Office cleaning in France: what it costs, and the staff transfer rule nobody warns you about

If you run a company in France with offices, a shop or a workshop, cleaning is a recurring line in your budget and a contract you will renegotiate every few years. The pricing logic is not complicated. The part that surprises foreign managers is what happens to the cleaning staff when you change provider, because French law does not treat them as the outgoing contractor's problem. Here is what to know before you sign or switch.

What commercial cleaning costs in France

Two pricing models coexist, and serious providers will quote both:

• Hourly rate: 20 to 28 EUR per hour, the standard for offices and small commercial spaces.
• Per square metre: often 1 to 3 EUR per square metre for larger surfaces, depending on frequency and complexity.
• Specific interventions: end of works, post-flood, floor stripping and re-waxing, high-level cleaning. These are quoted individually and should never be folded into a monthly rate.

For routine upkeep two to three times a week, a typical budget lands between 250 and 500 EUR per month, depending on the exact frequency and what the scope includes. Rates in this range are excluding VAT, which for a company is recoverable, so the real comparison against a domestic rate is not like for like. The detailed breakdown by type of premises is in our French guide to commercial premises cleaning in 2026.

Article 7: the rule that changes how you switch provider

This is the point worth reading twice. The collective agreement for the cleaning industry in France, IDCC 3043, contains a provision known as Article 7, historically Annexe 7, which organises the transfer of staff when a cleaning contract changes hands.

Under conditions of seniority on the site and of the share of their working time allocated to it, the incoming contractor is obliged to take over the employees already working there, on a permanent contract, preserving their seniority, their pay and their acquired benefits. The transfer applies by right and binds both companies. The principle is that the employees follow the site, not the employer.

Three practical consequences for you as the client:

• Changing provider rarely changes the people. If your dissatisfaction is with a specific person on site rather than with the company's management, a change of contractor may not solve it.
• Quotes are less elastic than they look. Payroll is by far the largest cost in this industry, and an incoming contractor inherits the existing payroll. A quote far below the others deserves a direct question about how it will be staffed.
• Transitions need notice. The incoming company needs the staff information in time to prepare the transfer, which is why cleaning contracts carry real notice periods.

What a cleaning contract should actually specify

Most disputes come from a scope written in one line. A usable contract states:

• The frequency per task, not per visit. Bins emptied daily, floors vacuumed daily, sanitary facilities disinfected daily, interior glass monthly, and so on. A contract saying "cleaning three times a week" specifies nothing.
• Time slots. Before opening, after closing, or during working hours. This changes the cost and it changes your staff's experience of the service.
• Consumables. Who supplies and restocks hand soap, paper towels and bin liners, and whether it is billed separately.
• What is excluded. Exterior windows, facades, high-level work, deep floor treatments, and end-of-works cleaning are normally outside a routine contract. Windows and facades in particular are a separate trade with its own equipment and safety rules, covered in our French guide to window and facade cleaning.
• The quality mechanism. A named contact, a response time for complaints, and a periodic on-site review. Without it you have no lever short of terminating.
• Insurance. Proof of professional liability cover, and a decennial policy where the work touches the building itself.

Company or independent professional: choosing on the right criterion

For a single site with modest surface area, an independent professional or a small company is usually more responsive and cheaper, and you deal with the person who does the work. For several sites, for night work, or where absence cover is critical, a structured company is what gives you continuity when someone is ill, because they have someone else to send.

The criterion that matters is not size but whether the provider can guarantee the service when the usual person is away. Ask that question explicitly and the answer tells you which category you are dealing with.

Where QuiPeut fits for a business

QuiPeut lists independent cleaning professionals by category and by service area across France, including business premises and windows and facades. You compare profiles, contact the professional directly and agree the scope and the price with them; they invoice you. The platform does not set the rate for your site. Companies running a vehicle fleet alongside their premises will also find our French guide to fleet washing for businesses useful.

FAQ - Commercial cleaning in France

How much does office cleaning cost per month in France?

For routine upkeep two to three times a week, generally 250 to 500 EUR per month excluding VAT, depending on frequency and scope. Hourly rates run 20 to 28 EUR, and large surfaces are often priced at 1 to 3 EUR per square metre.

What is Article 7 of the cleaning collective agreement?

It is the provision of the IDCC 3043 collective agreement that organises the transfer of cleaning staff when a site changes contractor. Subject to seniority and allocation conditions, the incoming company must take on the existing employees on a permanent contract, preserving seniority, pay and acquired benefits.

Can I avoid the staff transfer by changing provider?

No. The transfer applies by right when the conditions are met and binds both the outgoing and incoming companies. It is designed precisely to keep employment attached to the site rather than to the contract.

Is commercial cleaning eligible for the personal services tax credit?

No. That credit covers services rendered at a private home. Cleaning professional premises is a business expense in the company's accounts, with recoverable VAT under the normal rules.

Should window cleaning be in the main contract?

Interior glass can be, at a defined frequency. Exterior windows and facades are a separate trade with specific access equipment and safety requirements, and are normally quoted separately.

Need a quote for your premises? Find a commercial cleaning professional in your area, or look at window and facade specialists. You can also read how QuiPeut works.