The Optus Glean promise: predictability
Three pillars. Three commitments. No exceptions.
Predictable cost. One fixed monthly fee, set against a defined scope and an annual indexed review. No variable hours. No surprise invoices. No padded callout charges. Budgeted once, paid by Direct Debit, reviewed once a year.
Predictable presence. The site is cleaned every day it is meant to be cleaned. A named primary cleaner is rostered to your contract, supported by a named relief who is already vetted, inducted, and trained on the same colour-coded system and IPC standard. The schedule does not depend on whether one person is available on one day.
Predictable freedom. A single point of accountability. One contract. One named manager. One number to call. Cleaning is no longer a problem the site has to manage — it is a service that runs.
Why cleaning in Cork is structurally hard to get right
Most cleaning provision in Ireland — including in healthcare-adjacent settings — is delivered by a workforce that is structurally part-time and casual. A significant proportion of operatives across the sector also work as healthcare assistants in nursing homes, residential care, and acute hospitals. Cleaning shifts are typically taken when healthcare shifts are not available, and released when they are. This pattern is consistent with CSO labour data on accommodation, food, and administrative-support employment, and it is the underlying reason that buyers across Ireland encounter inconsistency from agencies they have contracted in good faith.
The pattern is reinforced by two background pressures specific to Cork. Housing affordability limits the catchment for any role paying at or near the minimum wage. The Contract Cleaning Employment Regulation Order rate of €14.80 per hour for 2026, set under the Labour Court's sectoral employment framework, sits close enough to flexible care-sector pay that operatives drift toward whichever shift pays slightly more on the day. Both pressures pull cleaning staff away from contracted shifts and toward casual healthcare work.
The result, from the buyer's perspective, is the experience most practice managers, facilities leads, and procurement officers in Cork describe: a clean that is half-completed when the contracted cleaner is available, missed entirely when they are not, and accompanied by recurring conversations with the agency about cover that may or may not arrive.
This is the structural problem Optus Glean is built to solve. Our operatives are fully PAYE-employed with guaranteed weekly hours, paid leave, and pension contributions under Irish auto-enrolment. They are paid above the ERO floor deliberately — because the structural reliability of the service depends on the cleaner choosing to remain in the role rather than rotating through casual healthcare shifts. A named primary cleaner is assigned to your site, supported by a named relief, both Garda-vetted and trained to Optus Glean's documented HIQA-aligned IPC standard.
End of Tenancy Deep Cleaning in Cork
Cork's rental market is one of the tightest in Ireland. With University College Cork (UCC) and Munster Technological University (MTU, formerly CIT) driving strong student rental demand, plus a growing professional workforce attracted by the pharmaceutical and tech sectors, landlords in Cork can afford to be selective. A professionally cleaned property at the end of a tenancy protects your deposit as a tenant and maximises your rental income as a landlord.
Optus Glean provides comprehensive end of tenancy cleaning across Cork city and county. Our service goes far beyond a standard clean — we deep clean every room, every surface, and every fixture to a standard that satisfies landlords, letting agents, and inventory clerks. We offer a deposit back guarantee: if your landlord raises cleaning-related issues after our clean, we return to address them at no extra charge.
Cork Areas We Cover
We provide end of tenancy cleaning across all Cork residential areas:
Student Rental Areas
Cork's student rental market is concentrated around UCC and MTU. Key student areas include:
- UCC vicinity — Western Road, Magazine Road, College Road, Donovan's Road, Glasheen Road, Bandon Road. Dense student housing with house-shares and purpose-built student accommodation
- MTU/Bishopstown — Wilton, Bishopstown, Curraheen Road. Mix of student digs and apartment complexes
- City centre — Washington Street, Barrack Street, North Main Street. Student apartments and bedsits in converted buildings
Student properties typically need more intensive cleaning than standard residential tenancies. Kitchen appliances, bathrooms, and communal areas in shared houses accumulate heavier soiling over an academic year. We price student end-of-tenancy cleans to reflect the additional work involved, and our teams are experienced with the condition these properties are typically in at year-end.
City Centre Apartments
Cork city centre has a growing apartment market, with new developments at the Docklands, Navigation Square, and Horgan's Quay joining established apartment complexes around the city. These tend to be modern, well-fitted apartments that need a thorough deep clean between tenancies to maintain their condition and rental value.
Suburban Houses
The suburban areas of Douglas, Ballincollig, Carrigaline, Cobh, Midleton, Glanmire, and Rochestown have strong family rental markets. These are typically 3-bed and 4-bed semi-detached or detached houses that need comprehensive cleaning including gardens, patios, and external areas in some cases.
End of Tenancy Cleaning Pricing in Cork
Our Cork end of tenancy pricing is transparent and based on property size:
- Studio / 1-bed apartment — €180 to €250
- 2-bed apartment — €250 to €350
- 3-bed house — €300 to €450
- 4-bed house — €400 to €550
- 5+ bed house — €500 to €700
These prices include a full deep clean of all rooms, kitchen (including oven interior), bathrooms, and internal windows. Optional add-ons include:
- Carpet deep cleaning — €50 to €150 depending on number of rooms
- External window cleaning — €40 to €80
- Patio/garden tidy — from €80
- Heavy soiling surcharge (student properties) — €50 to €150 depending on condition
All prices are exclusive of VAT. We provide exact quotes after understanding the property's size, condition, and requirements.
What Our End of Tenancy Clean Includes
Kitchen
- Oven interior deep clean (racks, glass, interior walls)
- Hob degreasing and cleaning
- Extractor hood and filter cleaning
- Fridge and freezer cleaning (must be empty and defrosted)
- All countertops, splashbacks, and tiled surfaces
- Interior of all cupboards and drawers (must be empty)
- Sink, taps, and drainage area
- Small appliances — microwave, kettle, toaster (exterior)
- Floor deep clean
Bathrooms
- Bath and/or shower deep clean including grout and silicone
- Toilet deep clean including behind and around base
- Basin, taps, and chrome fixtures
- Mirror cleaning
- Tile and grouting cleaning
- Extractor fan cleaning
- Floor deep clean
All Rooms
- Vacuuming all carpets and rugs
- Mopping all hard floors
- Skirting boards wiped
- Windowsills and frames cleaned
- Internal windows cleaned
- Light switches and door handles sanitised
- Cobweb removal from corners and ceilings
- Radiators wiped
- Built-in wardrobes cleaned internally (must be empty)
Why Cork Tenants and Landlords Choose Optus Glean
- Deposit back guarantee — If your landlord raises cleaning issues, we come back free of charge
- Student rental specialists — We know what UCC and MTU student houses look like at year-end. No surprises, no judgment, just a thorough clean
- Garda vetted — All operatives are Garda vetted for your peace of mind
- Fully insured — €6.5M public liability covers any accidental damage
- Fixed pricing — No hourly billing. You know the cost before we start
- Landlord portfolios — Multi-property landlords get portfolio pricing and priority scheduling
How Optus Glean handles staff shortages
Every Optus Glean contract is staffed on a redundancy model rather than a single-person model. A named primary cleaner is assigned to the site at contract start. A named relief is assigned alongside them. Both are PAYE-employed by Optus Glean, both are Garda-vetted, both are inducted on the site's specific layout, access protocols, and colour-coded equipment system, and both are trained to the same documented HIQA-aligned IPC standard. Substitution is built into the contract from the first day, not arranged on the day cover is needed.
Sick day cover. When the primary cleaner is unable to work, the named relief is deployed. The site site contact is notified by 06:30 on the morning of the absence by SMS or email, with the name of the relief who is attending. The relief follows the same task list, uses the same equipment, and finishes within the same window. The standard of clean is unchanged because the relief was prepared for this scenario before the absence happened.
Annual leave cover. Annual leave is rostered weeks in advance and the relief is scheduled to cover the full leave period. The site is informed at the start of the leave period — not on the morning leave begins. This is the same model used in clinical rota management: known absences are pre-staffed, not improvised.
Long-term cover. If the primary cleaner is absent for more than two weeks (extended illness, parental leave, bereavement leave), cover is drawn from the wider trained bench rather than relying on the single named relief. The site is kept informed of the cover plan, the named individuals involved, and the expected duration. Continuity of standard is maintained because every operative on the bench is trained to the same documented standard.
Permanent reassignment. If the primary cleaner moves to a new permanent role within Optus Glean — promotion, relocation, retirement — the relief is promoted to primary on a planned timetable, a new relief is trained on the site, and both are introduced to the site before the handover takes effect. There is no day on which the site discovers, after the fact, that their cleaner has changed.
Substitution is Optus Glean's operational problem, not the site's risk to absorb. The buyer pays a fixed monthly fee for a defined scope to be delivered, every day it is meant to be delivered. The mechanism by which we deliver it — primary, relief, bench, retraining — is our cost to manage and our risk to carry.
Frequently asked questions
How much does managed-buildings cleaning cost in Ireland in 2026?
A managed building or OMC block is priced as a fixed monthly fee tied to a defined communal-area scope, included in the service-charge budget, held under a multi-year contract with an annual indexed review. The Contract Cleaning ERO 2026 sets a €14.80/hour labour floor across the sector. Reputable providers quote the contract — single line, single monthly Direct Debit — so the OMC accounts and the AGM both see one transparent number.
What standards apply to managed-buildings cleaning in Ireland?
The MUD Act 2011 sets the service-charge framework and the OMC's obligations to its members. The PSRA regulates the managing agent. The HSA's Safety, Health and Welfare at Work Act 2005 covers communal areas as workplaces. The cleaning programme must produce a documented audit trail — frequency of attendance, scope per zone, SDS — that the managing agent can table at the next AGM if asked.
How does the cleaning fee fit into the OMC service charge?
The cleaning fee is a budgeted line in the service-charge schedule under the MUD Act 2011, allocated against the communal-area scope (lobby, lift lobbies, stairwells, corridors, refuse rooms, bin chutes, exterior glass within reach). A fixed monthly fee with annual indexed review is the only model that gives the OMC a clean budget line and the directors a defendable AGM position.
What's the difference between PAYE and casual cleaning contracts in property management?
A PAYE-employed cleaner is on payroll with the company that signs the contract, paid above the Contract Cleaning ERO €14.80/hour floor, with paid leave and PRSI/pension. A casual or self-employed operative is none of those things, and is often subcontracted in by an agency the managing agent never signed with. PAYE staffing is the only model that holds a named primary cleaner who residents recognise, and the only one that survives an OMC AGM challenge on supply-chain integrity.
How is service-charge transparency delivered in cleaning?
Transparency means the OMC and managing agent get a fixed monthly fee against a written scope, a documented attendance log (when the cleaner was on site, what was done), and an annual indexed review with the index source named (typically a published wage or services index). No "ad-hoc" charges, no surprise surcharges between AGMs. The directors should be able to tally invoice to budget to scope without a phone call.
How do I evaluate a cleaning provider for an OMC or managed building?
Three checks. One: are the operatives PAYE-employed by the company that signs the contract, or subcontracted? Two: who is the named primary cleaner and named relief — is the building a real account or a dispatch slot? Three: can the provider produce an attendance log and quality audit pack the managing agent can table at the OMC AGM without translation?
What should be in a cleaning contract for a managed building?
A defined scope per communal zone, attendance frequencies, named primary cleaner with relief, the chemical regime with SDS, PAYE-employed staff confirmation, fixed monthly fee aligned to the service-charge budget, annual indexed review with named index, transparent reporting to the managing agent, and a clean exit clause. No per-hour pricing. No "extras" that bypass the AGM-approved budget.
How often should communal areas in an apartment block be cleaned?
A typical OMC programme runs twice-weekly or three-times-weekly cleans of lobbies, lift lobbies, stairwells, and corridors; weekly attention on bin chutes and refuse rooms; monthly periodic tasks (high-level dusting, glass within reach, signage); and quarterly or six-monthly deep cleans of hard floors and soft furnishings. In Cork, larger schemes typically step up frequency on ground-floor lobbies and lift cars.
Related Services in Cork
- Office Cleaning Cork
- Post-Construction Cleaning Cork
- Carpet & Floor Cleaning
- Vacant Property Cleaning
- All Cleaning Services in Cork
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Last reviewed: 2026-05-06