How clean must a “swept clean” apartment be?

When do I have to hand the apartment over “swept clean”?

Moving is hard work. In addition to all the packing, a smooth handover requires you to clean your old apartment. The property management company's guidelines or your tenancy agreement will tell you how thoroughly you need to clean. They will often contain phrases such as “cleaned carefully” or “in a clean condition”. This means that you will have to give the apartment itself, and additional spaces such as the cellar and garage, a thorough clean everywhere. That’s the case even if there are no details about cleaning stated in the agreement. Such a thorough clean tends to be the norm in Switzerland.

You will only have to hand over your apartment in a “swept-clean” condition if explicitly stated in your agreement. This kind of handover is especially common in north-western Switzerland. If you have to hand your apartment over swept clean, you will generally pay an additional flat-rate cleaning fee of an average of 6 francs per square metre to your landlord. A swept-clean handover allows for less-thorough cleaning, despite the cleaning fee you will have to do more than simply give the apartment the once-over with a broom.

What do I have to clean for a swept-clean handover?

For this kind of handover you should vacuum all rooms thoroughly, not forgetting your balcony, terrace and garage. Get rid of cobwebs. Clean all built-in cupboards and wipe kitchen surfaces down with a damp cloth. Clean all built-in appliances such as the refrigerator and oven thoroughly, and change the filter in the extractor hood.

You should also remove larger stains and soiling. That applies to floors, ceilings, walls and surfaces. Limescale in the bathroom and kitchen must also be removed.

Important: do not forget to clear out all rooms and cupboards completely. That also means removing any lamps you have put up yourself in the cellar, any shelves in the attic, and the like. When you do the handover there should be nothing left in the apartment that wasn’t there when you moved in.

What don't I have to clean?

“Swept clean” differs from “thoroughly clean” on a number of points. For a swept-clean handover, you don't have to worry about cleaning windows or shutters, or vacuuming behind radiators. You must vacuum fitted carpets, but you don't have to shampoo them.

Note: filling plug holes counts as minor maintenance, so that is technically your responsibility, although thetenants’ association recommends leaving the holes as they are when you move out. That's because having them filled by a painter (generally a couple of francs per hole) is less expensive than having a professional rectify badly filled holes.

Is it worth hiring a cleaning company?

Although a swept-clean apartment handover is less hard work than a thorough final clean, it may well be worth bringing in the professionals to save you time and stress. If you do hire outside cleaners, insist on a handover guarantee. That way, any follow-up work will be done immediately and free of charge.

Tell the cleaning company clearly what does need to be cleaned – and what does not. With less work to do, the price should be lower compared with a thorough, comprehensive clean. Request several quotes and compare what you get for your money.