A one-page cleaning contract template for a cleaner who keeps a house on a schedule: the service, the price, the schedule, access and keys, cancellations, damage and what happens if something goes wrong. Written in plain words so both people actually read it. Not legal advice; a lawyer in your state can check it in ten minutes.
Most cleaning arguments are about three things: a cancellation nobody paid for, a key nobody remembers handing over, and a “while you’re there” task that was never on the list. This page settles all three before the first clean.
Cleaning service agreement
Between (“the cleaner”) and (“the owner”) for the house at .
1. The service
The cleaner will clean the house according to the attached checklist (the house list), which both people can change in writing. Work that is not on the list — inside the oven or fridge, windows, organizing, laundry beyond linens — is extra and is priced before it is done.
2. Schedule
Regular clean: every on . Turnover clean: after each stay, on the day the guests leave, when the owner gives at least days’ notice of the stay.
3. Price
Regular clean: $ per clean | Turnover clean: $ | Hourly for extras: $ per hour, -hour minimum. Supplies the cleaner brings are included; supplies the house keeps (paper goods, soap, detergent) are the owner’s.
4. Payment
Due within days of each clean, by . A late payment after 14 days may pause the schedule until it is settled.
5. Access and keys
The cleaner holds key(s) and the code(s) below, keeps them locked and unlabeled, and returns them within 7 days if this agreement ends. The alarm word, the lockbox code and the gate code are not written on the key.
Code(s): Alarm:
6. Cancellations
Either person may cancel a scheduled clean with 24 hours’ notice at no charge. A clean cancelled with less notice, or a locked-out visit, is charged at 50% of the price. If the cleaner cancels with less than 24 hours’ notice, the next clean is 50% off.
7. Damage and problems
The cleaner will photograph and report anything broken, leaking or missing found during a clean, the same day. If the cleaner damages something, the cleaner will say so the same day and the two people will agree on a repair or replacement in writing. The cleaner carries liability insurance: (carrier, policy number).
8. Ending this agreement
Either person may end it with 14 days’ written notice. Cleans done before the end date are paid as usual.
The three lines that do the work
“Work that is not on the list is extra and is priced before it is done.” This is the sentence that stops the slow creep from a two-hour clean into a four-hour one at the same price. It also protects the owner: nothing gets added and billed without a yes.
The cancellation line. Fifty percent for a same-day cancellation or a lockout is standard among independent cleaners and mild next to what cleaning companies charge. Say it once here and never argue about it again.
The damage line. A cleaner who says “I broke the vase” the same day keeps the client. The line makes that the normal thing to do, and the insurance blank makes the owner ask the question once instead of wondering.
When the cleaner works in House Matters, the price, the schedule and the keys sit on the home’s card and the owner’s written yes to any extra is recorded with a time on it, so this agreement and the record say the same thing.
Questions people ask
Do I really need a contract for a house cleaning client?
For a one-time clean, no. For a house you clean on a schedule with keys and codes, yes: one page settles cancellations, access and extras before they become an argument.
Is this legally binding?
Once both people sign it, yes, in the way any simple service agreement is. It is not legal advice, and a lawyer in your state can check it quickly; the point is that both people read and agreed to the same words.
What cancellation fee is normal for cleaners?
Fifty percent for less than 24 hours’ notice or a lockout is common among independent cleaners; some charge the full price. Put the number in writing and stick to it.
Should the contract list the cleaning tasks?
No, the attached house list does that, and it changes. Keeping the tasks on a separate list means the agreement does not need re-signing every time the owner adds the sunroom.
Run your first three homes free
House Matters is cleaning business software for small businesses: a list per house, photos from the camera, the owner’s report as a link, your invoice or Venmo request when you lock up. Your first three client homes are free, then $19 a month. No per-cleaner fee.
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