End of lease and handover in Geneva
Do it yourself, or use a company?
Nothing obliges you to use a company: what is required is the result, not the contractor. Here is the real calculation, including the cases where our answer is that you do not need us.
The short answer
- Doing it yourself is the right call for a well-kept studio or 2-room flat, if you have two days and can reach the outside of the windows.
- Budget 16 to 27 hours for a 3-room flat, products and equipment not included, and more if the flat has not been kept up regularly.
- The item that tips the calculation is not time but the windows: rebates, frames and outside panes alone take several hours and are the most checked point.
- The real financial risk is not the price of the clean: it is that a reservation leads the agent to instruct a company at your expense, an invoice that almost always exceeds a clean booked in advance.
- One clear case: if you leave Geneva before the inspection and cannot come back to correct anything, delegating stops being about convenience.
The real time, item by item
The durations below are for one person working alone on a flat in normal condition, methodical but not specialised, and assume the flat is already empty.
DIY end of tenancy cleaning — indicative time, one person
| Item | Studio / 2 rooms | 3 rooms and above |
|---|---|---|
| Kitchen (oven, hood, hobs, units) | 3–5 h | 5–7 h |
| Bathroom and WC | 2–3 h | 3–5 h |
| Windows, rebates, blinds | 2–4 h | 4–7 h |
| Floors, skirting, doors, radiators | 2–3 h | 3–5 h |
| Annexes (cellar, attic, parking) | 1–2 h | 1–3 h |
| Total | 10–17 h | 16–27 h |
An oven whose enamel has not been cleaned in years can take an hour and a half on its own. It is the item people misjudge most often.
What it really costs to do it yourself
- Products: oven degreaser, descaler, glass cleaner, a product suited to your floor. Budget CHF 60 to 100 if you have nothing.
- Equipment: a squeegee with a handle, microfibre cloths, non-abrasive sponges, fine brushes for seals and grilles. CHF 40 to 80.
- Access to the outside of the windows: if your windows do not open fully inwards, you need a way to reach them. This is what stops people most often.
- Two days of your time, in the exact week you are moving — the week you have least of it.
- The risk of having to come back: if a reservation is recorded and you have already returned the keys or left Geneva, correcting is no longer an option.
When doing it yourself is the right call
We would rather say this plainly: in these situations calling a company adds little, and we will tell you so on the phone.
A well-kept studio or 2-room flat
If you cleaned regularly during the tenancy there is no old limescale and no baked-on grease. The work becomes care rather than restoration, and two days is plenty.
You have time and no date pressure
If the inspection is ten days away and you are on site, you can do one room per evening without pressure. This is the most favourable setup.
Windows reachable from inside
Tilt-and-turn windows that open fully inwards remove the main difficulty. You can do the outside without special equipment.
You stay reachable and nearby afterwards
If a reservation lands, you can come back and fix it the next day. That is what makes the risk acceptable.
When delegating costs less
A flat not kept up for a long time
Old limescale and baked-on grease do not yield to ordinary household products. It is a question of products and method rather than effort: many people give up after the oven and call in a hurry three days before.
You leave Geneva before the inspection
You will have no way to correct a reservation. Handing the clean to a contractor who commits to returning transfers exactly that risk.
High windows or external blinds
The most checked item and the hardest to do properly without equipment. A window cleaned on the pane but not in the rebate triggers a reservation.
4 rooms and above
Beyond three rooms you move from two days to three or four, in the middle of moving week. For most people that is where the calculation tips.
Delicate surfaces
Oiled parquet, marble, natural stone, polished concrete. The standard product can cause irreversible damage — and damage, unlike a cleanliness defect, will definitely be charged to you.
The flat also has to be emptied
If a clearance is needed, sequencing clearance then cleaning is hard to plan as an amateur: the clean can only start on a completely empty flat.
The mistake that costs the most
It is not cleaning badly, it is starting too late. The pattern repeats every month end in Geneva: the clean is planned DIY, the removal overruns, the kitchen takes twice the estimate, and two days before the inspection the windows are still not done.
By then availability has thinned out — the ends of March, June and September are the tightest periods in the canton — and the work happens in a rush, sometimes on a Sunday. The result is fine but you have lost the benefit of choosing.
If you are undecided, the useful decision is not "DIY or company" but "when do I decide". Deciding three weeks out keeps both options open; deciding three days out leaves only one.
We are happy to answer the question with no quote attached: describe the flat and its condition and we will tell you honestly whether you need us.
If you do it yourself: ten points not to miss
- Inner glass of the oven door.
- Dishwasher filter, unscrewed from the bottom of the tub.
- Window rebates — the groove the casement closes into.
- Tops of tall wardrobes.
- Ventilation grilles in the bathroom, WC and kitchen, removed.
- Hood filter and grille.
- Behind and between the elements of radiators.
- Roller shutter boxes.
- Cellar, attic and parking space if the lease mentions them.
- All keys including copies: a missing key can mean replacing the cylinder.
Frequently asked questions
Is professional end of tenancy cleaning compulsory in Geneva?
No. The obligation concerns the state in which the flat is handed back, normal wear aside, not who cleans it. You can perfectly well do it yourself: what is required is the result.
How long does it take to clean a 3-room flat yourself?
Budget 16 to 27 hours for one person on an empty flat in normal condition — two to three full days. The kitchen and the windows alone account for more than half of that, and the oven is the item people misjudge most often.
What is the hardest item to do yourself?
The windows, without question: rebates, frames, sills and outside panes. It is both the item most checked by Geneva managing agents and the one that needs access and equipment most tenants do not have.
When would you advise me not to use you?
A studio or 2-room flat you have kept up regularly, with windows that open fully inwards, an inspection about ten days away and you still on site: in that setup two days is enough and a company adds little.
What is the financial risk of doing it myself?
Not the cost of the clean but the cost of a reservation: if the agent instructs their own company, the invoice is usually passed on and almost always exceeds a clean booked in advance. The risk becomes serious if you have already returned the keys or left the canton.
Can I do part of it and leave the rest to you?
Yes, and it is often the best calculation: you do floors, cupboards and surfaces, we take the kitchen and the windows, which are the two slow and most checked items. The quote is based on the actual scope.
How much do products and equipment cost?
Between CHF 100 and 180 starting from nothing: oven degreaser, descaler, glass cleaner, a product suited to your floor, a squeegee with a handle, microfibre cloths and fine brushes. Compare that with the quote, not with a company's hourly rate.
Do I need to hire a floor machine?
Rarely in a residential flat; careful washing is enough for most coverings. The product matters more: oiled parquet, marble, natural stone and polished concrete do not tolerate the standard product, and damage to the covering will be charged to you whereas a cleanliness defect can be corrected.
In the same guide
See the service and the calculator
End of tenancy cleaning in GenevaReference page — kept up to date
An honest answer, no quote attached
Describe the flat, its size and its condition: we will tell you whether you actually need us, and on which items we would be useful.