025 in its SEC filing.
3How much does vacancy cost per day?
Divide the monthly rent by 30.4. At Zillow's July 2026 typical U.S. asking rent of $1,962, that is roughly $65 per day; at the Census Bureau's Q2 2026 median asking rent of $1,531, roughly $50 per day. Every day cut from a turn timeline is that much recovered revenue.
4What percentage of tenants turn over each year?
Zego's 2026 report found 43% annual turnover (57% retention) in multifamily. RealPage measured roughly 46% turnover for the year ending October 2024. Single-family rentals are far stickier — Invitation Homes reported 22.8% annual same-store turnover for both 2024 and 2025.
5How much does an eviction cost a landlord?
The industry's standard citation is TransUnion SmartMove's estimate of roughly $3,500 all-in — legal fees, court costs, two to three months of lost rent, and the turnover itself. That figure traces to 2013–2014 survey data and no newer primary study has replaced it, so treat it as a floor in today's costs, not a current average.