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How-to 5 steps 4 min read Updated 11 November 2026

How to clean up inactive SharePoint sites

Find the SharePoint sites nobody uses, ask each owner, and archive or delete what is not needed, with the decision on record.

Torsten Mandelkow Works with
How-to

What is an inactive SharePoint site?

An inactive SharePoint site is one that has had no real use for a set period. Cleaning up means asking each site owner whether the content is still needed, then archiving or deleting what is not. Done on a schedule, it frees storage and records each decision.

In short

  • Inactive sites keep consuming storage and keep their old permissions.
  • Set one inactivity rule per site type and write it down.
  • Ask the owner before acting, and check retention and holds.
  • Go read-only first, then archive, and delete only after an approval.

Step by step

Five steps take you from the admin center list to a site that is archived with a record.

  1. List sites by last activity and size

    Open the SharePoint admin center active sites list and the activity reports, and export site, owner, last activity and storage. Sort by size and by time since last use.

    In Rencore:

  2. Set the inactivity rule

    Decide what counts as inactive for each site type, for example no use in 90 days for team sites. A written rule turns a debate into a list.

    In Rencore:

  3. Ask each owner

    Send each flagged site to its owner to keep, archive or delete, and escalate unanswered requests to the owner's manager. Assign an owner first where there is none.

    Tip: Start with the largest inactive sites. A few decisions there recover most of the storage.

    In Rencore:

  4. Check retention, then go read-only

    Check for retention policies, legal holds and a linked Team. Set the site to read-only so it can still be restored, and archive it after a set period.

  5. Record the decision and repeat

    Keep who decided what, when and why, and run the check on a regular cycle so the backlog does not return.

Why inactive sites pile up

Sites are created for projects, events and teams, and almost nobody closes them. Without a lifecycle the site stays, with its files, version history and the access that was set up on day one. The admin center shows you the list, but it does not decide for you.

The cleanup is more about people than tools. Someone has to say a site can go, and that someone is the owner. So the work is finding the sites, finding the owners and making the decision easy to make and easy to record.

Connectors in this How-to

Each connector page in the Rencore docs lists the objects, policies, reports and actions behind these steps.

Common questions about inactive SharePoint sites

How do I find inactive SharePoint sites in the admin center?
In the SharePoint admin center, the active sites list and the site activity and usage reports show when a site was last active and how much storage it holds. SharePoint Advanced Management adds inactive site policies that notify owners and can set sites to read-only. Export the list, then sort by last activity and size to decide where to start.
How long should a site be unused before it counts as inactive?
There is no single right answer, so pick a period you can defend per site type. Many organizations start with 90 days of no use for team sites and a longer period for archives or compliance sites. Write the rule down, apply it consistently and ask the owner before acting, since some sites are quiet by design.
Is it safe to delete an inactive SharePoint site?
Not without checking. Look for a retention policy or legal hold, whether the site is the files location of a Team, and whether anyone has open links to it. Safer first steps are to set the site to read-only and archive it. Deleted sites sit in the recycle bin for a period and still count against storage until then.
Who should decide what happens to an inactive site?
The site owner, with their manager as the fallback if there is no owner. The owner knows whether the content still matters. IT sets the inactivity rule and carries out the decision. If a site has no owner at all, that is a finding in itself, so assign one before you decide anything else.
Can this be automated across sites, Teams and groups?
Yes. Rencore Governance has policies that flag SharePoint site collections not used for more than 90 days, with a report showing each site's owner, last use and storage. An automation can then ask the owner in Microsoft Teams whether to keep it and archive it if not, with an approval step where a person should sign off.

Last updated 11 November 2026

About the author

Torsten Mandelkow

Torsten is co-founder and CAA at Rencore. During his time as a SharePoint consultant, he always tried to improve and automate the SharePoint development process, first by creating the SharePoint Software Factory (SPSF), and later by creating the SharePoint code analysis tools, today known as SPCAF. After an intermezzo for 3 years at Microsoft, he is now part of the RENCORE team and is responsible for the further technical development of all our tools.

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