Questions to ask before you sign a cleaning contract

A cleaning contract looks simple on paper. A price, a frequency, a start date. The trouble is that the simple version hides the parts that decide whether your building stays clean in month seven, not just week one. The questions below are the ones worth asking before you sign, drawn from what tends to go wrong on commercial sites across Scotland.

What exactly is included, and what is not

The single most common dispute in cleaning is scope. A quote for "office cleaning" can mean very different things from one provider to the next. Ask for a written specification that lists tasks by area and frequency, not a paragraph of intent.

Pay attention to the items that often sit outside a standard daily clean:

• Internal and external window cleaning, and how often
• Carpet and hard floor deep cleans (usually quarterly or twice yearly)
• High level dusting, vents, and light fittings
• Kitchen and washroom deep cleans beyond the daily wipe down
• Consumables such as hand towels, soap, and bin liners
• Periodic tasks like upholstery cleaning or wall washing

If consumables are excluded, you are running a second invisible budget. Get the annual figure estimated up front. A clear specification also gives you something concrete to measure against when you check the work, which matters more than any promise made during the sale.

Who actually does the work

Find out whether the people cleaning your building are directly employed or subcontracted. Both models can work, but you should know which one you are buying. Subcontracting is not a problem in itself, but it changes who is accountable when standards slip and who holds responsibility for training and checks.

Ask three plain questions. Who employs the cleaners. Are they paid at least the real Living Wage, which is set independently and updated each autumn. What happens to the team if you change providers, given that TUPE rules often transfer existing staff to the incoming contractor. The answers tell you about retention, and retention is what keeps standards steady. A site cleaned by the same two people for two years almost always looks better than one with constant turnover.

It is also fair to ask how supervision works. Is there a named contract manager, how often do they visit in person, and how do they record what they find. ORVO Group runs sites with a single point of contact precisely because a name and a phone number solve problems faster than a ticketing queue.

How performance is measured and fixed

A contract should say what good looks like and what happens when it falls short. Look for a service level agreement with response times in writing. A reasonable standard is a same day response for urgent issues, such as a flooded washroom, and 24 to 48 hours for routine complaints.

Ask how audits work. Monthly documented inspections, ideally with photographs and a scored checklist, give you evidence rather than reassurance. Ask what happens after a failed audit: a re clean at no cost is the standard you want, with repeated failures triggering a credit or a clear escalation path. Without this, a complaint is just a conversation, and conversations get forgotten.

The commercial terms that catch people out

The headline price is rarely where the cost lives. Read the terms that govern how the contract changes and how it ends.

• Length and notice period: 12 month terms with 30 to 90 days notice are typical. Be wary of automatic rollovers that lock you in for another full year if you miss a narrow cancellation window.
• Price reviews: annual increases are normal, but they should be capped or tied to a stated index rather than left open. Ask how Living Wage uplifts are passed on.
• Additional charges: confirm the hourly or call out rate for ad hoc work, and whether minimum charges apply.
• Insurance and compliance: ask for proof of public liability cover (commonly five million pounds or more), employers liability, and method statements and risk assessments for the site.

For factored properties and shared commercial spaces, also check who signs off the spec and how costs are apportioned across tenants, because a vague answer here causes friction at every service charge review.

A short note before you commit

The right contract is the one you can hold someone to. If a provider answers these questions plainly, in writing, you are most of the way to a clean building that stays clean. If the answers are vague, that vagueness will surface later, usually at the worst moment.

If you want a second pair of eyes on a specification or a quote you have already received, that is the kind of thing our guidance service is built for. Happy to talk it through, no obligation: get in touch and we will give you a straight answer.