What is a house cleaning service agreement?

If you have decided that you would like to hire a house or office cleaning service it would be important to agree beforehand to the terms of the service so as not to have any kind of misinterpretation and have a legal contract to adhere to in case of any problem.

This contract is called a House cleaning service agreement and if your domestic cleaning company does not include it you should ask for it, you should agree to the type of service that will be provided, whether is a one time only service or it will be recurring, obviously the form of payment an the prices, and some of the most important clauses are those that set the responsibilities of the contractor (the provider of the residential cleaning service), such as window cleaning, floor sweeping and mopping, upholstery cleaning, carpet cleaning, bathroom, etc. But also the responsibilities in case there is some kind of damage due to the bad handling of cleaning products or chemicals, say the janitor or maid hired ruins your expensive carpets.

Another crucial aspect of the house cleaning service agreement is to stipulate that there will not be any kind of employer/employee relationship between you and the service provider.

Some very important part of the agreement is to check whether the maid is insured, in case of an accident you won't have any responsibility.

Some commercial cleaning services provide their own supplies while others have to have them provided by the client, verify those in the service agreement, in case you don't want some kind of product or chemical used, be sure you state that in the agreement, for example in case you or any member of your family is allergic to any substance.

You should also make sure that you agree where to leave your keys of whom to give them to in case you don't want to be present during the cleaning.

House cleaning service prices

It is difficult to state a price because, most companies vary a lot depending on the type of service, size of the house, etc., amongst many factors. Some charge by the hour while others charge by size for example by square foot.

What services will be provided? Obviously some of the most important parts of the house cleaning service agreement is to arranged what will be cleaned, and also the rates. Most professional cleaning firms do most cleaning, especially bathrooms, kitchens, take into account that they will not clean inside your cupboards or counter tops, most can do it but as a special service, some can even clean your refrigerator or oven, but at a highly increased cost. They provide also dusting, sweeping and mopping floors.

So if you are ready to use a professional cleaning service, make sure that everything is in order and the terms are well explained in the agreement, don't worry, most companies provide forms so you just have to read them carefully and ask for aspects that may not be included.