Your apartment community's common areas, leasing office, and hallways are the first things prospective renters see. When the cleaning falls short, residents notice and vacancies follow. Running a structured apartment janitorial bid keeps the process fair, the scope clear, and the monthly cost predictable across your Michigan multifamily portfolio.
This guide walks you through building a janitorial RFP, writing the scope, and comparing bids so you pick the right local cleaning partner for common areas, amenities, and unit turnovers in Wayne, Oakland, and Macomb counties.
What Should a Multifamily Janitorial RFP Include?
A multifamily janitorial RFP should list every space you need cleaned, the tasks required in each area, the frequency, and the service window. It should also state your insurance requirements, the desired contract term, and how you want vendors to format pricing. The more specific your RFP, the easier it is to compare bids side by side.
Start with a building walkthrough. Document each floor, hallway, stairwell, elevator, lobby, fitness room, laundry room, leasing office, and outdoor common area. Note the flooring type, square footage, and traffic level for each zone. Include any seasonal work such as salt-tracked lobby mopping or pool-deck pressure washing.
Your RFP should require every bidder to submit a written, task-level scope, similar to the vendor procurement approach used for commercial facilities. That means listing the specific tasks per area and how often each one happens. Vague line items like "clean common areas" invite misunderstandings after the contract starts.
How Do You Write a Cleaning Scope for Apartment Common Areas?
Break the scope into three frequency tiers: tasks performed every visit, tasks performed weekly, and tasks performed monthly. Assign each area of the building to the right tier based on traffic and resident visibility. A written scope protects both you and the vendor, because both sides know exactly what "clean" means before the first night of service.
For a typical Michigan apartment community, the per-visit list usually includes lobby and hallway vacuuming or dust mopping, elevator cab wipe-down, leasing office trash and surface cleaning, restroom sanitization, and glass door cleaning. Weekly tasks often include stairwell mopping, fitness equipment wipe-down, laundry room detailing, and baseboard dusting. Monthly tasks cover high dusting of vents and light fixtures, carpet spot treatment in hallways, and floor finish maintenance.
Add a section for unit turnover cleaning. List every task room by room: kitchen appliance interiors, cabinet wipe-down, bathroom sanitization, window track cleaning, baseboard and vent wiping, and full-unit vacuum and mop. Turnovers are typically priced per unit, not folded into the monthly contract.
What Goes on a Multifamily Janitorial Bid Checklist?
A bid checklist keeps every submission organized and gives you clear criteria when you sit down to compare. Include these items and confirm each bidder addresses them in writing:
- Written task-and-frequency scope for every common area, broken out by daily, weekly, and monthly work
- Unit turnover scope with room-by-room task list and per-unit pricing
- Fixed monthly price for recurring common-area cleaning
- Crew staffing plan: number of crew members, supervisor structure, and background screening details
- Service schedule: days of the week, start and end times, and holiday coverage
- Named point of contact for service questions and scope adjustments
- Insurance certificate with general liability and workers' compensation
- Supply responsibility: who stocks paper goods, trash liners, and cleaning products
- Quality control process: inspections, photo documentation, and resident complaint resolution
- Contract term, cancellation notice period, and payment terms
If a bidder skips any of these items or gives you a single lump-sum number with no detail, that tells you something about how they will communicate once the work begins.
How Do You Compare Multifamily Janitorial Bids Fairly?
Comparing janitorial bids for apartment buildings means making sure every vendor priced the same work. If one bidder includes daily lobby cleaning and another only priced it three times a week, the lower number does not mean a better deal. Line up the scopes first, then look at the price.
Build a simple comparison grid. List each common area across the top, and each bidder down the side. Fill in the task frequency each vendor quoted per zone. Flag any area where a bidder left out work you requested or added work you did not ask for. CJT Janitorial structures every cleaning proposal with a written task-and-frequency scope for each zone of your building, so the line items match your RFP directly.
After you confirm the scopes align, compare on these factors: fixed monthly price, crew consistency and screening, named point of contact, inspection process, and contract flexibility. Ask each bidder how they handle a missed visit or a resident complaint. Look at how quickly they responded to your RFP and how clearly they answered your questions. Those details predict future service quality more reliably than price alone.
What Should Michigan Property Managers Watch for in a Janitorial Contract?
Read the contract for auto-renewal language, price escalation clauses, and cancellation notice periods. The IREM Vendor Contracts: Best Practices course covers contract management from RFP through termination and is a good resource for property managers new to the bidding process. Make sure the scope of work attached to the contract matches the bid you accepted, task for task. If the vendor tries to simplify or condense the scope at the contract stage, push back. The bid scope is the scope.
Confirm that the insurance certificate names your property as an additional insured. Request a copy on file before work begins. If your portfolio includes medical or dental spaces alongside residential, make sure the bid addresses medical facility cleaning separately from common-area janitorial. Ask how the vendor handles staffing changes, because a new crew member who has never walked your building will clean differently than the crew that learned your space during the walkthrough.
CJT Janitorial assigns a named point of contact for every multifamily account and delivers a fixed monthly proposal based on the walkthrough we complete before quoting. You see the tasks, frequency, and price in writing before we start.
Frequently Asked Questions
How many bids should a Michigan property manager collect?
A handful of bids gives you enough range to compare pricing, scope detail, and responsiveness without stretching the evaluation timeline. Collecting too many usually adds complexity without improving the outcome.
Should unit turnover cleaning be part of the monthly janitorial contract?
Typically no. Turnovers fluctuate with lease cycles, so a per-unit price separate from the recurring monthly contract keeps your costs accurate. CJT Janitorial quotes turnover cleaning as a standalone line item alongside the monthly common-area scope.
What insurance should a multifamily janitorial vendor carry?
Ask about general liability and workers' compensation coverage, and request a certificate of insurance naming your property as an additional insured. CJT Janitorial makes an insurance certificate available on request before service begins.
How do you hold a janitorial vendor accountable after the contract starts?
Use the written scope as your baseline. Schedule regular inspections, require photo documentation of completed work, and set a clear process for reporting missed tasks. A named point of contact on the vendor side makes follow-up faster.
Can one vendor handle both common-area cleaning and day porter coverage?
Yes. Combining recurring janitorial and daytime porter service under one vendor reduces coordination effort and gives you a single point of contact. Include both scopes in your RFP so bidders price them together.
Ready to see what a structured, facility-specific janitorial bid looks like for your apartment community? Request a free walkthrough and we'll build a written scope and fixed monthly proposal for your Michigan multifamily property.