Cleaning a Rental Between Tenants: A Landlord Checklist

Cleaning a rental between tenants starts with photos and repairs, then a top-to-bottom clean of the empty unit. Work through kitchens, bathrooms, storage and floors before testing fixtures and handing over the keys.

What Ontario expects from tenants and landlords

The Landlord and Tenant Board’s maintenance and repairs guidance says tenants must keep the unit to ordinary or normal cleanliness and are not responsible for damage from normal use, such as carpet worn after years of everyday use.

The Government of Ontario’s standard lease guide assigns maintenance of the rental unit and property to the landlord. It assigns cleaning to the tenant unless the landlord has agreed to do it. Use your turnover list to separate cleaning from repairs: wiping a cupboard and repairing its broken hinge are different jobs.

The City of Toronto’s renter and landlord information says a rent deposit can be no more than one rental period’s rent, meaning one month or one week, and is used for the final month’s or week’s rent. The City also says charging a damage deposit is illegal.

Plan the work around the unit’s actual condition rather than treating ordinary cleanliness as a requirement to restore every finish to new condition. Record a worn carpet separately from loose debris, stains needing assessment or a room that still needs cleaning. That distinction makes the work list more useful.

Before you clean: photos, repairs and anything left behind

When the keys come back, walk through the empty unit and list repair, paint and cleaning jobs separately. Photograph every room before moving items or cleaning. The Landlord and Tenant Board lists printed pictures of the unit’s state as possible evidence for an application about damage or an extremely unclean unit.

Check the circumstances before clearing belongings. The Landlord and Tenant Board’s property left behind rules say that after move-out under a notice, agreement or LTB order, landlords may in most cases immediately sell, keep or dispose of belongings; for abandonment by a tenant owing rent who leaves without notice, agreement or an LTB order, serve notice or obtain an order and wait 30 days before doing so; after Sheriff-enforced eviction, allow 72 hours for retrieval, with belongings available between 8 a.m. and 8 p.m., before doing so.

Use those distinctions when organising the work:

• Move-out under a notice, agreement or LTB order: check any agreed arrangements for belongings. The Board says both parties can agree to other terms.
• Abandonment: separate the property assessment from the cleaning list. The Board says unsafe or unhygienic items, such as rotting food, can be disposed of immediately.
• Sheriff-enforced eviction: plan cleaning around the retrieval arrangements rather than treating the unit as cleared.

Once belongings are addressed, patch holes, touch up paint and finish repairs before the final clean. Keep unfinished maintenance on the list rather than cleaning around it and calling the room complete.

The turnover checklist, room by room

Work top down: remove cobwebs and dust reachable ceiling fans and light fixtures before cleaning lower surfaces. Leave floors until the room’s other tasks are finished. Use the following as your rental turnover cleaning checklist, marking maintenance separately from cleaning.

Kitchen

• Fridge and freezer: empty them, remove shelves and drawers according to the appliance instructions, wash and dry them, and wipe the interior and door seals. Wipe the exterior and handles too. Arrange access behind the fridge, then vacuum and clean the accessible floor behind it.
• Cooking appliances: clean the oven interior and racks using its care instructions, then wipe the oven exterior and handle. Degrease and wipe the stovetop and range hood, including accessible edges. Clean the microwave inside and out. Wipe the dishwasher interior, exterior and door edges, and clean its filter according to the appliance instructions.
• Cabinets and drawers: open each one, remove crumbs, wipe the inside and let it dry before closing. Clean fronts and handles, including the edges around pulls.
• Work surfaces: wipe counters and backsplash, then clean the sink and faucet. Check the junctions behind appliances and around the sink rather than stopping at the visible centre of each surface.

Bathrooms

Clean the toilet, seat, exterior and base, including the floor immediately around it. Scrub the tub and tile, clean the sink, and wipe the vanity inside and out. Finish the mirror and shower glass, checking edges for remaining streaks.

Inspect grout, caulking and window sills for mildew or damp spots. Record their locations as maintenance jobs to assess rather than treating every mark as a routine cleaning task. For a more detailed task sequence, use the top-to-bottom bathroom cleaning steps.

Bedrooms, closets and living areas

Open every closet and storage space. Check hidden corners for belongings before wiping shelves, rods and doors. Include laundry spaces, accessible appliance exteriors and the areas beside storage units.

Dust baseboards and wipe door frames. Work around the room in a consistent direction so a closet behind an open door or a low shelf does not get missed. Keep discovered belongings with the separate property-left-behind assessment.

Floors, walls and windows

Check walls, ceilings, doors and trim for cobwebs, scuffs and fingerprints. Spot-clean marks using the finish’s care instructions, testing your method on an inconspicuous area. Wipe switches and handles with a cloth rather than spraying them directly.

Dust blinds; clean curtains and window screens according to their care instructions. Remove loose debris from window tracks before wiping tracks, sills and frames. Clean the window glass, then check corners and the channels beneath the window for remaining dirt.

Vacuum carpets, spot-treat marks according to the carpet’s care instructions and arrange deep-cleaning where needed. Assess worn-out carpet for replacement before completing the room. Vacuum hard floors along edges and into corners, then mop with a method suited to the flooring, working towards the exit.

Last checks before move-in

Check the furnace or air filter’s condition and list any filter maintenance needed. Dust accessible vent covers and vacuum their grilles.

Trace lingering smoke, pet or fridge smells to their source: check carpets, drains and appliances separately. Record unresolved smells for assessment instead of covering them with fragrance.

Run taps, check drains, flush the toilet and look beneath sinks for leaks. Test appliances, fans and lights, replace burnt-out bulbs, and move any unresolved fault onto the repair list.

Apartment buildings, condos and basement units in Toronto

The City of Toronto’s housing and property standards guidance says RentSafeTO applies to apartment buildings with three or more storeys and 10 or more units. Condo buildings, townhomes and units within a private home, including basement or main-floor apartments, are outside that programme.

The same City guidance requires all properties to be free of pests and all parts, including yards, to remain clean and free of accumulated litter, brush or garbage. Keep the exterior and shared-space review on your turnover plan alongside the inside of the unit.

The City’s renter and landlord information assigns cleaning and maintenance of common or shared areas, such as hallways and yards, to the landlord, along with fixing things that break or do not work and getting rid of pests. A completed bathroom checklist does not complete those separate property tasks.

For condos, add a paperwork task alongside the cleaning: contact the corporation about the rental, prepare the lease documents and confirm what needs to be provided before handover.

Adapt your route to the layout. Compact suites in Liberty Village can combine a desk and living space, so include that whole area in the room check. In homes in Summerhill, kitchens, living areas, bedrooms and bathrooms can be stacked over three floors; organise the checklist floor by floor.

Keys, the lease and the next tenant’s first day

Check that the keys operate the intended doors and confirm any entry codes before handover. The City of Toronto says a key deposit cannot exceed the cost of replacing the key.

Keep the lease review on a separate administrative checklist. Review Ontario’s standard lease guidance while preparing the agreement, and resolve paperwork questions before the handover rather than leaving them mixed into the cleaning notes.

Photograph the finished, empty unit, including the interiors you cleaned. Keep these separate from the initial condition photos so the sequence is clear.

Walk through with the incoming tenant, showing the cleaned rooms and checking the outstanding task list together. Plan the final clean before the empty-unit showing and move-in, and check the entrance and floors again after any intervening visits.

When to bring in help

Do it yourself for manageable tasks; consider booking a move-out clean for a heavily soiled unit with grease and grime across rooms. List lingering smells for separate assessment.

Toronto Shine Cleaning’s move-in or move-out clean covers empty-home kitchens, bathrooms, baseboards, vents and fans; oven, fridge and cabinet interiors are add-ons.

• Move-out cleaning, Studio or 1 bedroom, 1 bath, under 600 sq ft: $224 before HST.
• Move-out cleaning, 2 bedrooms, 1 bath, 600 to 1,199 sq ft: $287 before HST.
• Move-out cleaning, 3 bedrooms, 2 baths, 1,200 to 1,999 sq ft: $367 before HST.
• Move-out cleaning, 4 bedrooms, 3 baths, 2,000 to 2,499 sq ft: $458 before HST.

Call (647) 424-0355 to discuss the unit.

Frequently asked questions