HMO cleaning is the scheduled cleaning of communal areas in houses in multiple occupation - hallways, shared kitchens, bathrooms, stairwells, and bin stores. Optus Glean UK cleans HMO communal areas for landlords and letting agents nationwide, to a documented rota that supports licensing inspections, using PAYE-employed, DBS-checked operatives on fixed monthly pricing.
What HMO communal cleaning covers
In an HMO the landlord is responsible for keeping shared areas clean and safe. A communal cleaning contract covers hallways and stairwells, shared kitchens and bathrooms, touchpoints, floors, waste and bin stores, and window sills - to an agreed rota per property. It is a specialist strand of our HMO cleaning work, built around the realities of multi-occupancy buildings.
Supporting HMO licensing and inspections
Licensed HMOs are inspected by the local council, which expects communal areas to be maintained to a reasonable standard. A documented cleaning rota with completion records helps demonstrate that the property is being managed properly - useful evidence when a licence is granted or renewed. We hold the records so you can produce them on request.
For landlords and letting agents
Whether you own one HMO or manage a portfolio, we work to your terms: scheduled communal cleans, reactive attendance where needed, and reporting per property. Agents managing multiple landlords can consolidate into one account under our landlord and letting-agent cleaning service.
Portfolios across multiple towns
HMO portfolios are often spread across several towns or cities. Rather than a different local cleaner per property, we deliver one contract, one standard, and one invoice across the whole portfolio through multi-site cleaning - the national alternative for landlords who operate in more than one area.
Vetted, directly-employed cleaners
Our operatives enter shared residential space, so every one is PAYE-employed and DBS-checked (Disclosure Scotland / AccessNI in Scotland and Northern Ireland) before assignment. We do not use gig labour - see our DBS checks for cleaners guide.
HMO communal areas and typical frequency
| Area | Tasks | Typical frequency |
|---|---|---|
| Hallways & stairwells | Floors, touchpoints, dusting | Weekly |
| Shared kitchen | Surfaces, appliances exterior, floor, waste | Weekly or more |
| Shared bathrooms | Clean and disinfect, restock | Weekly or more |
| Bin stores | Clear, clean, deodorise | Weekly / on collection |
| Windows & sills (communal) | Internal wipe-down | Periodic |