Commercial
HOA clubhouse and common area cleaning: a guide for boards
What an HOA cleaning contract should cover, how often clubhouses and shared spaces need cleaning, and how to keep residents from emailing the board about it.
By Scrubhub Cleaning ·
Most HOA clubhouses and common areas need a professional clean once a week, plus an extra clean after any event booked in the clubhouse. The contract should list every space, the tasks in each, and who residents or the manager contact when something is missed.
HOA cleaning has a problem other commercial cleaning doesn’t. The people paying for it (the board) aren’t the people using it (the residents), and nobody is on site to check. So when the cleaning slips, the board hears about it from an annoyed homeowner, usually in an email copied to everyone.
What HOA common areas usually include
Every community is different, so the first step is a list. Walk the property and write down every shared indoor space. It usually includes some of these:
- Clubhouse or community room, with its kitchen and restrooms
- Meeting or event hall
- Fitness room
- Pool restrooms, showers and changing rooms
- Mail room or mailbox area
- Lobbies, hallways and stairwells in condo buildings
- Shared laundry rooms
- Management or leasing office
We clean an HOA communal building as part of our regular commercial work, alongside offices and large meeting halls. The clubhouse is always the space residents judge the board on.
How often each space needs cleaning
| Space | Typical frequency | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Clubhouse and community room | Weekly, plus after each event | Kitchen and restrooms take most of the time |
| Fitness room | Two to three times a week | Equipment touch points, mirrors, floor mats |
| Pool restrooms and showers | Two to three times a week in summer, weekly off season | Fresno's pool season runs long |
| Mail area and lobbies | Weekly | Entrance glass and floors show dust fast |
| Hallways and stairwells | Weekly or every other week | Depends on the number of units |
The summer problem in the Central Valley
Fresno summers run long and hot, and pool season goes from spring well into autumn. Pool restrooms and changing rooms that were fine on a weekly clean in April can be in rough shape by July. Wet feet track grass and dust in, towels get left behind, and the restrooms take far more traffic than they were built for.
Plan a heavier summer schedule from the start rather than adding visits after residents complain. It’s cheaper to agree it in advance than to pay for emergency call-outs.
Dust is the other local issue. Lobby and clubhouse windows facing open land or orchards collect a film quickly through the dry months, and entrance floors show it within days.
Getting communication right
This matters more for an HOA than for almost any other client, because nobody from the board is there when the cleaners are.
The most common complaint we hear from commercial clients about their previous cleaner is communication. For an HOA that means one clear contact for the property manager, a simple way to report something missed, and confirmation when it’s fixed. Residents can then be told “it’s been reported and it’ll be done on Thursday” instead of the board guessing.
The board pays for the cleaning, the residents judge it, and nobody is on site to check. Communication has to fill that gap.
Ask the cleaning company for a short note after each visit, or photos of the clubhouse after an event. It takes the crew a minute and saves the board a lot of emails.
What to put in an HOA cleaning contract
- A list of every space and the tasks in each
- Frequency for each space, including a summer schedule if you have a pool
- Event clean-up: how it’s booked, how fast it happens, what it costs
- Who supplies paper goods, soap and trash liners
- Access: keys, gate codes, alarm codes and who holds them
- The contact for problems, and how fast they respond
- Insurance: ask for a certificate naming the HOA. We carry $1M liability cover and workers’ comp, and our staff are bonded.
Common mistakes HOA boards make
- Choosing the lowest bid every year. Changing cleaners every year means a new crew learning the property every year.
- Leaving event clean-up undefined. It becomes the most common source of resident complaints.
- Not planning for pool season. The same schedule all year leaves summer restrooms struggling.
- Having no single contact. If residents, the manager and three board members all message the cleaner directly, things get missed.
- Never checking the insurance certificate. A cleaner hurt on HOA property without cover is the association’s problem.
Frequently asked questions
Frequently asked questions
How often should an HOA clubhouse be cleaned?
Weekly for most clubhouses, plus an extra clean after each booked event. Busier communities with daily use may need two visits a week.
What does HOA common area cleaning include?
Usually the clubhouse, its kitchen and restrooms, fitness room, pool restrooms, mail area, lobbies, hallways and shared laundry rooms. The contract should list each space.
Who pays for event clean-up in an HOA clubhouse?
That's up to the board. Many charge it to the resident who booked the room through a cleaning fee. Either way, price it separately so it doesn't eat into the regular schedule.
Should the HOA or the property manager hire the cleaner?
The board usually approves the contract, and the property manager runs it day to day. Make sure the cleaning company has one contact so instructions don't conflict.
Do you clean HOAs in Clovis and Madera?
Yes. We clean across Fresno, Clovis, Madera, Sanger and Selma.
What to do next
Book a walkthrough with your property manager or a board member. We’ll walk every shared space, suggest a schedule that covers summer and events, and send a fixed price within 24 hours. If you’re comparing companies, our questions to ask before hiring a commercial cleaner are a good starting checklist, and you can see the full commercial cleaning service here.
