What landlords require of cleaning companies: building access agreements, vendor insurance exhibits and how to prove you meet them

What a landlord requires before a cleaning company works in the building

QUICK ANSWER

A landlord's vendor or building access agreement for a cleaning company typically requires general liability of $1M per occurrence and $2M aggregate with the owner and property manager as additional insureds, workers' compensation with a waiver of subrogation, hired and non-owned or commercial auto, a third-party crime or janitorial bond covering theft from tenants, and often an umbrella of $1M to $2M; lost-key and damage-to-premises wording is common.

Reviewed by Michael LaBarbera, Licensed property & casualty agent, Provident Financial Group · Reviewed Oct 11, 2026 Updated Oct 14, 2026

Typical requirements and how to check them
Requirement	What they usually ask for	How to check what you have
Commercial general liability	$1M each occurrence / $2M general aggregate, owner and property manager as additional insureds for ongoing operations, primary and non-contributory; damage to premises rented or occupied at $100K or more	Dec page limits, the additional insured endorsement form and the damage-to-premises limit; confirm there is no exclusion for work on floors or for property in your care, custody or control beyond the standard.
Third-party crime or janitorial bond	$25K to $100K per occurrence for employee theft of a tenant's or the building's property, often called a janitorial services bond or third-party fidelity	A crime policy with the client property or third-party coverage extension, or a janitorial bond; a standard employee dishonesty form only covers your own property unless extended.
Workers' compensation and employers' liability	Statutory plus employers' liability of $500K or $1M, with a waiver of subrogation in favour of the owner and manager	Information page of the policy and the waiver endorsement; building owners check this first because cleaners work alone at night.
Commercial auto	$1M combined single limit on owned vehicles, with hired and non-owned auto where staff drive their own cars between buildings	Auto dec page limits and the hired and non-owned endorsement; a personal auto policy does not satisfy a vendor exhibit.
Umbrella or excess liability	$1M to $2M above general liability, auto and employers' liability in larger office buildings and medical facilities	A separate umbrella scheduling each underlying policy.
Lost key and access control	Tenant responsible for the cost of re-keying when keys or fobs are lost, sometimes through a stated limit	A lost-key endorsement on the general liability or crime policy; otherwise the cost falls on the business directly.
Certificate and notice conditions	A certificate before the first shift, renewed annually, with thirty days' notice of cancellation to the owner	A live certificate meets the renewal and notice conditions; a PDF must be re-sent at each renewal.

Requirement

What they usually ask for

How to check what you have

Commercial general liability

$1M each occurrence / $2M general aggregate, owner and property manager as additional insureds for ongoing operations, primary and non-contributory; damage to premises rented or occupied at $100K or more

Dec page limits, the additional insured endorsement form and the damage-to-premises limit; confirm there is no exclusion for work on floors or for property in your care, custody or control beyond the standard.

Third-party crime or janitorial bond

$25K to $100K per occurrence for employee theft of a tenant's or the building's property, often called a janitorial services bond or third-party fidelity

A crime policy with the client property or third-party coverage extension, or a janitorial bond; a standard employee dishonesty form only covers your own property unless extended.

Workers' compensation and employers' liability

Statutory plus employers' liability of $500K or $1M, with a waiver of subrogation in favour of the owner and manager

Information page of the policy and the waiver endorsement; building owners check this first because cleaners work alone at night.

Commercial auto

$1M combined single limit on owned vehicles, with hired and non-owned auto where staff drive their own cars between buildings

Auto dec page limits and the hired and non-owned endorsement; a personal auto policy does not satisfy a vendor exhibit.

Umbrella or excess liability

$1M to $2M above general liability, auto and employers' liability in larger office buildings and medical facilities

A separate umbrella scheduling each underlying policy.

Lost key and access control

Tenant responsible for the cost of re-keying when keys or fobs are lost, sometimes through a stated limit

A lost-key endorsement on the general liability or crime policy; otherwise the cost falls on the business directly.

Certificate and notice conditions

A certificate before the first shift, renewed annually, with thirty days' notice of cancellation to the owner

A live certificate meets the renewal and notice conditions; a PDF must be re-sent at each renewal.

The vendor exhibit, not the lease

A cleaning company rarely signs a lease with a landlord; it signs a service agreement or building access agreement with a vendor insurance exhibit attached. The exhibit protects the owner from the claims that come with after-hours access: theft from tenants, slips on wet floors, damage to finishes, and an injured cleaner working alone. Each of those has a line in the exhibit.

The lines a landlord's vendor exhibit names

General liability with the owner and manager added covers injuries and damage to the building and tenants' property, with a damage-to-premises limit that office buildings often raise. The crime bond or third-party extension covers theft from tenants, which no other policy does. Workers' compensation with a waiver keeps a cleaner's injury from becoming the owner's claim. Auto covers staff moving between buildings. An umbrella sits above in larger properties.

How to check your policies against the exhibit

Match the general liability limits, confirm the additional insured, primary and waiver forms by number, and check the damage-to-premises limit. Confirm the crime policy carries the client property extension or that a janitorial bond is in force at the stated limit. Check the workers' compensation information page and the waiver endorsement. Review the auto dec page for the combined single limit and hired and non-owned coverage. Then confirm the umbrella schedule where required. Each gap is a request to the carrier.

Keep the certificate current

Building owners want a certificate before the first shift and at each renewal, with notice of cancellation. A live certificate link stays current across renewals and notifies the owner when a line changes, with the official PDF attached, which matters when you clean a dozen buildings.

Questions people actually ask

Why does a landlord ask a cleaning company for a crime bond when tenants have their own insurance?

Because tenants' claims for stolen laptops and cash land on the building first. A third-party crime extension or janitorial bond pays for theft by your staff from tenants, which your general liability and your own employee dishonesty coverage do not.

Our cleaners use their own cars. Is hired and non-owned auto enough?

For the business's liability when an employee drives between sites, yes. It does not cover damage to the employee's car. Vendor exhibits ask for it precisely because personal auto policies exclude business use.

What is damage to premises rented or occupied and why does the exhibit set a limit?

It is the part of general liability that pays for fire or similar damage to space you occupy or work in. Office buildings ask for a higher limit because a cleaner's equipment or chemicals can start a fire after hours.

Do we need property manager and owner both listed?

Yes when the exhibit names both; they are separate legal entities. A blanket additional insured endorsement covers both when the written agreement requires it.