Landlord turnover cleanouts in Portland

The short answer

Published volume pricing, disposal included: quarter $241, three-eighths $338, half $431, five-eighths $513, three-quarters $587, full $732. Visit minimum $75. No sales tax in Oregon.

Typical Portland turnovers:

• Studio or one-bed in an old eastside fourplex — quarter to three-eighths, $241 to $338.
• Two-bed off Division, Hawthorne or in Hollywood — half at $431.
• Single-family rental in Montavilla, Cully, Parkrose or Gresham with a basement or garage — three-quarters at $587 to a full load at $732.

The load is the cheap part. A unit sitting empty while you arrange it is the expensive part.

Before you throw anything away

This is the section that matters most and we are going to be careful with it.

Oregon has specific legal requirements for how a landlord handles personal property left behind by a tenant. There are notice obligations, storage obligations, and timelines, and they differ depending on the circumstances of the tenancy ending. They also change.

Do not dispose of a departed tenant's belongings on assumption. Check the current requirements, or ask your attorney or your property management company, before anything leaves the unit. We are not going to quote you a notice period or a statute here, because getting that wrong costs a great deal more than a cleanout does.

What is straightforward: trash, spoiled food, damaged furniture with no value, and anything the tenant has expressly abandoned in writing. What is not straightforward: anything that looks like it has value. Photograph the unit before you touch it either way — that record is useful whichever direction the situation goes.

What Portland turnovers actually contain

Predictable, and mostly for local reasons.

• The mattress. Almost nobody moves a used mattress. Queen $103, set $143, twin $82.
• The basement storage cage. Old eastside fourplexes in Buckman, Kerns and Sunnyside have chicken-wire lockers in a damp shared basement. Tenants forget them, and the contents have been absorbing that basement for years.
• The balcony or back-step furniture. Patio table $89, chairs $30 each. After a couple of Portland winters it is mossy and going in the truck.
• The bike, or three. $37 each, usually rusted into the rack.
• Flat-pack that did not survive. Particleboard bookcase $100, desk $83. In a damp ground-floor unit it swells at the feet and is not moving again.
• The window AC unit. Small $87, large $109. A lot of these went into Portland rentals after the 2021 heat dome and simply stayed in the sash.

Speed, and why it is the whole game

Every day between tenants is a day of lost rent, and in this metro the re-let window is seasonal.

Late June to mid-September is when units let fastest — the dry stretch, lease turnover, students arriving for PSU, Reed and the community colleges. A unit that is clean and photographed by the first of the month lets quickly. A unit still full of somebody's sofa on the fifth has missed the wave.

October to May is slower to let, which cuts both ways: less urgency, but a vacancy that lasts longer if you miss.

The practical sequence: legal steps first, then the cleanout in one visit, then cleaning and paint, then photography. Splitting the cleanout across two visits costs you a second $75 minimum and, more importantly, a day.

Access, and telling us the truth about it

Old eastside fourplex: no elevator, narrow original stair, often a narrower back stair, shared entry you cannot prop open for long, and a shared basement. Tell us the floor.

Mid-rise in the Pearl, Lloyd, South Waterfront or the newer Division and Williams buildings: reserve the service elevator, book the dock window, and confirm with the office what proof of insurance they want. Do it a few days ahead.

Single-family rental: the basement and the detached garage are usually where the surprise volume is. Open both before you estimate.

Street: parts of Ladd's, Clinton, Sunnyside and Sellwood have no legal parking to speak of. Say so and the crew plans a longer walk. There is no long-carry fee, no stair charge and no walk-up fee.

Worked totals

Addition shown:

• Studio — queen set + sofa + particleboard bookcase: $143 + $126 + $100 = $369. Against a three-eighths load at $338, take the load.
• One-bed with a balcony — queen set + patio table + two chairs + bike: $143 + $89 + $30 + $30 + $37 = $329
• Two-bed with two mattresses — queen $103 + full $94 + sofa $126 + dresser $126 = $449. Against a half at $431, take the half.
• House rental — half load + old fridge left behind: $431 + $164 = $595

Making it repeatable across a portfolio

If you run more than a couple of units in this metro, the useful thing is a standard process rather than a standard price.

• Photograph before anything moves. Every time, without exception.
• Handle the abandoned-property steps before booking, not in parallel with it.
• Book one visit, not two. The $75 minimum applies per visit and a second trip costs you a day.
• Give a real item list when you book so the crew arrives with the right truck capacity.
• Keep the disposal receipt with the unit file.
• Separate hazardous immediately. Paint, propane cylinders, car batteries and loose lithium-ion cells do not go on the truck. Check current Metro intake rules.

What we will not do

We will not remove property that has not cleared whatever legal process applies to your situation, on your say-so alone. That protects you more than it protects us.

We also will not handle biohazard or serious contamination — that needs a remediation firm before any general crew works in the space. And suspected asbestos or lead paint in an older Portland rental needs testing and licensed abatement, not a junk truck.

Frequently asked questions