Recurring house cleaning
Weekly, fortnightly or monthly cleaning on a fixed scope, with the same crew and a written checklist.
Ottawa cleaning costs and rules
House and commercial cleaning in Ottawa
What a recurring clean, a deep clean, a move-out clean and an office contract actually cost in 2026, and how to check a cleaning company when no licence exists to check.
- Cleaning is not a licensed trade in Ontario. We say so plainly and explain the four things that can actually be verified instead
- Bonded and insured are not the same thing. One covers employee theft up to a stated amount, the other covers damage and injury, and a company may hold only one
- WSIB is the one that can land on you. Ask for the clearance number, and know that hiring a housekeeper directly can make you an employer
- No invented prices. Every figure is an indicative 2026 range with its cost drivers named, and anything we could not verify says so
All services
Deep cleaning
A one-off reset that reaches the places a maintenance visit never does, usually before starting a regular schedule.
Move in and move out cleaning
An empty-property clean to a handover standard, timed around closing dates and the end of a tenancy.
Office and commercial cleaning
Contract janitorial work for offices, clinics and small commercial sites, with a written specification and a documented schedule.
Post-renovation and construction cleaning
Drywall and sawdust removal in stages, from rough clean to final detail, with the dust taken out rather than moved around.
Why choosing a cleaner is harder than it should be
There is no licence to clean in Ontario. Cleaning is not one of the 23 compulsory trades where certification is legally required, the group that includes plumber and electrician (Skilled Trades Ontario). Nobody registers cleaners, examines them or disciplines them, so the words in the advertisements are doing a job that a licence does in other trades, and most of them are doing it badly.
Four things do exist and can be checked. Liability insurance, which responds to damage and injury. A bond, which covers employee theft up to a stated amount and is not insurance at all. WSIB registration, verified by a clearance number valid for up to 90 days. And a police record check, which needs the individual's consent and comes in three different forms. Those four questions, asked before the first visit, do more than any review.
The prices on this site are indicative 2026 ranges. No primary source publishes Ottawa cleaning rates, so each figure is built from the cost drivers we can name: floor area, bathroom count, stairs, pets, travel distance and how much salt gets tracked through the front hall between December and April.
Indicative ranges
Ottawa cleaning price guide (2026)
- $45 to $70House cleaning, per cleaner-hour
- $100 to $170 a visitRecurring clean, 1 to 2 bedroom condo
- $120 to $200 a visitRecurring clean, 3 bed 2 bath house, weekly
Indicative 2026 prices before HST for Ottawa. No primary source publishes local cleaning prices, so every figure here is a planning range built from the cost drivers named on each service page, not a quote. Ontario's general minimum wage rises from $17.60 to $17.95 on 1 October 2026, which will show in 2027 renewals. Carpet steam cleaning, window exteriors, duct cleaning and any abatement work are separate trades with separate quotes. Ottawa cleaning price guide (2026).
How the work runs
- Get the scope in writing firstA task list with explicit exclusions prevents almost every dispute this trade generates. Ovens, fridges, interior windows and blinds are normally extra.
- Ask the four verifiable questionsCertificate of insurance and its limit, bond amount, WSIB clearance number, and whether the people entering your home consented to a police record check.
- Buy a reset before a routineA maintenance visit holds a standard rather than setting one. Most companies want a deep clean first, and they are right to.
- Price the winter honestlyFive months of road salt through an entrance hall is a real extra job. Matting, a higher winter frequency at the door and neutral cleaners on salt residue.
Areas we serve
We serve Ottawa: Kanata, Barrhaven, Nepean, Orléans, Centretown, the Glebe, Westboro and Hintonburg.
Guides
Move-out cleaning in Ottawa: a room by room checklist
What an empty-property clean has to cover room by room, what the deposit argument actually turns on, the condo access paperwork that stops crews at the lobby, and how to…
What house cleaning costs in Ottawa in 2026
Indicative ranges for recurring, deep and move-out cleaning, the six things that actually move a quote, why the cheapest number is usually cheap for a reason, and what…
What bonded, insured and WSIB actually cover
Three words used interchangeably in cleaning advertisements that protect three different things, plus what a police record check can and cannot tell you, and the one…