Most people choose a housekeeper on first impressions and price. The things that actually decide whether it works out are duller, and far easier to check before you commit. Here are the seven we would verify before letting anyone hold a key to our own home.
One: Insurance You Can Actually See
Ask for the public liability cover and read the certificate. It should name the business and be current. If someone is working in your home unsupervised, an uninsured arrangement leaves you exposed if something is damaged or someone is injured, and 'we're fully insured' is not the same thing as a document.
Two: A DBS Check, Not a Promise
A basic DBS check is the minimum for anyone entering your home, and you should ask how it was obtained and how recent it is. A check carried out five years ago for a previous employer tells you far less than a current one held by the company you are actually hiring.
Three: A Named Person, Not a Rotating Team
You are hiring a person, not a call centre. Ask whether you will have the same housekeeper each visit, whether they are employed or subcontracted, and whether you can meet them before the first visit. A rotating team never learns your home, and with no named individual it is impossible to hold anyone accountable for a standard.
Four: Who Covers Holidays and Sickness
Every service has absences. What matters is the plan: will a substitute be sent, will you be told in advance, and will that substitute be briefed on your home? A company that has not thought about this will leave you guessing, usually on the morning of the visit.
Five: Products Agreed in Advance
Ask who supplies products and equipment, and specifically what is used on stone, timber and specialist finishes. Premium services supply their own eco-conscious products. If a housekeeper brings whatever is cheapest that week, your marble, joinery and upholstery are carrying the risk.
Six: Key Handling in Writing
If you will not be home, agree in writing how keys, codes and alarms are handled, who holds them, and what happens when a code changes. A verbal arrangement is not a policy, and it is the single most common thing clients wish they had nailed down earlier.
Seven: A Written Scope and a Review Point
You should know exactly what a visit covers before the first one: which rooms, which tasks, what is excluded, and what happens when something needs extra time. Agree a review after the first month. A service willing to put its scope in writing and revisit it is usually the one that lasts.