Hiring a self-employed cleaner safely

A review is only worth what it took to leave it. On this site, a review can only be written by a customer who posted a job, hired the cleaner for it, and marked the work complete, and the cleaner cannot edit or remove it. Quotes a cleaner has copied from elsewhere are labelled as such and never counted. Wherever you hire, ask the same question: who could have written this, and what did it cost them?

• Are you insured, and for what? Public liability cover is the one that matters in a home: it covers accidental damage. Ask for the insurer and the expiry date.
• Do you bring your own products and equipment? If not, agree what you will provide.
• What happens if you cannot make it? A good cleaner tells you the day before, not on the doorstep, and often suggests another time.

Be in for the first one or two visits. Walk round together, say what matters most, and agree what is normal for a visit. Put anything precious away, not because of the cleaner but because it makes the visit easier for everyone. Agree how you will pay and when; a bank transfer after each visit is common and leaves a record.

Most regular customers hand over a key or install a lockbox after a few visits, and most cleaners prefer it. Do it when you are comfortable, not before. A lockbox with a code you can change is the simplest arrangement, and it lets you end the arrangement without an awkward handover.

We do not run insurance, criminal record or identity checks at the moment, so ask a cleaner directly whether they are insured and for what. A cleaner can only message you if you posted a job they applied to, invited them, or messaged them first, and they never see your full address until you are talking. Everything else is what any careful person does: read, ask, be there the first time.