How to start a cleaning business in the UK, in the order that matters
Every insurer and software vendor has a version of this guide. Ours is shorter and puts the website where it belongs: after the insurance, before the first flyer.
- No licence needed
- Sourced, dated 12 September 2026
- Written by a web design company, and it says so
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What do you need to start a cleaning business in the UK?
You need public liability insurance, a business registration with HMRC or Companies House, a basic kit and a way to be found; no licence or qualification is required by law.
That is the honest answer and it is why the industry has 78,915 businesses, 83% of them with fewer than ten staff (British Cleaning Council 2026 research report). The barrier to entry is low, which insurers Hiscox and AXA both say plainly. The barrier to a full diary is not. The steps below are in the order that actually gets you there, and step six is a website, because that is what we sell and you should know that when you read it.
Last checked 12 September 2026. Every figure below is sourced and dated, and we re-check them quarterly.
1. Pick the work, because the customer is different for each
Domestic weekly cleaning, end of tenancy, commercial contracts, carpets, windows, ovens, exterior. They do not overlap as much as they look. A weekly domestic customer is worth a year of visits and hires on trust; an end of tenancy customer books once, urgently, on price and guarantee; a commercial buyer has a tender questionnaire. Choose one to start and add the second when the first is paying.
2. Register, and decide on sole trader or limited
Sole trader: register for self assessment with HMRC, no fee. Limited company: register at Companies House for £50 online, then file accounts every year. Most cleaners start as sole traders and incorporate when they hire, because the limited company separates your house from a claim. Check the name on Companies House and on Google Maps before you print anything; six "Clean Sweep" companies are already on the register.
3. Insure before the first job
Public liability is the one you cannot start without: it covers damage to the customer's property. Employer's liability is a legal requirement the day you take on staff, including casual staff. Treatment risk cover matters for carpet cleaners. "insurance for cleaning business" is searched 720 times a month and a click costs the insurers £44, which tells you how much they want you; get three quotes.
4. Vetting and policies, written down
No law requires a DBS check for a cleaner in a private home. Customers giving you a key expect one anyway, and schools, care settings and anyone holding keys will require it. Get the basic check for yourself, the standard or enhanced for staff where the setting demands it, and write a one-page key-holding policy. Written policies are what turn a sole trader into a company in a buyer's eyes.
5. Kit and software
The kit is cheap and the guides all list it. The software is a decision you can put off: email, WhatsApp and a spreadsheet work until the second cleaner, and then you double-book someone. ZenMaid, ProCleanerUK (£49.99 a month for up to five staff), CleanFlo (£19.99 flat) and Jobber all run a diary, invoices and reminders. Our software guide has the dated price table.
6. Be findable: the profile and the website
A Google Business Profile is free and puts you in the map pack for "cleaners [town]". Do it first, with photographs of your own work. Then the website. For your first thirty customers a £20-a-month builder site is enough. When you hire your first cleaner and start turning work away, a site with a page per town and a quote form in the hero replaces the word of mouth that has run out. "cleaners near me" is searched 14,800 times a month at £2.76 a click; a page that ranks for your town gets that visit free. We build those from £1,495, and we will tell you if you are not ready for one.
7. Price it, and publish the price
Read what three competitors in your town publish, decide yours, and put it on the site. A from-price filters out the enquiries that were never going to book. Every cleaning company we measured that ranks on page one for a customer search shows a number.
8. Know what is coming: the Employment Rights Act
If you take on staff on zero-hours or variable rotas, the 2027 changes to guaranteed hours and shift-notice payments will apply to you. Unfair dismissal protection drops to six months' service from 1 January 2027. Our timeline has the dates and the sources.
Sources and method
Search volumes and cost-per-click figures are Google Ads UK data pulled through DataForSEO on the date shown. Business counts are claimed Google listings in six cleaning categories within a five kilometre radius of the town centre. Prices are read from the supplier's own page on the date shown. Where a figure cannot be sourced, it is not published.
- British Cleaning Council, Research Report 2026 (published 18 February 2026): 78,915 businesses, 83% micro
- Hiscox UK, How to Start a Cleaning Business (18 July 2025); AXA UK, How to start a cleaning business
- GOV.UK, Set up a business; Companies House incorporation fee £50 online
- Google Ads UK keyword data via DataForSEO, read 12 September 2026
- esremedia, cleaning business software comparisons (June and July 2026); ProCleanerUK and CleanFlo pricing pages, read 12 September 2026
If the guide has made the case for a proper website, here is what one costs.
Every build is live from two weeks. Two rounds of revisions included. 50% to start, 50% when you approve it.
Questions Google shows under this search
How much does it cost to set up a cleaning business?
Less than almost any other trade. Insurance, a basic kit, a vehicle you probably own, Companies House registration at £50 if you go limited, and a website. Insurers Hiscox and AXA both describe the barrier to entry as low. The cost that catches people is time: the first thirty customers take months by word of mouth.
How much is a 1 hour clean?
It depends on the town and the job, and the honest way to find out is to read what three competitors near you publish. Then publish yours. A cleaning company that hides its rate loses the enquiry to the one that does not.
What is the 5-5-5 rule for cleaning?
A household tidying routine (five minutes, five items, five areas). It is a consumer question that Google shows alongside business ones, which is worth knowing: the people searching how to start a cleaning business are sharing a results page with people looking for tips. Your page has to signal in its first sentence which reader it is for.
What are the 7 stages of cleaning?
Pre-clean, main clean, rinse, disinfect, final rinse, dry, and check. It is the sequence taught in food hygiene training. If you clean kitchens for businesses, naming it on your site shows you know the standard the client is inspected against.
How long should a cleaner take to clean a 3 bedroom house?
Long enough to do it properly and short enough to make money. Most firms quote in hours rather than by the house for exactly that reason. Whatever you decide, put it on the website; the customer is going to ask.
What is level 4 cleaning?
A term from healthcare and facilities standards for the depth of clean required in a given area. If you bid for NHS, care or school contracts you will meet it, and your accreditations page should show BICSc training so the buyer knows you can deliver it.
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