Cleaning

Your cleaning duties are mandatory, as outlined in the Tenancy Agreement you signed.

If you live in a Studio within one of our propeties, only section 2, Waste disposal, bins and recycling, applies.

Our cleaning responsibilities

We ensure that you have a cleaner who carries out a deep clean every six months. This covers areas not normally touched by the weekly clean. e.g top of fridges, behind appliances, the oven, toilet hinges, window frames, the front door.

We also respond to you if you let us know when any housemates are consistently leaving the place untidy or unclean, by logging the issue, investigating and if necessary, sending a formal warning.

Report any cleaning issues on the Reporting page.

Your cleaning responsibilities

You agree that you undertake the following:

Your day-to-day cleaning responsibilities
Correct waste disposal and recycling procedures and putting the bins out for collection
Your Cleaning Week rota duties (if applicable in your household)
Purchase of any cleaning products necessary to clean shared spaces

Your day-to-day household cleaning responsibilities

All the tenants have agreed that they actively choose to live in a clean and tidy household. This means having consideration for your fellow housesharers and doing your best to keep shared rooms and spaces as tidy as possible.

Even when it is not your cleaning week, you are responsible for:

recycling all your everyday rubbish by putting tins, cans, plastics and aerosols into the appropriate kitchen recycling bin, paper and glass into the second recycling box, cardboard in the blue bag, and food waste into the kitchen compost bin. See Cheltenham Borough Council’s recycling information leaflet. See also your recycle box collection days.
leaving the kitchen and bathroom clean and tidy after every use. This means wiping down the kitchen work surfaces and sink before you leave. If somebody is leaving it untidy then this will be dealt through our normal procedures.
remove items left out into the “Displaced Items Box” in the utility area. Any items will be discarded after 30 days.
- See tenancy agreement section “Keeping Shared Spaces Clean & Tidy”
keeping the heating at a reasonable temperature (for example turning the thermostat down if someone has left it high for whatever reason)
removing shoes that have been worn outside. Wearing shoes that are only worn indoors is fine.
reporting any health and safety concerns to us (for example, the use of candles, smelling gas etc.). To do so, see Reporting.
making sure the house is secure when you leave it.

Our handy video explains your day-to-day responsibilities further.

Waste disposal, bins and recycling

The council collect your bins from the kerbside every Tuesday morning, usually between 6:45am to 8.30am. General waste and recycling are collected on alternate weeks. See Cheltenham Borough Council bin collection days (inc. bank holidays), though it’s often simpler to just look down the road and see what bins your neighbours are putting out.

Things to get right:
Only biodegradable bags are allowed in the food waste container.
To simplify the process, we have a green recycling box for each type of rubbish:

Green box: Metal, tin cans
Green box: Hard plastics
Green box: Glass, jars
Blue bag: Cardboard
Large green compost container: Biodegradable food waste bags containing food waste from the kitchen caddy.
Wheelie bin: Large waste bin bags. Always put waste into a bin bag before putting into the wheelie bin.

We often have to remind the housemate of the following:

Always fold or tear up cardboard boxes before placing place in the blue bag
Never put ordinary plastic bags in the food waste container
Never mix recycling in the green boxes
When putting out recycling for pick-up by the rubbish collection, do not put rubbish blocking the pavement

Cheltenham Borough Council has produced a useful recycling information leaflet.

Waste disposal, bins and recycling

If your household does not have cleaning provided by us, the housemates will either manage their own cleaning system or we provide a cleaning rota.

If your are in a household where we provide a rota, during your Cleaning Weeks (dates of which you have been emailed), you are responsible for cleaning the shared spaces in the property. If you are away it is your responsibility to ensure that a housemate takes your place.

Cleaning rota duties throughout the week :

If you receive our cleaning rota, during your Cleaning Week you are responsible for:

checking that the bins in the kitchen aren’t overflowing
putting out the bins on Monday night for collection
giving the shared spaces, i.e. the kitchen, porch, hall, bathroom, front door area.
making sure there are enough cleaning products available for the following week
monitoring and reporting any cleanliness, healthy and safety and household maintenance issues.

How to do the job properly

Cleaning rota weekend blitz:

If you are on our cleaning rota you must also clean the shared spaces in one go, over a weekend, emailing photographs to the Property Manager as outlined in your induction or WhatsApp them to us.

Cleaning products

We suggest that one person in the household volunteer to be in charge of regularly keeping the supply of cleaning products updated. An app such as Splitwise enables you to split the cost of cleaning products equitably.

The full list of cleaning products replenished on a regular basis is as follows. Even if you never use particular items on the list, they are still part of your shared responsibility to pay for.

oven hob cleaner
microfibre cloth
dishwasher salt
dishwasher tablets
dishwasher rinse aid
kitchen cleaner spray
bathroom cleaner spray
Floot mop head replacement
vacuum cleaner bags – see landlord

floor cleaner liquid
black bins bags
LARGE kitchen food waste bags
floor cloths
green and yellow sponge pan scourer
bleach or toilet cleaning fluid
Bio-degradable bags for food waste caddy
Bio-degradeable bags for food waste large bin
Thick bleach
T- Towel when necessary

Kitchen rolls, toilet paper and laundry liquid (for the washing machine) are not included in the above due to expense and individuals tend to over- or under-use these items, so these are best left as the responsibility of individual tenants.

Danger-to-life Emergencies

For health, safety and fire emergencies please phone 999.

Internal Flooding Only

For internal flooding call Bob on 07598 481196 and if no answer leave message and text then call 07470 365184 and finally 07477 803267.