Common-area cleaning for Vermont property managers

Common-area cleaning is the recurring clean of the parts of a building nobody rents but everybody uses — lobbies, hallways, stairwells, laundry rooms and shared amenities. Simply Keeping works with property managers across Vermont on a set schedule, so the common areas are somebody's job rather than everybody's complaint.

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What is common-area cleaning

Common-area cleaning covers the shared parts of a managed property — the entrance, the lobby, the corridors, the stairwells, the elevator, the laundry room, the mail area and whatever amenity space the building has. It is the space that belongs to no single tenant, which is exactly why it stops getting cleaned unless someone is contracted to do it.

For a property manager the value is not the cleaning, it is not having to think about it. A set schedule, a written scope, and one person to call when something changes.

What we clean in a managed property

Lobbies, entrances, vestibules and entry mats
Corridors, stairwells, landings and elevator interiors
Shared restrooms and, where present, shared kitchen or amenity spaces
Laundry rooms — floors, surfaces, and around the machines
Mail areas, package rooms and notice boards
Handrails, door handles, buzzer panels and the other shared touch points

Do you work with property managers across multiple buildings

Yes, and it is easier for everyone when it is set up that way. Several buildings on one scope, one schedule and one point of contact is less administration than several separate arrangements, and it means a change to one property does not require re-negotiating the rest.

Each building still gets walked individually, because a six-unit conversion in Bristol and a commercial block in Burlington do not need the same thing. What is shared is the arrangement, the invoicing and the person you call.

Who do you report to on a managed property

Whoever you tell us to. On most managed properties that is the manager rather than the owner and rarely the tenants, and it matters that everyone knows which it is before the first visit rather than after the first complaint.

Building access, key or code handling, which doors are in scope and what to do about something found broken all get agreed at the walkthrough and written into the scope. Simply Keeping is fully insured — the thing most managers need on file before a contractor gets a key.

Frequently asked questions

How often are common areas cleaned

Most managed properties run common-area cleaning weekly, with high-traffic entrances and lobbies more often than that. Buildings with commercial tenants and public footfall usually need more; a small residential block with six doors usually needs less. The frequency is set per building at the walkthrough rather than applied across a portfolio.

Can you handle several buildings on one schedule

Several properties can run on one arrangement with one contact and one invoice. Each building is walked and scoped on its own, because they will not all need the same thing, but the contract, schedule and reporting sit together. That is usually simpler for a manager than separate arrangements per address.

Do you clean exterior areas like entryways and steps

Entrances, thresholds, entry mats and the immediately adjacent step area are usually part of a common-area scope, and in Vermont that means grit and salt for a good part of the year. Snow clearing, ice treatment and grounds maintenance are separate trades and are not included.