What does a standard turnover include?
Reborn Renos's standard turnover is a defined list, so you know what a unit gets every time. It includes:
- interior painting and touch-ups
- minor drywall repairs and patching
- caulking and finishing
- minor fixture and hardware replacements
- lock changes and hardware replacement
- smoke alarm inspection, testing and replacement where required
- window screen repairs
- minor repairs and maintenance
- final unit preparation for incoming tenants
The material allowances and the standard scope are written into each agreement. Bigger work, such as new flooring, major drywall, cabinets or a new bedroom wall, is quoted separately: see property turnovers for the full range.
What is on the checklist, and who sets the rule?
The table goes through the checklist item by item. Where a law sets the rule, the section is named and linked. Where nothing in the law sets it, the table says good practice.
| Checklist item | Why | Who sets the rule |
|---|---|---|
| Test every smoke alarm | A turnover is a change in tenancy, and that is when the test is due | Ontario Fire Code, 6.3.3.8 (2) |
| Test every carbon monoxide alarm | The same trigger: a change in tenancy or a change of residents | Ontario Fire Code, 6.3.4.8 (2)(a) |
| Replace an alarm that fails or is past its replacement time | Alarms must be kept in operating condition and replaced within the maker's time frame | Ontario Fire Code, 6.3.3.3 and 6.3.3.7 |
| Have the alarm maker's instructions ready for the incoming tenant | The landlord has to give the tenant a copy | Ontario Fire Code, 6.3.3.4 and 6.3.4.4 |
| Minor drywall repairs and patching | Holes and cracks are part of the unit's state of repair | Good practice. The wider duty is Residential Tenancies Act, s. 20 |
| Minor fixture and hardware replacements, and minor repairs | Broken or worn items are repairs, and the unit is empty while they are done | Good practice. The wider duty is Residential Tenancies Act, s. 20 |
| Plumbing check: toilet, vanity, sink and faucet, no leaks | Hot and cold water are vital services, and a leak is a repair | Residential Tenancies Act, s. 2 (1) and s. 20 |
| Check that hot and cold water, electricity and gas are on and working | These are vital services, and the landlord may not withhold them during the tenancy | Residential Tenancies Act, s. 2 (1) and s. 21 |
| Lock changes and hardware replacement | Keys held by the outgoing tenant no longer open the door | Good practice. During a tenancy, s. 24 asks for replacement keys |
| Interior painting and touch-ups | Fresh walls, trim and doors show the unit is looked after | Good practice |
| Caulking and finishing | Gaps and joints are closed off and the finish is complete | Good practice |
| Window screen repairs | A torn screen is a small repair that is easy to miss until the tenant calls | Good practice |
| Final walk of the unit, with dated photos | It shows the condition the tenant received | Good practice |
What does the law say about the unit's condition?
The landlord keeps the unit in repair, whatever the tenant knows. The Act says: A landlord is responsible for providing and maintaining a residential complex, including the rental units in it, in a good state of repair and fit for habitation and for complying with health, safety, housing and maintenance standards.
(Residential Tenancies Act, s. 20) The next sentence of the Act says: Subsection (1) applies even if the tenant was aware of a state of non-repair or a contravention of a standard before entering into the tenancy agreement.
(Residential Tenancies Act, s. 20 (2)) A tenant who accepts a unit with a hole in the wall does not take the repair duty off the landlord.
What is a vital service?
The Act defines it: hot or cold water, fuel, electricity, gas or, during the part of each year prescribed by the regulations, heat
. (Residential Tenancies Act, s. 2 (1)) It is on the checklist because once a tenant lives there, the landlord shall not at any time during a tenant's occupancy of a rental unit and before the day on which an order evicting the tenant is executed, withhold the reasonable supply of any vital service, care service or food that it is the landlord's obligation to supply under the tenancy agreement
. (Residential Tenancies Act, s. 21 (1)) Turn on every tap and fixture while the unit is empty, and a problem is found by you, not by the tenant on move-in day.
Which alarm tests belong to a turnover?
Both of them. For smoke alarms: The landlord shall test smoke alarms annually and after every change in tenancy.
(Ontario Fire Code, 6.3.3.8) For carbon monoxide alarms, the landlord shall test carbon monoxide alarms annually and after every change in tenancy or after every change of residents
. (Ontario Fire Code, 6.3.4.8) The whole set of alarm duties is in the guide on smoke and carbon monoxide alarms for landlords.
What if the unit needs more than the standard scope?
It is quoted separately, and nothing extra is done without your written approval. Excessive damage and major repairs are billed separately, as set out in the agreement. Water damage has its own page: water damage repairs. For a building with turnovers every year, the service agreements page shows how a defined scope, material allowances and an annual price review work. If a tenant is still in the unit when work starts, read how much notice a landlord needs to enter.
Is this legal advice?
No. This is a plain summary, not legal advice. The linked law is what counts. Both laws were read on ontario.ca on 1 November 2026.
How do I book a turnover?
Reborn Renos is insured and covered by WSIB, and your satisfaction is guaranteed, as written in your contract. We work in Beamsville, Lincoln, Grimsby, Stoney Creek, Hamilton, St. Catharines, Thorold and Niagara Falls. Call (905) 920-1418, Monday to Saturday, 7 am to 7 pm, or send the unit and the move-out date on the request page.