Autumn is budget season. For many businesses and building managers, it is also the time to renew the cleaning contract that starts on 1 January, or to put it out to tender again. Five points are worth checking before you sign, whoever your contractor is.
1. Does the written specification still match your premises?
A cleaning contract stands or falls on its written specification (cahier des charges): for each zone, the list of tasks and how often they are carried out. Offices emptied by remote working, a reconfigured open-plan area, a larger break room: over two or three years, the way the premises are actually used has often changed, while the specification has not.
Go through it zone by zone with your contractor. Too high a frequency in lightly used offices is expensive. Too low a frequency in the toilets or the kitchen is noticed straight away.
At Atlantis, every site has a written specification, zone by zone and task by task, with its frequencies. This is the document we review with you before any renewal.
2. Is the price review based on a clear index?
The cost of a cleaning service is first and foremost a labour cost. Minimum wages in the industry are set each year by an amendment (avenant) to the French national collective agreement for the cleaning industry. For 2026, amendment no. 27 of 18 December 2025 raised them by about 1.2% on average, with effect from 1 April 2026.
A good price review clause states which index it is based on, the date from which it applies and how the change is calculated. Without such a clause, every increase is negotiated case by case, and the discussion comes round again every year.
3. Do you have your contractor's URSSAF compliance certificate?
For any contract worth at least €5,000 excluding VAT, the client (donneur d'ordre) must obtain a URSSAF compliance certificate (attestation de vigilance) from its contractor when the contract is signed, then every six months until the contract ends. URSSAF is the body that collects social security contributions in France. The certificate's authenticity can be checked online on the URSSAF website, using the code printed on it.
The stakes are high: if the contractor is reported for undeclared work (travail dissimulé), a client that has not carried out these checks can be held jointly liable for the contributions, penalties and wages owed (articles L. 8222-2 and D. 8222-5 of the French Labour Code, Code du travail). A contract renewal is the right moment to bring these checks up to date.
4. Changing contractor: what happens to the operatives on site?
In the cleaning industry, a change of contractor does not happen without the employees. The collective agreement provides for the operatives assigned to the site to transfer to the incoming company, subject to conditions: as a general rule, they must be on a permanent contract (CDI), or on a fixed-term contract (CDD) replacing an employee who is eligible for transfer, have been assigned to the site for at least six months and spend at least 30% of their working time there. Transferred operatives keep their pay and their length of service.
For you, this has two consequences. First, the team you know can stay on site, which is often reassuring for occupants. Second, a tender launched too late leaves the incoming company little time to obtain the staff files and organise the transfer. For a start on 1 January, now is the time to go out to tender.
5. Is the prevention plan up to date?
When an outside company works on your premises, the two employers jointly assess the risks created by working on the same site at the same time (coactivité). The prevention plan (plan de prévention) must be drawn up in writing before work starts when the work amounts to at least 400 hours over twelve months, which is the case for most regular cleaning contracts, or when it involves hazardous work on a list set by regulation (article R. 4512-7 of the Code du travail).
Cleaning hours, access, products stored on site, no-go areas, lone working early in the morning or late in the evening: if your premises or your hours have changed, the plan must change too.
In summary
- Review the written specification zone by zone, based on how the premises are actually used.
- Check that the price review clause names an index and a date.
- Obtain the URSSAF compliance certificate on signature, then every six months.
- If you are changing contractor, go out to tender early enough to allow for the staff transfer.
- Update the prevention plan with current hours and access arrangements.
Preparing your 2027 cleaning budget? We can review your written specification with you on site.
This article sets out general rules. For a specific contract, check the legislation in force or seek advice from a lawyer.