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 Dublin 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 Dublin. 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 Dublin 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.
Apartment Block Cleaning Services in Dublin
Dublin has seen an explosion of apartment development over the past two decades. From the early Docklands builds to the current wave of SDZ developments, the city and county now have tens of thousands of apartment units in managed developments. Every one of these developments has common areas that must be maintained by the Owners' Management Company (OMC) under the Multi-Unit Developments Act 2011. Cleaning is the single largest component of most OMC service charge budgets.
Optus Glean provides communal area cleaning for apartment blocks of all sizes across Dublin. Whether you are an OMC director seeking a reliable cleaning contractor, a property management company managing multiple developments, or a letting agent needing common area standards maintained, we deliver consistent, auditable, and cost-effective cleaning that keeps residents satisfied and buildings well-presented.
Dublin Apartment Developments We Serve
Spencer Dock, Dublin 1
One of Dublin's largest residential developments in the Docklands, Spencer Dock comprises over 700 apartments across multiple blocks. Common areas include a large lobby, concierge area, corridors on every floor, multiple lift cores, underground car park, and extensive landscaped grounds. Cleaning a development of this scale requires a dedicated team with consistent scheduling and quality auditing.
Clancy Quay, Dublin 8
The former Clancy Barracks site at Islandbridge has been developed into over 400 apartments and townhouses. The development features extensive common areas including courtyards, lobbies, corridors, and a gym. Optus Glean provides regular communal cleaning that maintains the development's high standards while delivering value for service charge payers.
Beacon South Quarter, Sandyford
Adjacent to the Beacon Hospital and Luas Green Line, Beacon South Quarter is a large mixed-use development with over 600 apartments. Common areas include a shopping centre, multi-storey car park, lobbies, and corridors across multiple residential blocks. Managing cleaning across a mixed-use development requires coordination between residential and commercial cleaning schedules.
Adamstown, West Dublin
Adamstown SDZ in Lucan is one of Dublin's largest suburban apartment developments, with multiple phases of apartments delivered by different builders. Each phase has its own OMC, but many share similar cleaning requirements. Optus Glean provides efficient multi-development cleaning across Adamstown, with shared supervision and equipment to deliver economies of scale for OMCs.
Honeypark, Dun Laoghaire
Honeypark in Dun Laoghaire-Rathdown is a well-established apartment development with over 300 units. The development's mature landscaping, multiple blocks, and underground car parks require regular, reliable cleaning. Optus Glean provides daily and weekly cleaning services tailored to Honeypark's specific common area layout.
What Our Apartment Block Cleaning Includes
Daily Tasks (High-Traffic Areas)
- Main lobby and entrance hall — floor cleaning, mat maintenance, glass doors, reception desk, post area
- Lift cars — floor mopping, wall wiping, mirror cleaning, button sanitisation
- Ground-floor corridors — vacuuming or mopping, spot-cleaning walls, light switch and door handle wiping
- Bin store management — ensuring bins are properly positioned, sweeping, spot-cleaning spillages
Three Times Per Week
- All floor corridors — vacuuming or mopping on every floor
- Stairwells — sweeping treads and risers, wiping handrails and banisters
- Fire doors and emergency exit routes — cleaning and inspection
Weekly Tasks
- Bin store full washdown with disinfectant and deodoriser
- Laundry room cleaning (where applicable)
- Gym and common room cleaning (where applicable)
- Internal window and glass partition cleaning in common areas
- Detailed skirting board, radiator, and ledge cleaning
Monthly and Quarterly Tasks
- Car park sweeping and litter removal
- External entrance and pathway cleaning
- Carpet deep cleaning in corridors and lobbies
- Hard floor buffing and re-sealing
- High-level cobweb removal and dust cleaning
- External window cleaning for common areas
The Multi-Unit Developments Act 2011
The Multi-Unit Developments Act 2011 is the legislation governing OMCs in Ireland. It places specific obligations on OMCs to maintain common areas to a reasonable standard. Key provisions relevant to cleaning include:
- Section 18 — The OMC must establish a house rules document covering the use and maintenance of common areas
- Section 19 — The OMC must prepare an annual service charge budget that includes provisions for cleaning and maintenance
- Section 20 — The OMC must establish a sinking fund for major maintenance and repair works
- Section 24 — Unit owners have the right to inspect OMC records, including cleaning contracts and invoices
Optus Glean provides transparent pricing, documented cleaning schedules, and monthly audit reports that OMC directors can present at AGMs and share with residents. This transparency is essential for demonstrating that service charge funds are being spent responsibly.
Apartment Block Cleaning Pricing in Dublin
| Development Size | Monthly Cost |
|---|---|
| Small block (10–30 units) | €300 – €800 |
| Medium block (30–80 units) | €800 – €1,800 |
| Large development (80–200 units) | €1,800 – €4,000 |
| Major development (200+ units) | €4,000+ (by contract) |
Per-unit monthly costs typically range from €15 to €30 per apartment, which represents a small fraction of the average Dublin service charge of €1,500 to €3,000 per year. Bundling cleaning with window cleaning, pressure washing, and washroom services under one contract saves 15–20% compared to separate providers.
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.
Why OMCs and Management Companies Choose Optus Glean
- Transparent reporting — Monthly quality audit reports shared with the management company and OMC board. Residents can see that standards are being maintained.
- Consistent staff — The same cleaning operatives attend your development every day. Residents recognise and trust them. Staff turnover is managed proactively with documented handover procedures.
- Cover arrangements — Holiday, sickness, and absence cover is built into every contract. If your regular cleaner is off, a trained replacement is deployed without any drop in quality.
- Fully insured — €6.5M public liability and €13M employer's liability. Essential for OMCs protecting common property.
- Garda vetted — Every operative accessing your building is Garda vetted. Non-negotiable in a residential environment where operatives have access to common areas and sometimes individual floors.
- Bundled services — Combine cleaning, window cleaning, pressure washing, and bin store management under one contract for simplicity and savings.
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 Dublin, larger schemes typically step up frequency on ground-floor lobbies and lift cars.
Related Cleaning Services in Dublin
Window Cleaning Dublin
External window cleaning for apartment block common areas.
Pressure Washing Dublin
Car park, pathway, and bin store pressure washing.
End of Tenancy Cleaning Dublin
Individual apartment deep cleans for tenants moving out.
Last reviewed: 2026-05-06