Landlord turnover cleanouts in St. Louis

The short answer

Most turnovers are priced by truck tier: quarter truck $241, 3/8 truck $338, half truck $431, 3/4 truck $587, full truck $732. When a tenant leaves only a few big items, item prices are simpler: sofa $126, mattress and box spring set $143, standard fridge $164. Book online with photos, pick a two-hour window, and get same-day pickup when you book by 4 PM. Property managers can set up one account covering several properties.

Why St. Louis landlords need a plan for this

A lot of St. Louis rental housing is in two-family and four-family brick flats, especially across South City in Dutchtown, Carondelet, Bevo Mill and Tower Grove South, and in the County's inner-ring areas like Mehlville and Lemay. Metro East landlords have the same pattern in Granite City and Belleville.

Flats mean narrow interior stairs, alley loading, and shared space with tenants who are staying. The public options do not fit well:

• The City's bulky pickup is monthly, up to three items, none over 100 lbs or 6 ft. A turnover is usually more than three items, and you cannot wait a month.
• The City transfer stations do not accept commercial or business waste. Check with the City before counting on them for a rental load.

The St. Louis turnover calendar

Turnovers bunch up at predictable times. Around SLU, which has 17,059 students, and WashU, with 16,399, May brings student move-outs in the CWE, Skinker-DeBaliviere and the Delmar Loop. Late July and August bring lease turnover across the City and medical residents arriving at the Washington University Medical Center. On the Illinois side, Scott AFB's summer PCS season turns over rentals in O'Fallon, Shiloh and Mascoutah, and SIUE move-outs hit Edwardsville in May.

The last two days of any month are the busiest. If you know a lease ends on the 31st, book the haul for the 1st as soon as the move-out date is confirmed, and you keep the next tenant's start date realistic. Windows run until midnight, so a unit vacated in the afternoon can often be cleared the same evening.

Typical turnover jobs, priced

Carpet coming out at turnover? Carpet removal is $71 per room; three rooms is $71 + $71 + $71 = $213.

Shared basements and alleys

In St. Louis flats, the basement is often shared, and departing tenants leave things in it. Before the crew arrives, walk the basement with the remaining tenants and mark what belongs to whom. Tape off or list what stays. The same goes for the shared alley: if a departing tenant piled things by the dumpster, it needs to go before the City or a neighbor complains.

Crews load from the alley where possible and carry from any floor. There is no stairs fee, so the third floor of a four-family costs the same as the first.

County and Metro East rentals

Outside the City, rental stock looks different but the turnover problem is the same. Mehlville is an inner-ring suburb with 13,854 housing units; Hazelwood has 11,832 units in postwar housing near the airport; Granite City has 13,130 units, many of them older company-town houses. Rentals there are more often single-family homes with a garage and a basement, which means a turnover can include a garage full of a tenant's leftovers as well as the living space.

Each County municipality, unincorporated trash district and Illinois town runs its own trash service, and a curb pile that does not fit its rules will sit there with your name on the property. Our prices are the same on both sides of the river: a garage left with a mower, a grill and a quarter truck of bags is $65 + $123 + $241 = $429.

Appliances and what Missouri requires

Turnovers often mean swapping an old fridge, range or washer. Missouri law bans major appliances from landfills (RSMo 260.250), so they go to recycling. Refrigerant is recovered under federal rules.

Have water and gas disconnected before pickup; crews remove, they do not disconnect.

Abandoned property and the turnover checklist

If a tenant left belongings after an eviction or abandonment, follow the legal process that applies before disposing of anything. We do not advise on that — talk to your attorney or check the applicable rules. Once you are clear to remove items, book the cleanout and photograph the unit before and after for your records.

1. Walk the unit the day the keys come back. Photograph every room, the basement storage and the garage or alley area.
2. Get the price the same day. Upload the photos and see the flat number before booking.
3. Book the haul before the cleaners and painters. They cannot work around a sofa and a mattress.
4. Schedule appliance swaps together, so the old fridge or range goes on the same visit.
5. Deal with carpet early, at $71 per room, before the floor work starts.
6. Re-check the shared spaces. Basements, porches and the alley collect left-behind items.

On a four-family in Dutchtown or a two-family in Bevo Mill, a clean handoff between trades is what turns a two-week vacancy into a few days.

Set up an account for multiple properties

If you manage several units across the City, the County or the Metro East, one account can cover all of them. Book each turnover online with photos, choose a two-hour window between 8am and midnight, any day of the week, and see the price before you commit. For apartment buildings and condos that need it, we email a certificate of insurance within one hour. There are no volume discounts and no recurring pickups — each job is booked and priced on its own. Get a turnover price from photos at the instant quote page.

Frequently asked questions