A strata cleaning contract should spell out exactly what gets cleaned, how often, to what standard, and how the council will know the work was done. At a minimum, that means a scope schedule listing every area with its tasks and frequencies, written service standards and an inspection routine, visit logs and photo condition reports, rules for supplies, crews, keys and fobs, proof of insurance and a WorkSafeBC clearance letter, clear pricing for extras, and a stated term, renewal method and notice period.
Most cleaning disputes between councils and contractors come down to something nobody wrote down. The checklist and examples below are built for strata cleaning contracts in BC, where the council signs and supervises contracts on behalf of the owners, and councils change from year to year. A clear written contract lets the next council pick it up without starting over.
Who manages a strata cleaning contract
Under the Strata Property Act, a strata corporation acts through its council, and the council exercises the corporation’s powers and performs its duties. The Province lists entering into strata corporation contracts and supervising the work done under them as council responsibilities. The contract should be in the strata corporation’s name, not a council member’s or the manager’s.
Many councils hire a strata management company to handle the day-to-day work. Strata managers are licensed by the BC Financial Services Authority, and the services the Province describes include entering into contracts and arranging services such as maintenance. The council still remains ultimately responsible. Under the Standard Bylaws, a strata manager can’t spend strata money on a specific expenditure without a council resolution, unless council has delegated a general spending authority with maximum amounts, purposes and conditions. Many stratas have amended their bylaws, so check your own.
- Name the contacts. Name one day-to-day contact for the strata (usually the manager or a council liaison), name the contractor’s supervisor, and state who can approve extra work.
- Match the budget. Operating-fund spending must fit the fund’s purpose and be authorized, for example in the budget owners approved at the annual general meeting, by a ¾ vote, or under the Act’s limited rules for unapproved expenditures. Make sure the contract value fits the cleaning line in the approved budget.
- Handle conflicts. A council member with a direct or indirect interest in a contract must disclose it fully and promptly, must not vote on it, and must leave the meeting while it’s discussed and voted on, unless asked to stay to provide information.
- Write for the record. Written contracts are strata records. They must be kept for at least six years after the contract ends, and owners can ask to see them.
Build the scope schedule by area
The scope schedule is the heart of the contract. Attach it as a schedule, list every area separately, and give each one tasks, a frequency and a standard someone can check on a walkthrough. For suggested frequencies by building type, see our guide to how often strata common areas should be cleaned.
| Area | Tasks to list | Frequency (example) | Standard to check |
|---|---|---|---|
| Lobby and entrance | Vacuum and wet-mop floors, clean entry mats, glass doors both sides, wipe mailboxes, enterphone and handles | Each visit | No grit at the mats, no smears on door glass at eye level |
| Elevators | Floor, walls, buttons, door tracks, stainless polish | Each visit; tracks weekly | Tracks clear of debris, no fingerprints on panels |
| Corridors and stairwells | Vacuum, spot-clean walls and doors, sweep and mop stairs, wipe handrails | Weekly | No litter on landings, handrails free of residue |
| Garbage and recycling rooms | Sweep, wash floor, wipe bins and chute doors, report spills or pests | After pickup days | No standing liquid or sticky floors, no odour at the door |
| Amenity room and gym | Floors, wipe equipment and touchpoints, washrooms, empty bins | 2–3× weekly | Touchpoints wiped, washroom supplies stocked |
| Periodic work | Carpet extraction, parkade sweep and wash, walkway pressure washing, high dusting | Named months | Before-and-after photos supplied |
Give periodic work target months, such as “parkade wash in April.” Otherwise it drifts or turns into a surprise extra. If parkade or exterior work is part of the contract, our parkade cleaning guide covers what to specify.
Standards, inspections and reporting
Define clean in checkable terms
Frequencies say how often a crew visits. Standards say what finished looks like. “Lobby cleaned” can’t be checked. “No grit at the mats and no smears on door glass at the end of the visit” can. Keep the standards short and put them next to each area in the scope schedule.
Inspections
Start with a joint walkthrough and baseline photos, so pre-existing stains, wear and damage aren’t blamed on the crew later. After that, inspect with the contractor’s supervisor monthly for the first few months, then quarterly. Use the scope schedule as the inspection form: mark each area as meeting the standard or needing attention, note the fix, and set a follow-up date.
Reporting
- Visit logs: the date, time on site, areas completed and any periodic tasks done, so invoices can be matched against them.
- Photo condition reports: before-and-after photos for periodic work, plus dated photos of anything that needs attention.
- Issue flags: things the crew sees but isn’t there to fix, such as burnt-out lights, water stains, damaged door closers, graffiti, signs of pests or trip hazards. The crew reports them and the strata decides who handles each one. Electrical, plumbing and similar repairs go to licensed trades, and smaller fixes can go to a handyman crew.
When performance slips
Agree on an escalation path in the contract. Log the problem in writing, have the contractor acknowledge it with a fix date, and re-inspect. If the same issue comes back, send formal written notice under the contract’s cure clause, which gives the contractor a set time to correct it before the strata can end the contract for cause.
Resident communication
Residents should report cleaning concerns to the manager or council, not give crews instructions directly. The contract should also say how much notice residents get before disruptive work, such as floor extraction with drying time, walkway washing or a parkade wash that means moving vehicles.
Crews, supplies, keys and fobs
Crew consistency and supervision. Ask for a named supervisor and a regular crew. New staff should be walked through the site checklist before working alone, and crews should carry identification. Require written consent before any work is subcontracted, so you know who is in your building.
Supplies and equipment. State who provides consumables such as garbage bags, washroom paper and soap, and whether they’re included in the price or billed at cost. The contractor usually brings equipment, while the strata provides a storage room, water and power. Ask for a list of the products used on site, and flag finishes that need special care or residents with sensitivities to scents.
Keys, fobs and codes. Issue numbered fobs and keys against a signed register, and don’t label them with the building address. Require immediate reporting of any loss so the fob can be deactivated, and say who pays for replacements. Limit access to the rooms the scope actually needs, and require every key and fob back on the last day of the contract.
Insurance and WorkSafeBC clearance
Ask for a current certificate of commercial general liability insurance and a new one at each renewal. Many councils ask to be named as an additional insured, and your insurance advisor can tell you what limits suit your building. The contract should also explain how damage caused during cleaning is reported, photographed and resolved.
A WorkSafeBC clearance letter confirms that a business is registered with WorkSafeBC and paying its premiums. According to WorkSafeBC, if you hire a contractor who isn’t making required payments, you could be liable for premiums related to the work they did for you. To be protected, you need a clearance letter addressed to you that confirms the contractor was in good standing for the entire contract period, and it advises checking both before and after you receive services. Request a letter before work starts and again at the end, and check periodically during a long contract. Our guide to WorkSafeBC clearance letters explains the process. Apply the same insurance and clearance requirements to any approved subcontractor.
Pricing, extras, term and notice
Pricing structure
Most contracts combine a fixed monthly price for the scheduled scope with separate prices or unit rates for periodic work and extras, such as carpet extraction, pressure washing, parkade washing, post-move-out cleanups, bulky-item removal and graffiti removal. The fixed price should come from a walkthrough, and the contract should list what it includes. It should also say how and when prices can change at renewal, and how much written notice the strata gets before an increase.
Extras and change orders
Require a written change order that states the scope and price before any extra work starts, and name who can approve one. That person needs actual spending authority. The Act only allows unapproved operating-fund spending while that year’s total stays under $2,000 or 5% of the year’s operating fund contribution, whichever is less, unless your bylaws set a different amount. It also allows immediate spending where there are reasonable grounds to believe it’s needed to ensure safety or prevent significant loss or damage. That spending is limited to the minimum needed, and owners must be told as soon as feasible. Agree in advance how emergency cleanups, such as after a water leak, will be called out and billed.
Term, renewal and notice
Choose an initial term that gives both sides time to settle in, and decide whether renewal is automatic or requires written confirmation. Consider a mutual right to end the contract without cause on written notice (for example, 30 or 60 days), a separate for-cause process with a cure period, and a handover list for the end of the contract: keys and fobs returned, supplies removed, a final inspection and a final invoice checked against the logs.
Special cancellation rules in the Act, including the two-months’ notice approved by a ¾ vote, apply to strata management contracts, not to cleaning companies. A cleaning contract generally ends the way its own terms say it does. In a new building, the owner developer must give the strata copies of the contracts it signed on the strata’s behalf at the first annual general meeting, so review their term and notice clauses early.
Strata cleaning contract checklist
Use this checklist before signing a new contract or renewing an old one.
Before you sign
- Strata corporation’s full legal name and strata plan number, start date, initial term and renewal method
- Scope schedule attached, listing every area, task and frequency
- Periodic tasks with target months
- Written service standards for each area
- Inspection routine: who attends, how often, the form used and follow-up dates
- Visit logs and photo condition reports: what’s recorded and how it’s shared
- Issue-flag process for problems outside the cleaning scope
- Named supervisor and a day-to-day contact on each side
- Crew consistency, on-site training, identification and no subcontracting without written consent
- Who supplies consumables and equipment, plus storage, water and power access
- Key, fob and code register, loss procedure and return at the end of the contract
- Working hours that respect your bylaws and resident notice periods
- Certificate of liability insurance, renewed each year
- WorkSafeBC clearance letter addressed to the strata corporation, covering the contract period
- Damage reporting and resolution procedure
- Monthly price, what it includes, and invoicing and payment terms
- Unit rates for extras, written change orders and who can approve them
- Price adjustment rules and notice at renewal
- Performance process: written notice, cure period and re-inspection
- Termination without cause (mutual notice period) and end-of-contract handover
- Signed by people with authority to sign for each party
Red flags when comparing bids
Give every bidder the same written scope and the same site access, then compare bids line by line. Watch for:
- A fixed price offered without anyone walking the building.
- A one-line scope with no areas, tasks or frequencies listed.
- No periodic work mentioned, which usually means it will be billed as an extra later.
- No certificate of insurance or WorkSafeBC clearance letter available when you ask.
- Vague answers about who will actually do the work, or how often the crew changes.
- No visit logs, inspections or photo reporting offered.
- Long automatic renewals with short cancellation windows or termination penalties.
- A price far below the other bids for the same scope. Ask what’s been left out.
- Pressure washing with no plan for the wastewater. In Vancouver, for example, the Sewer and Watercourse By-law prohibits discharging contaminated water or wastewater to a storm sewer.
- A bidder connected to a council member, where the interest hasn’t been disclosed.
Bids are easiest to compare when each one is built from a walkthrough and a written, itemized scope. That’s how we quote strata cleaning, and it’s a fair standard to ask of every bidder.