How to start a cleaning business in the UK

1. Choose a legal structure

Sole trader is how most cleaners start. Registration with HMRC is free, admin is a yearly Self Assessment, and you can be trading the same week. The trade-off is unlimited personal liability.

Limited company separates your personal assets from the business and often reads better to commercial and agency clients. It costs a small fee to incorporate at Companies House and brings annual accounts, a confirmation statement and Corporation Tax.

A common path is sole trader for the first year, then incorporating once turnover and commercial work justify the extra admin. Check the current thresholds and duties on GOV.UK before deciding — rules and rates change.

2. Register with HMRC

• Register as self-employed with HMRC once you start trading.
• Keep records of every invoice and expense from day one — a spreadsheet is enough at the start.
• Set aside 20–30% of profit for tax so Self Assessment is not a shock.
• VAT registration becomes compulsory once your taxable turnover passes the current threshold. Check the live figure on GOV.UK; most new solo cleaners are well below it.

3. Get insured

Insurance is what separates a business from a favour. The three policies that matter:

• Public liability — covers damage to a customer's property or injury to a third party. Nearly every agency and commercial client will ask for evidence of it. £1m–£5m cover is standard.
• Employers' liability — legally required as soon as you employ anyone, including part-time staff.
• Treatment risk / key cover — often bundled; covers damage to the item you were actually working on, and lost customer keys.

4. DBS checks and trust

A DBS check is not legally required for general domestic cleaning, but it is the single cheapest trust signal you can buy. Customers are letting a stranger into an empty home. A basic DBS certificate, mentioned on your quote page and in your first reply, converts enquiries.

The same applies to anyone you later employ or subcontract. Check it, and say publicly that you check it.

5. Set your prices before you advertise

The most expensive mistake new cleaners make is quoting reactively — a different number for every enquiry, based on how busy they feel that week. Decide your rates, your surcharges and your minimum job value up front.

Work through the full method in the pricing guide, but the short version: know your minimum hourly rate, price per job rather than per hour where you can, and refuse work below your minimum instead of discounting.

6. Kit and products

You can start for a few hundred pounds. A vacuum you trust, microfibre cloths in colour-coded sets, a mop system, a caddy, bathroom and kitchen chemicals, glass cleaner, gloves and a step stool. Add a carpet machine or professional oven kit only once paid work justifies it.

Keep safety data sheets for chemicals you use in customer properties, and never mix products. A COSHH-style record is expected the moment you take on commercial contracts.

7. Find the first ten customers

• Local Facebook groups. Still the highest-converting source for domestic work in most UK towns. Post a real price, not "DM for prices".
• Letting agents. Send a one-page end of tenancy rate card by bedroom count. Agents book from rate cards.
• Existing customers. Ask for one referral after the third clean, and offer something concrete for it.
• Google Business Profile. Free, and it puts you on the map results for "cleaner near me".
• A quote link. Whether or not you have a website, you need one link that gives people a price instantly. Most enquiries are lost in back-and-forth messaging, not lost to competitors.

8. Put the basics in writing

A short service agreement covering scope, price, cancellation notice, access and liability prevents almost every dispute you would otherwise have. Use the free generator on this site, or your own — but use one.

This guide is general information for UK cleaning businesses, not legal, tax or insurance advice. Confirm current registration duties, thresholds and rates on GOV.UK, and speak to an accountant about your own situation.