An association board answers to every owner in the building. When the lobby looks tired or the garage entry is caked with salt, the complaints land on the board and the property manager, not on the cleaning company. The fastest way to fix that is a clear, written common-area scope that says what gets cleaned, how often, and how the board can check on it.
Clear Facility Services cleans common areas for HOAs and condo associations across Hennepin, Ramsey, Anoka, Scott, Dakota, and Carver counties, working from offices in Bloomington and Fridley. Washington County is outside our service area. We clean any commercial building, and shared spaces in owner-occupied buildings fit the same written-scope approach we use everywhere else.
Map every shared zone before asking for bids
Start with a list of the spaces owners share. In most condo buildings and townhome associations that includes the main lobby and vestibule, interior hallways on each floor, stairwells, elevator cabs and landings, the mailroom or package area, a clubhouse or party room, trash and recycling rooms, shared laundry rooms, and parking garage entries. Some buildings also have a small fitness room or a guest suite that owners treat as common space.
Walk the property with the list in hand. Note floor types in each zone, where the heavy foot traffic runs, and which rooms are locked or need a key fob. A zone list that matches the real building keeps the crew from skipping a back stairwell nobody mentioned.
Set frequency by zone, not by building
Not every shared space needs the same attention. Lobbies, mailrooms, and elevator cabs see residents every day and usually justify the most frequent visits. Hallways on residential floors often do well with regular vacuuming and spot cleaning a few times a week. Stairwells, laundry rooms, and trash rooms may need a set weekly pass plus extra attention when they get heavy use.
Party rooms and clubhouses are different again. They can sit empty for days, then host a holiday gathering for forty people. A good scope ties those rooms to the reservation calendar so cleaning follows actual use instead of a fixed day of the week.
Plan for salt, slush, and snowmelt in Minnesota winters
From late fall into spring, residents carry road salt and meltwater through every door. Lobby vestibules, garage entry doors, and elevator floors take the worst of it. Left alone, salt residue dulls hard floors and grinds into hallway carpet.
Write winter needs into the scope as their own line items. That can mean more frequent entry and elevator floor care during snow months, attention to walk-off mats, and cleaning at the doors between the parking garage and the building interior. Naming a winter adjustment up front lets the board budget for it rather than finding a surprise in February.
Hallway carpet and hard floor care
Interior hallways in many associations are carpeted, and regular vacuuming only goes so far. Periodic carpet hot water extraction pulls out the grit and winter residue that vacuums leave behind. Many boards schedule it once or twice a year, with entry runs and elevator landings done more often.
Lobbies, mailrooms, laundry rooms, and back corridors often have VCT or other resilient tile. Strip and wax runs quarterly to annually depending on traffic, with scrub and recoat when the finish is still good. Putting those periodic services in the scope, with target months, gives the board a predictable reserve line instead of an emergency request.
Move-in and move-out turnover in shared spaces
Owners selling, renters moving, and contractors working inside units all put extra wear on elevators, hallways, and loading entries. Moving days leave scuffed floors, packing debris, and dirty elevator pads.
Associations can add move-related common-area cleaning as an as-needed service, tied to the move reservation process many buildings already use. That keeps the cost connected to the event and stops the regular crew from absorbing a weekend of moving traffic on top of the normal route.
Day porter coverage for larger buildings
High-rise condo buildings and large multi-building associations sometimes need someone on site during the day, not just a scheduled after-hours visit. Day porter coverage handles lobby touch-ups, spills, trash room checks, and quick resets of the party room between events while residents are around. For smaller associations, scheduled visits alone are usually enough.
How a written scope helps the board compare bids and budget
When three companies bid from three different ideas of the job, the numbers cannot be compared. A written scope that lists zones, frequencies, winter adjustments, and periodic floor and carpet work gives every bidder the same target. The board can then see what each price actually covers.
The same document helps at budget season. Recurring service, seasonal adjustments, and periodic carpet and floor care can each have their own line, so the treasurer can plan dues and reserves with fewer unknowns. CFS work follows the ISSA Clean Standard for Institutional and Commercial Facilities, and high-touch points like elevator buttons, door handles, and mailroom counters are disinfected with EPA-registered products left on for the labeled dwell time.
Visit logs the board and manager can review
Owners ask whether the cleaners actually came. Visit logs give the property manager and board a record of when the crew was on site and what was done. Comments and requests are passed to the assigned crew, so a note about a missed stairwell reaches the people who clean that building.
Call +1 (952) 900-2215 or email info@clearfacilityservices.com for free estimates on a written common-area scope for your association.