Office cleaning and the law: what UK employers and landlords must do
Updated 6 November 2026 · By the Commercial Office Cleaners team
Workplace cleanliness
The Workplace (Health, Safety and Welfare) Regulations 1992 apply to almost all workplaces in Great Britain, with equivalent regulations in Northern Ireland. Regulation 9 requires workplaces, furniture, furnishings and fittings to be kept sufficiently clean, floors, walls and ceilings to be capable of being kept clean, and waste not to accumulate except in suitable receptacles. The law does not set a cleaning frequency; the standard is what is reasonable for how the space is used. The HSE's Approved Code of Practice gives practical guidance.
Toilets and washing facilities
Employers must provide suitable and sufficient toilets and washing facilities, kept clean and in an orderly condition. Washing facilities need hot and cold or warm running water, soap or another means of cleaning, and towels or another suitable means of drying. Toilets used by women must have suitable means for disposing of sanitary dressings. In practice this means a routine for cleaning and restocking washrooms and a sanitary bin service.
Cleaning chemicals and COSHH
The Control of Substances Hazardous to Health Regulations 2002 apply to many everyday cleaning products, including descalers, bleach, oven cleaners and floor strippers. The employer of the cleaners must assess the risks, choose safer products where possible, train cleaners, provide protective equipment and keep safety data sheets. As the occupier, you should know which products are used and stored on your premises, and make sure storage is secure and away from heat sources.
- Ask your contractor for COSHH assessments and safety data sheets for products used on site
- Agree where chemicals and equipment are stored
- Make sure products are never decanted into unlabelled containers
- Check that bleach and acid descalers are never mixed or used together
Other duties that affect cleaning
| Rule | How it affects office cleaning |
|---|---|
| Work at Height Regulations 2005 | High-level dusting and window cleaning must be planned with safe equipment, avoiding work at height where possible |
| Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974 | Employers and contractors must cooperate on risks such as lone working and out-of-hours access |
| Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations 1999 | Risk assessments needed for cleaning work, with information shared between occupier and contractor |
| Duty of Care for waste, Environmental Protection Act 1990 | Business waste must go to an authorised carrier with a waste transfer note |
| TUPE 2006 | Cleaners assigned to your site may transfer when the contract changes hands |
Workplace recycling
Under Simpler Recycling, businesses in England with 10 or more full-time-equivalent employees have had to separate dry recycling, food waste and residual waste since 31 March 2025, with micro-firms of fewer than 10 employees due to follow from 31 March 2027. Wales has required workplaces to separate recycling since April 2024, and Scotland has had business recycling requirements since 2014. Cleaners need clear bin labels and a routine that keeps streams separate rather than tipping everything into one bag.
Landlords and shared buildings
In multi-tenant buildings, the landlord or managing agent is normally responsible for cleaning common parts such as receptions, stairs, lifts and shared washrooms, with the cost recovered through the service charge. Tenants are responsible for their own demise. Check the lease so that both cleaning contracts meet and nothing falls between them, especially shared kitchens and bin stores.
Sharing responsibilities with your contractor
Using a cleaning contractor transfers much of the practical work, but not all of the legal responsibility. The contractor is responsible for its own employees, including their training, protective equipment, COSHH assessments and safe systems of work. You, as the occupier and employer of the office staff, remain responsible for the overall condition of the workplace and for telling the contractor about hazards on your site. Both sides must cooperate and share information.
- Give the contractor details of site hazards, such as asbestos registers, restricted areas and fragile surfaces
- Agree fire procedures for cleaners working out of hours, including alarm zones and assembly points
- Agree how cleaners will report hazards they find, such as leaks, damaged flooring or broken fittings
- Make sure there is a safe place to store chemicals and equipment
- Agree lone working arrangements, such as check-in calls
- Keep a copy of the contractor's risk assessments and COSHH assessments for your site
- Review the arrangements whenever the building, layout or working hours change
A short annual review meeting covering health and safety, as well as cleaning standards, is a simple way to show both parties are meeting their duties.
Related guides
- How much does commercial office cleaning cost in the UK? (2026 guide)
- How often should an office be cleaned? A practical UK schedule
- Office cleaning contracts: what to include and what to check before you sign
- How to choose an office cleaning company: questions to ask and red flags
- Office deep clean vs regular cleaning: what is the difference and which do you need?
- In-house office cleaner vs a cleaning contractor: which is better value?
- Office carpet cleaning: methods, how often and how to make carpets last
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