End of lease and handover in Geneva
The handover guarantee: what it covers and what it does not
Many Geneva companies advertise a "100% guarantee". Here is precisely what such a commitment can cover, what nobody can promise, and how to read the one you are offered.
The short answer
- Our commitment: if the managing agent (régie) records a reservation about cleanliness on a point covered by our work, we come back and correct it at no charge.
- It is deliberately limited to what depends on us. A guarantee promising "the agent will accept the flat" promises a third party's decision, which nobody controls.
- Two practical conditions: the flat must be empty when we work, and nothing may be moved back in afterwards.
- Not covered: repairs (scratched parquet, a seal to replace, a drilled wall), normal wear and tear, deductions for damage or unpaid rent.
- Tell us as soon as a reservation is recorded, before the agent instructs a company at your expense — that invoice is almost always higher.
Why a guarantee cannot cover the agent's decision
A guarantee is only worth something if whoever gives it controls what is being guaranteed. The handover report (procès-verbal) covers the whole flat: cleanliness, but also damage, wear, missing items and the condition of appliances. A cleaning contractor only acts on part of that.
So a phrase like "acceptance guaranteed" promises something that does not depend on the contractor alone. If the agent withholds part of your deposit because a blind is broken or rent is unpaid, no amount of cleaning prevents it — and the company that promised "100%" will be explaining that this case was not covered.
We prefer the opposite: a narrower commitment that holds. On cleanliness points within our work, we come back. That is verifiable, and it is exactly the part of the file we control.
What our commitment covers
Cleanliness points we handled
If the agent records a reservation on an item that was in our scope — an oven, a window rebate, the inside of a cupboard, scaled taps — we return and correct it at no charge.
Omissions
An item quoted but not done is covered the same way. The final walk-through with you before we leave exists precisely so this does not happen, but if it does, it is on us.
Within the useful deadline
We come back before the flat is definitively handed back. That is what matters: a correction made after the file is closed no longer affects your deposit.
Weekend work
Saturday and Sunday at the same price. That is not goodwill but the practical condition of the commitment: many handovers fall on a Monday morning, and a correction impossible on a Sunday would be a guarantee on paper only.
What no cleaning guarantee can cover
This list applies to us as much as to any Geneva contractor. If a guarantee you are offered does not exclude these explicitly, ask why.
- Repairs: scratched or swollen parquet, cracked tiles, a drilled wall, a cracked pane, a broken blind, a silicone seal to replace, a faulty appliance.
- Normal wear and tear, which cannot be held against you and does not need "cleaning".
- Missing items: keys not returned, shelves gone, a blind remote control.
- A deduction for unpaid rent or charges, which has nothing to do with cleanliness.
- A defect already present when you moved in and recorded on the entry report: it is not attributable to you.
The two practical conditions
The flat must be empty
You cannot clean inside a full cupboard, or the floor under a wardrobe. If belongings stay behind, the areas they cover fall outside the scope — and a reservation on those areas cannot be attributed to us. If the flat still needs emptying, we can do the clearance first.
Nothing moved back in afterwards
A flat cleaned and then reoccupied for a few days, even briefly, is no longer in the state we left it in. That is also why the cleaning belongs the day before the handover, not two weeks earlier.
How to read a guarantee you are offered
- Is it in writing? A verbal promise on the phone is worth nothing at the moment you would need it.
- What exactly does it cover: cleanliness, or "the agent's acceptance"? The second is broader on paper and weaker in practice, because it promises a third party's decision.
- What are its exclusions? A guarantee with no written exclusions has not been thought through, or they will be invoked at the worst moment.
- How quickly does the contractor return, and do they work weekends? A correction that cannot happen before the handover is useless.
Our commitment appears on the quote, with its scope and its exclusions. That is the only place where it has any value.
What to do the day a reservation is recorded
- Do not sign the handover report as though it were agreed. You can sign while having your disagreement written onto the document.
- Insist that each reservation is specific. "Flat to be re-cleaned" is unusable; "limescale on the bathroom taps" is, and takes twenty minutes to fix.
- Ask for a copy of the signed report immediately, not later.
- Tell us the same day. We act on the cleanliness points within the commitment.
- Ask to be allowed to correct the point before the agent instructs a company at your expense — that invoice is almost always higher than the correction.
Frequently asked questions
What exactly does your handover guarantee cover?
The cleanliness points that were within our scope. If the managing agent records a reservation on an item we handled or that was quoted, we return and correct it at no charge, within the useful deadline before the flat is definitively handed back.
Do you guarantee the agent will accept the flat?
No, and no honest contractor can. The handover report covers the whole flat, including damage, wear and missing items, and the deposit can also be withheld for unpaid rent. We guarantee the part we control: the cleanliness of the items we handled.
Does the guarantee cover a mouldy silicone seal?
No, because a seal where mould has penetrated the silicone cannot be cleaned: it has to be replaced, and that is a repair. We flag it before the job so you can decide, rather than discovering it on the report.
What if the agent instructs their own company?
That invoice is usually passed on to you and it almost always exceeds the cost of a correction. This is why, as soon as a reservation is recorded, you should ask to be allowed to correct the point first — and tell us the same day.
Does the flat have to be empty for the guarantee to apply?
Yes. Areas covered by belongings left behind fall outside the scope of the work, and therefore outside the commitment. If the flat still needs emptying, we can run clearance then cleaning without a second trip.
How long does the guarantee last after the clean?
Until the flat is definitively handed back, provided nothing has been moved back in. A flat reoccupied even briefly is no longer in the state we left it in, which makes the commitment impossible to verify.
Is the commitment in writing?
Yes, it appears on the quote with its scope and exclusions. A verbal commitment has no value at the exact moment you would need it, and that is a simple test to apply to any Geneva quote.
Do you come back at weekends to fix a reservation?
Yes, Saturday and Sunday, at the same price. Many handovers happen on a Monday morning, so a correction impossible at the weekend would be a guarantee in name only.
In the same guide
See the service and the calculator
End of tenancy cleaning in GenevaReference page — kept up to date
A written commitment, with its limits
Ask for the quote: it states the scope of the work, the commitment to return, and its exclusions, in black and white.