Cleaning Contract Template

A cleaning contract sets clear expectations between a client and a service provider before the work begins. It can define what areas will be cleaned, when the service will take place, who supplies the equipment, how much the client will pay, and what happens if either party cancels or ends the arrangement.

Use this cleaning contract template to document the terms of one-time or recurring cleaning services. The agreement also covers payment, subcontractors, confidentiality, liability, service quality, and termination. Review each provision carefully and adjust the terms to match the actual working relationship and applicable state law.

With Loio, you can customize the agreement for your arrangement and prepare a printable version when you are ready to sign.

A cleaning contract is an agreement between a client and a service provider that describes the cleaning work to be performed and each party's responsibilities. It commonly identifies the property, scope of services, schedule, payment terms, equipment responsibilities, cancellation rules, and procedures for ending the agreement.

A written cleaning service agreement can be used for a single cleaning appointment or an ongoing arrangement. For example, the parties might agree to a one-time deep cleaning before a move or to services every week for a defined contract period.

A cleaning contract is different from a cleaning proposal. A proposal generally presents the services and price offered to a potential customer, while a contract records the terms the parties have agreed to follow.

You can use a written contract whenever the details of a cleaning arrangement should be clear to both sides. It can be particularly useful when:

Even for a one-time job, putting the scope, price, schedule, and access arrangements in writing can reduce uncertainty about what each party agreed to do.

First, consider whether the cleaner is genuinely operating as an independent service provider. Calling someone an independent contractor in a contract does not make that classification legally controlling.

For federal tax purposes, the IRS looks at the actual relationship, including behavioral control, financial control, and the type of relationship between the parties. The IRS specifically explains that a written contract describing someone as an independent contractor is not sufficient by itself to establish that status.

This issue can be especially important when an individual is hired to clean a private home. The IRS lists housecleaning workers and housekeepers among people who may perform household work. If the homeowner has the right to control both what work is done and how it is performed, the cleaner may be a household employee. By contrast, a cleaner who controls how the work is performed, normally provides their own tools, and offers services to the public through an independent business may be self-employed.

State law can also use a different classification test. For example, California generally treats a person providing services for payment as an employee unless the hiring entity can satisfy all three parts of the ABC test in Labor Code § 2775, subject to applicable exceptions.

The version of this template shown here also identifies the Client and Service Provider as individuals. If an LLC, corporation, or another business entity will be a party, make sure the agreement identifies that entity correctly and that the person signing has authority to sign on its behalf.

The best cleaning service contract template is one that reflects what will actually happen during the job. Before signing, work through the practical details below rather than relying on general terms such as “cleaning services.”

Describe the work with enough detail that both sides understand what is included in the agreed price. Depending on the job, the scope could identify:

• Rooms or areas to be cleaned;
• Vacuuming, sweeping, mopping, or dusting;
• Bathroom and kitchen cleaning;
• Window or appliance cleaning;
• Trash and debris removal;
• Deep-cleaning tasks;
• Tasks that are specifically excluded.

Be precise when using terms such as sanitize or disinfect. The Environmental Protection Agency distinguishes them from ordinary cleaning. Cleaning removes dirt and organic matter using soap or detergents; sanitizing uses chemicals to kill bacteria on surfaces; disinfecting uses chemicals to kill viruses and bacteria. EPA-registered sanitizers and disinfectants should be used according to their label directions.

The parties should agree in advance who will provide vacuums, mops, cleaning products, protective equipment, and other materials.

This template places that responsibility on the Client and makes the Service Provider responsible for the safety and storage of the equipment and materials while using them. If the cleaner normally brings their own products and equipment, the agreement should reflect the actual arrangement instead.

Who provides tools and supplies can also be relevant to worker classification, but it does not decide the issue by itself. The IRS considers it alongside the other circumstances showing financial and behavioral control.

Specify when cleaning will take place and how the Service Provider will enter the property. If the arrangement is recurring, define the frequency instead of relying on an informal understanding.

The template also lets the parties choose how much advance notice is required to cancel or reschedule an appointment and provides for a cancellation fee when the Client does not give the required notice.

Cancellation fees should not automatically be treated as enforceable in every state. For example, California Civil Code § 1671 applies special rules to liquidated-damages provisions in contracts for services purchased primarily for personal, family, or household purposes. For these consumer contracts, such a provision is generally void unless the statutory exception for damages that would be impracticable or extremely difficult to determine applies.

Set the compensation before work starts. This template provides fields for:

• A fixed amount for the agreed services;
• The payment due date;
• An hourly rate for services performed beyond the schedule;
• A cancellation fee;
• Interest on overdue payments.

The current agreement also states that payments will be made in cash. If the parties intend to use another method, such as check, card, or electronic payment, edit the contract to match that arrangement.

Avoid assuming that cleaning services receive the same sales-tax treatment everywhere. State rules differ. For example, the Texas Comptroller treats building cleaning and janitorial services as taxable real-property services. Texas separately provides that qualifying traditional household services, such as housekeeping, are not taxable when the provider is an employee of the household rather than a subcontractor working through a third-party maid service.

The independent-parties clause in a contract for cleaning services documents what the parties intend, but authorities can still examine how the relationship operates in practice.

For federal tax purposes, the IRS considers behavioral control, financial control, and the parties' relationship. There is no single factor that automatically determines the result.

Federal wage-and-hour law uses a separate framework. As of September 2026, the U.S. Department of Labor has proposed replacing its 2024 independent-contractor rule with a streamlined economic-reality analysis. The February 2026 proposal identifies control over the work and opportunity for profit or loss as two core factors, with additional factors such as skill, permanence, and integration of the work. This remains a proposed rule, so it should not be treated as a finalized new classification standard.

Cleaning frequently requires access to areas the Service Provider could not otherwise enter. Decide how access will work and whether keys, entry codes, alarm information, or other sensitive information will be shared.

Under this template, the Client must provide access to the Property on scheduled dates. The Service Provider may subcontract all or part of the Services only with the Client's prior written approval and remains responsible for overall safety, quality, and completion.

The agreement also contains a confidentiality provision that continues after termination or expiration. Read it carefully if the cleaner may encounter sensitive business information, personal records, access codes, or other private information while working on the property.

Review how responsibility for loss or damage is allocated before signing. The template includes an indemnity provision covering certain claims and losses connected with the Service Provider's performance or breach and separately addresses damage to the Service Provider caused by the Client's negligence or willful misconduct.

The agreement also requires the Service Provider to provide quality and timely services. If the Client identifies a quality defect, the Client must notify the Service Provider, who then has a specified Cure Period to correct it without additional charge. Unless the Client waives the requirement, failure to correct the defect within that period results in termination under the template.

Because liability, indemnity, and damage provisions can be affected by state law and the circumstances of the transaction, do not assume that every allocation of liability will be enforceable exactly as written in every jurisdiction.

EPA does not generally license companies simply because they provide cleaning services, but it notes that state requirements for training, certification, and licensing vary. Check state and local rules applicable to the services being offered.

Businesses with employees should also consider workplace chemical-safety obligations. OSHA's Hazard Communication Standard requires employers to communicate hazards associated with hazardous workplace chemicals. OSHA's guidance for cleaning workers addresses labels, Safety Data Sheets, training, safe handling, storage, spill procedures, and appropriate protective equipment when hazardous cleaning chemicals are used.