Short answer
Rental turnover painting in Naperville comes down to touch-up or full repaint, and Lula's published make-ready figures show the gap: $150 to $400 for touch-up painting, against $1,800 to $5,400 to fully repaint a 900 square foot unit at $2 to $6 per square foot.
Getting a vacant unit ready to show
A turnover is a deadline job. The unit is empty, the next tenant has a move-in date, and the cleaners and carpet installers need the painting finished first.
We work to that window. Holes from shelves and TV mounts get filled, scuffs get covered, and the unit goes back to one standard wall color the owner can touch up between future tenants.
Make-ready painting costs from Lula
Lula's make-ready figures are published planning ranges, so use them as a budget guide rather than our price for your unit.
| Job | Typical range | Unit | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rental unit full repaint (900 sq ft unit) | $1,800 to $5,400 at $2 to $6 per square foot | per unit | Lula |
| Rental unit touch-up painting | $150 to $400 | per unit (labor and materials) | Lula |
What moves the price
- Touch-ups versus a full repaint
- Unit size and number of rooms
- Holes, mounts and damage to patch
- Smoke or water stains needing primer
- Dark accent walls going back to neutral
Tenant turnovers
Turnovers run on the gap between move-out and move-in, and paint goes on before cleaning and flooring so nothing fresh gets dusted or dripped on. We walk the unit with the manager or owner, mark each hole, scuff and stain, and agree on what gets touched up and what gets a full coat. Empty units go faster than lived-in homes, with no furniture to move and no one to work around, so most apartments and condos are done in a short visit. Keys, lockbox codes and parking are settled before the day.
Touch-up or full repaint
Touch-ups work when the walls are already the standard color, the paint is recent and the damage is small. They fail when the old paint has aged, because a fresh patch flashes as a brighter spot in raking light. Our rule of thumb is to repaint the whole wall once more than a few spots on it need attention, and larger holes go to drywall patching first. A full repaint makes sense after a long tenancy, a smoker, a dark accent color or damage across several rooms.
Ceilings and trim
Ceilings in rentals collect smoke film, cooking grease and water stains from units upstairs, and a stain left unsealed bleeds right through new paint. We seal those spots with a stain-blocking primer and roll the ceiling in flat white. Trim and doors take the hardest knocks in a turnover, from moving boxes and furniture dragged through doorways, so they are filled, sanded and recoated in a durable semi-gloss. Keeping one ceiling white and one trim color across all of an owner's units makes each later turnover faster and simpler.
What a turnover paint job includes
Unless the owner or manager sets a different scope, each unit gets:
- A walk-through with the owner or manager
- Filling nail holes, anchor holes and dents
- Stain-blocking primer on ceiling and wall stains
- Walls in one standard color
- Trim and doors in semi-gloss
- A color and sheen record for future touch-ups
North Naperville condos and townhouses between leases
About three in four Naperville homes, 74.8% in the 2020-2024 ACS, are owner-occupied, and the remaining quarter are rented, so a steady share of units here turn over between tenants. In North Naperville, two-bedroom condos were built anywhere from the early 1980s into the 2000s, and the bulk of the townhouses went up in the late 2010s. Older condo units tend to carry more layers of patches and paint, while the newer townhouses often need little beyond touch-ups and a fresh coat on scuffed trim.
How a turnover repaint runs
- Walk the unit. Mark holes, scuffs and stains, then agree on touch-up or full coat.
- Patch. Fill anchor holes and dents, sand them smooth and spot prime.
- Seal stains. Stain-blocking primer goes on smoke, water and marker spots.
- Paint. Ceilings first, then walls, then trim and doors in semi-gloss.
- Ready to clean. Unit swept, keys returned and a color record left for next time.
How long the unit is off the market
An empty one- or two-bedroom unit is usually painted in one to three days, depending on touch-up or full repaint, which leaves time for cleaning before the next showing.
Jobs that often go with this one
Drywall Repair
Holes, nail pops and cracks
Interior Painting
Single rooms to whole-house color changes
Water Stain & Ceiling Stain Repair
Leak and smoke stains sealed
Trim, Baseboard & Door Painting
Hard-wearing enamel on trim and doors