Recurring vs one-off cleaning in Luxembourg

Recurring and one-off cleaning use different billing units. A recurring contract is usually billed by the hour — indicatively about €25 to €40 excluding VAT — often with a minimum of two or three hours per visit. A one-off deep clean is usually billed per square metre, indicatively about €3 to €5 excluding VAT on an empty or nearly empty property, or as an end-of-lease package of roughly €280 to €650 depending on surface and kitchen condition. Comparing a €30 hourly rate with a €3 per-m² rate does not tell you much: the first spreads travel and organisation over many visits, the second covers a single, more intensive job. For an 80 m² flat, a weekly two-hour visit at €30 per hour costs €60 per visit, while a deep clean at €3–€4 per m² costs about €240–€320, but only when you book it. Compare annual spend, not headline rates. Cleaning of private homes carries 8% VAT under the VAT law.

Recurring cleaning tends to suit households with little time for weekly upkeep: two working adults, frequent guests, people working from home, or young children and pets. For a flat of up to about 90 m², two hours a week often covers a full maintenance pass — kitchen, bathrooms, floors, dusting — with some time for a rotating focus such as the oven one week and interior windows the next. For larger homes, the visit may need to be longer or combined with a periodic deep clean. Very short or infrequent visits can be hard for a provider to schedule, so some providers set a minimum duration or frequency; ask what applies. The advantage of a regular visit is that the home does not fall far behind, which keeps each visit shorter.

One-off deep cleans make most sense in three situations. First, a home where the residents do the weekly upkeep themselves but want a professional reset a few times a year — grout, oven interior, cabinet fronts, limescale, behind heavy appliances. As an indication, four such cleans a year on an 80 m² flat at €240–€320 each come to about €960–€1,280 excluding VAT, compared with roughly €2,600–€4,160 excluding VAT for a weekly two-hour visit at €25–€40 per hour. Second, the end of a lease: a one-off clean against the landlord's checklist, with an invoice and dated photos, fits the check-out inspection better than a recurring slot. Third, after renovation work: removing fine dust, paint splashes and protective film is a separate job, indicatively €8–€12 per m², that does not fit into a short weekly visit. Ask for these jobs to be quoted separately rather than squeezed into a regular slot.

Cleaning between guests in a short-term rental is neither a regular household contract nor a one-off deep clean. The time window between check-out and check-in is short, bed linen and towels are usually handled as a separate line, and many hosts ask for photos after each turnover. As an indication, providers often quote around €45 to €90 per turnover for a one-bedroom flat, depending on whether linen and consumables are included. Because the dates follow your bookings, ask for a contract that covers turnover cleaning specifically: how bookings are communicated, the latest notice the provider accepts, how linen is handled and charged, and what happens if a cleaner is unavailable on a changeover day.

A recurring contract usually aims for continuity: the same person on the same slot, who learns which surfaces need which products and how your home is organised. A one-off clean is staffed by whoever the provider can schedule on that date. If continuity matters to you, ask the provider to describe its substitution arrangements in writing for a recurring contract: who covers holidays and sickness, whether the first replacement visit is briefed or supervised, and how much notice you get of a permanent change. For one-off work, the relevant question is different: ask who will be on site, how many people, and whether they have done this type of job before.

The same checks apply to recurring and one-off cleaning. Most habitual business activity in Luxembourg requires an autorisation d'établissement, which you can look up with the search tool on Guichet.lu. Ask how the staff are employed and declared to social security, and whether subcontractors are used; declared staff are also a condition of the household-help tax allowance. Cleaning of private dwellings is taxed at 8% VAT and business premises at 17%; a very small business under the VAT franchise scheme does not charge VAT and should say so on the quote. The chèque-service accueil applies to childcare, not to household cleaning. With a recurring contract you see the same provider and invoices over time, which makes these points easier to follow; for a one-off job, ask for the same information before you book.

Many providers set a minimum duration per visit, and some set a higher minimum or a travel charge for addresses further from their base, because travel time has to be covered. This matters more for occasional one-off jobs than for recurring visits, where travel is spread over many visits; ask each provider what minimum and travel conditions apply to your address. Busy periods also affect one-off bookings: demand tends to rise when many leases end and before the year-end holidays, availability gets tighter and some providers charge more for short notice. If you want a recurring slot, agree it in writing, including the rate and how it can change. For a move-out or pre-holiday clean, request quotes several weeks ahead.

For many homes the practical answer is a combination: a short weekly or fortnightly maintenance visit, plus a periodic deep clean against a written checklist. The regular visit keeps floors, bathrooms, kitchen surfaces and dusting under control; the periodic deep clean covers what a short visit cannot — oven interior, fridge, grout and limescale, cabinet fronts, window frames, behind heavy appliances. As a worked example for an 80 m² flat: a weekly two-hour visit at €30 per hour excluding VAT costs about €3,370 a year including 8% VAT (€60 × 52 × 1.08), and four deep cleans at €240–€320 excluding VAT add about €1,040–€1,380 including VAT. Your own figures will depend on the rates you are quoted. Ask shortlisted providers to price a recurring-only option and a combined option on the same scope, and compare the annual totals.