Home cleaners serving Downtown Core.

Planning home cleaning in Downtown Core

Downtown Core is a small residential planning area. The Census 2020 dwelling data counts 1,547 resident households: 83% live in condominiums or apartments, 15% in HDB flats, and none in landed homes. So most cleaning jobs here are in high-rise units, where building rules shape when and how a crew can work.

Condos and apartments

According to the Census 2020 dwelling data, 83% of households here live in condos or apartments, so most cleaning happens inside strata buildings. BCA's guide for condo owners says owners must follow the MCST by-laws and should check with the MCST before renovation. Changes to common property need the MCST's prior written approval. Before you book a move-out or post-renovation clean, ask your management office about contractor hours, lift use and debris disposal.

NEA's cleaning business licence FAQ says domestic cleaning at premises occupied as a private residence does not need an NEA Cleaning Business Licence. That exemption does not cover condo common property. Cleaning shared areas is a matter for the MCST and is not part of your unit booking.

• Regular cleaning: agree a fixed list for each visit, such as kitchen, bathrooms, floors and inside window panes. Then you can compare quotes like for like.
• Move-in or move-out: book after the furniture is cleared, and ask whether the insides of cabinets, wardrobes and appliances are included.
• Post-renovation: fine dust keeps settling, so schedule the clean after every trade has finished. Ask how the crew deals with dust in aircon grilles and window tracks.

HDB flats

The Census 2020 dwelling data records 229 HDB households in the planning area, all in 4-room flats. For building age, HDB's property information dataset covers HDB's Central Area town, whose border does not match the Downtown Core planning area. That town has 79 residential blocks and about 12,000 dwelling units. 82% of the units are in blocks completed in 1986 or earlier, the median block completion year is 1979, and 7 blocks have 30 storeys or more.

Older flats often need extra time on grout, window tracks and kitchen surfaces, so ask whether a deep cleaning quote covers descaling and mould treatment. HDB's Home Improvement Programme applies to flats built up to 1986. Works in each flat take about 10 working days and include replacing waste pipes and repairing spalling concrete. Works like these leave dust behind, so a deep clean afterwards is useful.

A cleaning crew should not touch pipes or wiring. HDB's renovation approval rules say water and sanitary plumbing work must be done by a PUB licensed plumber, and electrical work by an EMA licensed electrical worker. If a clean turns up a leak or a faulty socket, call one of those trades.