Exterior cleaning for flats: private windows and shared spaces

The short answer

Draw the boundary of the job

Describe your floor and which windows face the street, courtyard or rear. Include balconies, glazed doors or a terrace only if you want them priced. Mark the relevant windows on an external photograph where possible. For example, “four second-floor front windows, external glass, frames and sills” is a clearer starting point than “clean my flat”. A building photograph alone does not tell the cleaner which parts belong to your enquiry.

Separate permission from practical access

A shared courtyard may provide a route to the windows, but that does not establish permission to work there. Ask the person responsible for the building about access arrangements and any rules that affect the visit. If the job includes communal gutters or a shared entrance, identify who is arranging and agreeing that work. Send the agreed access plan with the brief so providers can assess whether they can quote for it.

Ask how the windows will be reached

Tell the provider about parked cars, locked gates, overhead obstructions and different ground levels. HSE guidance asks window cleaners to assess working-at-height risks and avoid work at height where reasonably practicable. A water-fed pole may be part of a proposal, but a photograph cannot establish that it will reach every window safely. Do not offer to lean out or climb to create access; ask the cleaner to explain a suitable plan.

Compare one-off and building-wide proposals

If neighbours also want cleaning, ask for a clearly separated price and scope for each agreed arrangement. Confirm whether shared access changes the appointment and who receives completion information. A recurring visit should specify the interval, included windows and how changes are communicated. Keep the cleaner’s amount, the additional marketplace booking fee and the total together in WhatsApp. Pay the cleaner’s agreed cleaning amount after completion.

Check the result against the original window list

Use the same labelled photographs or window list to check the completed work. If a window could not be reached, ask what was done and how the agreed scope is affected. Frames, sills and balcony glazing should not become assumed extras on the day. Record any agreed change in the booking conversation before it is carried out.