Turning Over a Rental Unit in Miami? Here Is the Dumpster You Need Between Tenants
Published October 19, 2026 · Updated October 19, 2026
A single vacated unit, apartment or house, almost always fits a 20-yard dumpster: abandoned furniture, trash, and whatever didn't survive the lease. Turning over several units at once, or clearing a whole property ahead of a renovation, usually needs a 30-yard or a scheduled swap-out. Tell us the unit count and square footage when you book and we size it on the spot.
What size dumpster do I need for a rental property turnover?
One vacated unit, apartment or house, almost always fits a 20 yard: furniture a tenant left behind, mattresses, kitchen trash, and whatever flooring or drywall didn't survive the lease. Turning over several units at once in the same property, ahead of a renovation or as a full building cleanout, usually needs a 30 yard or more than one container on a schedule.
| Turnover scope | Size | Why |
|---|---|---|
| One apartment or house (furniture, trash, carpet) | 20 yard | Volume from one unit rarely exceeds six pickup loads |
| Multi-bedroom house with appliances left behind | 20 yard, sometimes 30 | Appliances and mattresses add bulk fast |
| Several units turning over at once (same property) | 30 yard with scheduled swap-out | Volume from multiple units fills a container mid-job |
| Eviction with a full household left inside | 20 or 30 yard depending on square footage | Cases vary widely; call with the room count |
| Property-wide cleanout before a renovation | 30 yard with scheduled swap-outs | Ongoing volume across a whole building or complex |
What actually fills a turnover dumpster
- Abandoned furniture: couches, mattresses, bed frames and dressers a tenant leaves behind instead of moving.
- Kitchen and bathroom trash left in cabinets, plus anything perishable that's been sitting since move-out.
- Carpet and the padding underneath, a normal step between tenants in a lot of Miami-Dade rentals.
- Drywall or cabinetry damaged beyond normal wear, sometimes water damage from an AC unit that wasn't serviced.
- Appliances the previous tenant didn't take: a stackable washer and dryer, a window AC unit, sometimes a full refrigerator.
What about a tenant's abandoned personal property?
Florida law requires a notice period before a landlord can treat a tenant's left-behind belongings as abandoned and dispose of them, so check with your attorney or property manager on the required notice and documentation before anything goes in the dumpster. Once that process is cleared and the unit is yours to clear out, we treat it like any other cleanout: furniture, trash and damaged material go in the container, and anything with resale value is your call, keep it, donate it, or sell it before we haul the rest.
Scheduling around a lease turnover deadline
Property managers usually work on a tighter clock than a typical home remodel: the new tenant's move-in date is set before the old tenant is even out, and the unit has to be clear, cleaned, sometimes re-carpeted, in a matter of days. Tell us the turnover date when you book and we deliver the same day the old lease ends, if the container is available. For a property with several units or a portfolio with multiple addresses, a scheduled swap-out keeps one container rotating from unit to unit instead of tying up a single driveway or loading area for weeks; see our guide to scheduled dumpster swap-outs for how that works. Buildings with a shared loading dock, the kind we see across Doral's apartment complexes and Hialeah's multi-family blocks, usually need delivery and pickup timed around the dock's hours rather than the unit's; tell us the building's rules and we build the schedule around them.
Booking a rental turnover dumpster
We work directly with property managers and landlords managing a single unit or a full portfolio across Miami-Dade and Broward, with same-day delivery where a container is available and no long-term contract required for a one-time turnover. We put boards under the container's rails to protect a shared parking lot or a driveway, and if the container has to sit in the street or a numbered parking space rather than on private property, Miami-Dade or the building may require a right-of-way permit; we'll tell you before delivery, not after. We're a family company based in Kendall, licensed and insured since 1993.
FAQ
What size dumpster do I need to turn over a rental unit?
A 20 yard covers almost every single-unit turnover: furniture, trash, carpet and whatever the previous tenant left behind. Several units turning over at once, or a full building ahead of a renovation, usually needs a 30 yard or a scheduled swap-out.
Can you deliver on short notice for a lease turnover?
Yes, same-day delivery is available across Miami-Dade and Broward depending on container availability. Tell us the date the unit needs to be clear and we build delivery around it.
What if the tenant left furniture, mattresses or appliances behind?
All of it goes in the dumpster along with everything else, as long as you've cleared the legal notice process for abandoned property first. Mattresses and appliances add weight and bulk fast, so mention them when you book so we size the container correctly.
Do you work directly with property management companies?
Yes. We serve single-unit landlords and property managers running full portfolios across Miami-Dade and Broward, with no long-term contract required for a one-time turnover.
Is there a legal process before I can throw out a tenant's belongings?
Yes, Florida law requires landlords to follow a notice period before treating left-behind property as abandoned. Check with your attorney or property manager on the specifics before anything goes in the dumpster.
Do I need a permit for a dumpster during a rental turnover?
Not if the container stays on the property's own driveway, lot, or loading area. A permit only comes into play if it has to sit in the street or a numbered parking spot, which some buildings and the county treat as a right-of-way permit.
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