What does a cleaning company do for your HOA or apartment complex?
A good cleaning company for an apartment complex works with dedicated staff per property, has a site supervisor as the fixed point of contact for the HOA board, arranges cover during illness itself and offers a clear cleaning plan with fixed tasks and frequencies. Also look at certifications such as SIEV, experience with HOAs and whether the company also offers window cleaning and floor maintenance in-house.
As a board member or manager of a homeowners’ association, you are responsible for the communal areas. Entrances, stairwells, lifts, galleries and storage areas need to look well-kept. That may seem straightforward, but in practice HOAs often run into the same problems: changing cleaners, complaints from residents that go unaddressed, and board members losing hours to managing a self-employed cleaner.
A professional cleaning company solves that. But not every cleaning company is suitable for complex management. In this article you will read what a cleaning company for an apartment complex should do, what to look for when choosing and which questions to ask during the intake.
Which areas do we focus on?
A cleaning company for HOAs limits its work to the communal areas. The apartments themselves are and remain the responsibility of the residents. The communal areas usually include the entrance and porch, stairwells including handrails and landings, lifts and lift cars, galleries, storage corridors, bicycle sheds, car parks and the glass in the general areas.
The details make the difference. A cleaning company that only mops the floor and leaves the rest untouched will not keep a complex looking well-kept. Doorbell panels, letterboxes, door frames, window sills, light fittings and ledges together determine whether a porch really looks clean or just seems to have had “the floor done”.
What should you look for when choosing a cleaning company for your HOA?
1. Does the company work with dedicated staff per complex?
This is by far the most important question. A cleaner who knows the complex works faster and more effectively. He or she knows which corner of the porch always gets dirty, where residents often lean their bicycles against the wall and which window frame needs extra attention. Residents see a familiar face, which directly contributes to the sense of safety and care within the complex.
Ask specifically: how many staff do you deploy at our complex, how stable is that team and what happens in case of illness or holiday? A good cleaning company arranges cover entirely itself, from its own pool of certified staff.
2. Is there one fixed point of contact for the board?
For an HOA board, nothing is as time-consuming as constantly having to figure out who to approach for what. A good cleaning company assigns a dedicated site supervisor to your complex. Someone with a direct phone number, who knows the property and comes by personally for questions or complaints. No call centre, no changing contacts.
3. Does the company hold a certification?
Recognised certifications such as the SIEV mark (Schoonmaak Is Een Vak, meaning ‘Cleaning Is a Profession’) indicate that the cleaning company is independently audited every year on quality, staff policy, safety and transparency. For an HOA board, that is an external check you do not have to carry out yourself.
Other valuable certifications: the Code of Responsible Market Conduct (fair employment practices and realistic pricing) and the EU Ecolabel for the cleaning products used. The latter is relevant if your HOA values sustainable cleaning.
4. Do you receive a tailored cleaning plan?
A cleaning company that immediately sends a quote without visiting first does not know your complex. A proper approach starts with an on-site intake. The site supervisor looks at the number of floors, the types of flooring, the occupancy, the visitor traffic and any specific requirements. On that basis, a cleaning plan is drawn up with concrete tasks, frequencies and measurement points.
Ask for that plan in writing. That way everyone knows what is being done and you as a board can check whether agreements are being kept.
5. Can the company also handle window cleaning and floor maintenance?
A complex periodically needs more than weekly cleaning. Window cleaning of the general areas, machine cleaning of poured floors or corridors, moss and algae removal on galleries, facade cleaning and sometimes specialist work such as graffiti removal. If the cleaning company offers these services itself, you keep one point of contact for everything.
If the company works with several subcontractors, it becomes more complex to make agreements and resolve complaints. An integrated offering is usually more practical for HOAs.
6. How does communication with residents and the board work?
Residents sometimes have a request or complaint: a leak in the porch, broken glass, extra attention for a visitors’ day. Ask how the cleaning company handles that. Does it work with a digital system such as the Appreo app in which reports are immediately visible? Or does everything have to go through email and post?
A modern approach means that you as a board have insight into what has been done, when and what special observations have been reported. That saves board meetings ending in “can someone follow up on that?”.
7. What is in the contract?
Pay attention to the term, the notice period and the price agreements. A cleaning company that trusts its own quality does not need multi-year contracts with high penalty clauses. At Reino, for example, a notice period of two months applies for smaller contracts and three months for larger projects.
Also check whether price increases are reasonably arranged. Annual indexation in line with the cleaning industry collective labour agreement is normal; an open-ended clause is not.
How often should an apartment complex be cleaned?
The frequency depends on four factors: the number of apartments, the presence of a lift, the visitor traffic and the type of flooring. Below is an indication that fits most complexes:
- Small complex without a lift (4 to 8 apartments, limited traffic): every other week
- Mid-sized complex with a lift (8 to 20 apartments): weekly
- Large complex or heavy visitor traffic (more than 20 apartments): weekly to several times per week
- Complex with commercial units or hospitality: at least weekly, often more frequently
In addition, periodic tasks form part of the complex maintenance: window cleaning usually three to four times a year, machine cleaning of hard floors once or twice a year, and deep cleaning of storage areas or car parks annually. These tasks are included in the cleaning plan in advance, so they do not have to be negotiated separately each year.
What does a cleaning company for an HOA cost?
The price for cleaning an apartment complex depends on the size, the number of floors, the frequency, the type of flooring and any additional services. As an indication, the monthly costs for a mid-sized complex with a lift are usually between 200 and 600 euros per month, excluding periodic services such as window cleaning and floor maintenance.
Important to know: the lowest quote is rarely the best choice. A cleaning company that structurally bids below the real cost price will subsequently cut back on materials, training or staff. You will notice this within six months through declining quality and rising complaints. Always request an on-site intake before comparing prices, and make sure quotes are drawn up on the basis of a comparable scope.
About Reino Interieurverzorgers
Reino is a family business from Haarlem with more than 87 years of experience in commercial cleaning. We take care of the cleaning of HOAs and apartment complexes in the region of Haarlem, Hoofddorp, Schiphol-Rijk, Lijnden, Amstelveen and the Haarlemmermeer. With dedicated staff per complex, a fixed site supervisor as the point of contact and the Appreo app for direct communication. We are SIEV-certified, endorse the Code of Responsible Market Conduct and work with EU Ecolabel cleaning products.
Would you like to know what this approach would look like for your complex? Request a no-obligation quotation.
