What Is It?
A window cleaning contract is a service agreement between a window cleaner and a customer — domestic or commercial — that records the terms of a regular or one-off cleaning arrangement. It identifies the two parties, defines the scope of work (which windows, frames, sills, and whether interior, exterior or both), sets the frequency, the price and the payment terms, and covers the practical and legal terms: cancellation and missed-clean policy, access requirements, the weather policy, liability and insurance, and how long the agreement runs and how either side ends it. It is the reference both sides return to if there is ever a disagreement.
About This Template
A written window cleaning contract sets out clearly what both sides have agreed: which windows are cleaned, how often, for how much, and on what terms. Most window cleaning runs on a handshake, which works until it does not — a customer disputes the price, expects the inside cleaned, refuses to pay for a clean done in the rain, or cancels a commercial agreement without notice. A simple service agreement prevents these disputes by writing the agreement down before the work starts. It is especially important for commercial contracts, where the sums are larger, the access more complex, and the client expects professional documentation.
When to Use
- When taking on a commercial client such as a shop, office, pub or managing agent, where written terms are expected
- When agreeing a regular domestic round customer and you want the frequency, price and terms recorded
- When the scope is more involved than basic glass — frames, sills, conservatory roofs, interior cleaning or high-level access
- When a customer asks for a contract, a quote with terms attached, or proof of insurance before they will commit
- When pricing a larger or longer-term job where a price increase or notice period needs to be agreed in advance
- When you want a clear, professional cancellation and payment policy to reduce disputes and unpaid cleans
What to Include
- The parties — the window cleaner's trading name, address and contact details, and the customer's name and the address of the property to be cleaned
- Scope of work — which windows are included, frames and sills, doors, conservatory glass and roofs, and whether interior, exterior or both
- Anything explicitly excluded — for example interior cleaning, conservatory roofs, skylights, or windows that cannot be safely reached
- Cleaning frequency — for example four-weekly, monthly or quarterly — and the days or window of days work will be carried out
- Price per clean, what it covers, and how and when any price increases will be notified
- Payment terms — amount, accepted methods, when payment is due, and any charge or policy for late payment
- Cancellation and missed-clean policy — notice required to cancel, what happens if the customer is not in, and how a clean the customer skips is treated
- Access requirements — gates, codes, keys, parking, water and power supply, and the customer's responsibility to provide safe access
- Weather policy — how rain, ice, high wind or unsafe conditions affect scheduling and whether cleans are rearranged
- Liability and insurance — confirmation that the window cleaner holds public liability insurance, and the limits of responsibility for pre-existing damage or defective windows
- Term and termination — how long the agreement runs, the notice period either side must give, and how the agreement ends
- Signatures and dates for both parties, or a clear statement that continuing the service confirms acceptance of the terms
Tips
Be specific about scope — 'all external windows, frames and sills to the front and rear, ground and first floor; conservatory roof excluded' prevents the most common dispute, which is the customer expecting more than you priced
State the weather policy plainly — agreeing in advance that exterior cleaning is carried out in light rain, and that only unsafe conditions cause a rearrangement, stops the recurring 'why clean in the rain' argument before it starts
Set a clear notice period for cancellation, especially on commercial work — it protects the income you have planned for and signals that this is a professional arrangement, not a casual favour
Keep a domestic version short and a commercial version fuller — a home customer needs a one-page agreement they will actually read; a managing agent or business expects detailed terms, proof of insurance and a defined notice period
Always confirm your public liability insurance in the contract and keep the cover current — it reassures the customer, is often required for commercial work, and the contract should make clear what the insurance does and does not cover
Why a Written Window Cleaning Contract Matters
Most window cleaning is sold informally — a price agreed at the door, a frequency assumed, and the relationship carried on by habit. For straightforward domestic work this often runs for years without trouble. The problem is what happens when it does go wrong, because an unwritten agreement gives both sides nothing to point to.
A written contract turns vague expectations into a shared, recorded agreement. It answers, in advance, the questions that cause disputes: exactly which windows are included, whether the inside is cleaned, what happens when it rains, what the customer pays and when, and what notice is needed to cancel. When everyone has agreed these in writing, there is far less to argue about later.
For domestic customers, the contract can be short and friendly — a single page that confirms the arrangement and sets clear payment and cancellation terms. For commercial customers it does more work. Shops, offices, pubs and managing agents expect to deal with a business, and a professional service agreement — with defined scope, a notice period and proof of insurance — is part of how you win and keep that work.
A contract is not a sign of distrust. It is a sign that you run a professional operation, and it protects both the customer and the window cleaner equally.
Domestic vs Commercial Window Cleaning Agreements
The same template covers both domestic and commercial window cleaning, but the two are used differently and the emphasis changes.
Domestic agreements are typically simple. The customer is a household, the property is a single home, and the work is regular external cleaning on an agreed cycle. The contract here is mainly about clarity and payment: confirming the frequency and price, making the scope clear so there is no confusion about interior cleaning or conservatory roofs, and setting a straightforward payment method and cancellation policy. Keep it to a page; a domestic customer is far more likely to read and value a short, plain agreement than a long legal document.
Commercial agreements carry more weight. The customer is a business or a managing agent, the sums are larger, the access is often more complex — controlled entry, parking restrictions, work outside trading hours — and the client expects professional documentation. A commercial contract should define the scope precisely, set a clear notice period for termination on both sides, state how price increases are handled, confirm public liability insurance with the cover amount, and address access, health and safety, and any working-at-height requirements. Commercial clients may also ask for evidence of insurance, risk assessments and method statements before awarding the work.
Use the template's full set of clauses for commercial work and a trimmed version for domestic. The underlying structure — parties, scope, frequency, price, payment, cancellation, access, weather, insurance, term — stays the same.
Scope, Weather and Access — The Three Common Disputes
Three issues cause the overwhelming majority of window cleaning disputes. A good contract addresses all three head-on.
Scope is the first. The classic dispute is the customer who expected the inside cleaned, or the conservatory roof, or windows at the back, when the price covered only external glass at the front and rear. The contract solves this by listing exactly what is included — windows, frames, sills, doors, conservatory glass — and, just as importantly, exactly what is excluded. A specific scope clause is worth more than any other part of the agreement.
Weather is the second. Window cleaners are routinely asked why they cleaned in the rain, or asked to skip a clean because it looked like it might rain. Modern exterior window cleaning, particularly with a water-fed pole, is unaffected by light rain — the windows still come up clean. The contract should state the weather policy plainly: that exterior cleaning proceeds in normal weather including light rain, and that work is only rearranged in genuinely unsafe conditions such as high wind, ice or storms. Agreeing this in advance ends the argument before it begins.
Access is the third. A locked side gate, no parking, a dog loose in the garden, or no available water or power can mean a wasted journey. The contract should make access the customer's responsibility — keeping gates unlocked or codes provided, dogs secured, and a clear way for the window cleaner to reach the property — and should set out what happens, and whether a charge applies, if a clean cannot be done because access was not provided.
Naming these three issues in the contract removes them as sources of conflict and makes the working relationship far smoother.
Insurance, Liability and Your Responsibilities
Window cleaning carries real risk — to the windows being cleaned, to the property, and to people below. The contract should be clear about insurance and where responsibility lies.
Public liability insurance is the essential cover for any window cleaner. It protects against claims if you damage a customer's property or injure someone while working. Many commercial clients and managing agents will not award work without seeing evidence of it, and some specify a minimum level of cover. The contract should confirm that you hold public liability insurance and, for commercial work, may state the cover amount. // VERIFY: there is no universal legal minimum public liability cover for window cleaners; required levels are set by individual clients and contracts, so do not state a fixed statutory figure.
If you employ anyone, employers' liability insurance is a legal requirement under the Employers' Liability (Compulsory Insurance) Act 1969. A sole trader with no employees does not need it.
The contract should also set the limits of your responsibility. You are responsible for damage you cause through your own work. You should not be held responsible for pre-existing defects — cracked sealed units, rotten or painted-shut frames, loose putty or already-damaged glass — that may be disturbed by normal, careful cleaning. A sensible liability clause asks the customer to flag any windows known to be fragile or defective, and makes clear that the window cleaner will report, rather than be liable for, problems that were already there.
Insurance does not remove the need to work safely. The contract sits alongside, not instead of, a proper working at height risk assessment, safe systems of work and the duties owed under the Work at Height Regulations 2005.
