Building compliance & insurance · updated August 2026
Does Your Landlord Already Clean Your Office? Class A, B and C Explained
In most Manhattan Class A buildings, your suite is already cleaned by the landlord's contractor and paid for through your base rent. In Class B and Class C, it generally is not. That single distinction determines whether you are buying a nightly contract or supplemental service — and a meaningful number of tenants pay for it twice without realising.
How the Classes Are Actually Defined
Building class is loosely used in real estate marketing, but New York City's prevailing wage schedule defines it precisely by size, and it is a useful anchor:
| Class | Size | Suite cleaning usually included in rent? |
|---|---|---|
| A | Over 280,000 sq ft | Usually yes |
| B | 120,000 – 280,000 sq ft | Sometimes — read the lease |
| C | Under 120,000 sq ft | Usually no |
Common areas — lobby, lifts, corridors, common restrooms — are cleaned by the building in essentially all cases, and billed through operating expenses.
What Base-Building Cleaning Typically Covers — Read This Carefully
A representative Class A scope: carpets vacuumed, unobstructed surfaces dusted, trash emptied, five nights a week.
That word unobstructed is doing a lot of work. A desk with papers on it is not dusted. It also does not include pantry detail, appliance interiors, glass beyond spot cleaning, high dusting, conference room reset, or anything on a periodic schedule.
Where the Gaps Are, and What Fills Them
| Need | Usually in base-building scope? | Fill with |
|---|---|---|
| Nightly vacuum and trash | Yes (Class A) | — |
| Business-hours presence, restroom rounds, spills | No | Day porter |
| Pantry and kitchen detail | Usually no | Supplemental contract |
| Conference room turnovers | No | Day porter or supplemental |
| Deep cleaning, high dusting, glass cycle | No | Periodic programme |
| Carpet extraction, floor refinishing | No | Floor care |
| Post-construction after a fit-out | No | Post-construction |
Three Things to Do Before You Hire Anyone
- Find the cleaning clause in your lease. It is usually in the services or landlord obligations section, sometimes in an exhibit. Read exactly what it promises.
- Ask the managing agent for the base-building cleaning specification. Most have one and most tenants have never seen it.
- Identify the actual gap, then buy only that. If the building vacuums and takes trash, you may need a day porter and a quarterly deep clean, not a nightly contract.
We work predominantly in Class B and C buildings for exactly this reason — that is where the tenant genuinely needs a nightly contract. If you are in a Class A tower, we would rather tell you to check your lease than sell you something you already own.
Last reviewed August 2026. Figures for prevailing wage and regulatory schedules change on 1 January and 1 July — we re-verify this page each cycle.
Want This Answered for Your Actual Space?
We publish the general answer because it is useful. For a number that applies to your building, send us the square footage and the nights you need.
Get a Price for Your Space
Written scope and fixed monthly price, usually within two business days.
We reply to every request. If your building needs a Certificate of Insurance or vendor registration, we handle that paperwork before the first night.
Ready for a Cleaning Contract You Can Actually Read?
Send us your square footage and how many nights you need. You get a written scope, a fixed monthly price, and the SLA in the same document — usually within two business days.