How to hire a cleaner safely in Ontario

1. Ask for a certificate of insurance

Any professional cleaner or cleaning company should be able to show proof of commercial general liability insurance before the first visit. The standard way to do that is a certificate of insurance, usually called a COI. It is a one-page summary issued by the insurer or broker confirming that coverage is actually in force. When you receive one, check four things. The named insured should match the exact business name you are paying, not a similar name or a personal name. The coverage type should include commercial general liability. The policy dates should span the period the work will happen. And the limit should meet what was promised: in the cleaning trade, $2 million is a common standard, and larger operations often carry more. If anything looks off, you can call the broker listed on the certificate and confirm it is genuine.

What to ask: "Can you send me a certificate of insurance before the first visit?"

2. Know what liability insurance covers, and what it does not

Liability insurance is for accidents. If a cleaner knocks a painting off the wall, or someone slips on a freshly washed floor and is injured, commercial general liability coverage is what responds to damage to your property and injuries to you or your guests caused by the work. It is worth being equally clear about what it does not do. It does not cover theft: protection against a worker stealing from a home requires separate coverage, such as a bond or crime coverage, and many otherwise well-insured companies do not carry it, so ask directly how theft would be handled. It also does not cover a poor-quality job. A badly done clean is a service dispute to resolve with the company, not an insurance claim.

What to ask: "If something is damaged, stolen, or badly done, what happens in each case?"

3. Ask what background check was done, and when

Ontario law standardizes exactly three types of police record checks: the Criminal Record Check, the Criminal Record and Judicial Matters Check, and the Vulnerable Sector Check. For a house cleaner, a Criminal Record Check or a Criminal Record and Judicial Matters Check is the normal standard. Do not expect a Vulnerable Sector Check for ordinary house cleaning. That check is legally restricted to positions of trust or authority over children or vulnerable persons, so its absence is not a red flag; most cleaners cannot legally obtain one for this kind of work. Two more things are useful to know. A check requires the individual's knowledge and consent, so no one can quietly pull one on someone else. And every check is a snapshot in time: it reflects the record on the day it was issued and has no legislated expiry, so organizations commonly look for one done within the last six to twelve months. Ask how recent the check is and whether checks are refreshed.

What to ask: "What type of police record check was done, how recently, and is it refreshed?"

4. Understand the WSIB picture

WSIB is Ontario's workplace injury insurance, and the rules here surprise many homeowners. Cleaners sent by a company are the company's responsibility. A solo self-employed cleaner is not required to have WSIB coverage in Ontario at all; that is lawful and common, so "no WSIB" is not by itself a warning sign. What it does mean is that a workplace injury on your property cannot go to WSIB, and becomes a private matter instead, which is one more reason liability insurance matters. There is one situation where WSIB lands on you directly: if you personally employ a cleaner for more than 24 hours a week in your household, you are required to register with WSIB as their employer. At 24 hours a week or less, registration is not mandatory.

What to ask: "Are you sent by a company, self-employed, or working for me directly, and who covers you if you are hurt?"

5. Treat your own home insurance as the backstop, not the plan

Standard Canadian home insurance includes personal liability coverage. If you are sued because someone was unintentionally injured on your property, that coverage responds, including legal defence costs, up to your policy limit. That is real protection, but it is designed for the unexpected, not as a substitute for hiring insured professionals. If an uninsured worker is injured or causes damage, the costs can end up as a claim against you personally, and how your own policy responds depends on the policy and the facts. Routine cleaning does not require you to notify your insurer. The practical takeaway is simpler: hire people who carry their own coverage, so your policy stays what it is meant to be, the backstop.

What to ask: "Do you carry your own liability insurance, so mine never has to be the first line?"

6. Know which relationship you are creating

There is a legal difference between being a client and being an employer, and it is set by how you hire, not by what you intend. Booking through a company or a platform makes you a client; the business handles its own obligations. Hiring one person directly on a regular schedule can make you a household employer, depending on the facts of the relationship. If it is employment, the Canada Revenue Agency requires the household to register a payroll account, deduct and remit income tax, CPP, and EI, and issue a T4. It can also trigger the WSIB registration rule from the section above. Whether someone is an employee or self-employed turns on the whole relationship: who controls the work, who supplies the equipment, who bears the financial risk. CRA's guide RC4110 explains the distinction. None of this is a reason to avoid hiring directly. It is a reason to know which arrangement you are entering before you enter it.

What to ask: "Am I your client, or am I becoming your employer?"

7. Control the keys

The best key policy is the one where you stay in control. A lockbox with a code you can change, or a smart lock code you can rotate, means no one permanently holds a copy of your key, and access ends the moment you decide it does. If a company does hold keys, common professional practice is documented custody: ask who holds the key, how it is tagged (never with your address on the tag), and where it is stored. It is also fair to ask what happens if a key is lost. Many insurers offer lost-key coverage that pays for re-keying or lock replacement, so a good company can tell you exactly who pays and how quickly locks would be changed. When any arrangement ends, change the codes.

What to ask: "How are keys stored and tagged, and who pays for re-keying if one is lost?"

Sources

All facts above were checked against the following sources on July 21, 2026.

1. Ontario.ca, Police record checks: https://www.ontario.ca/page/police-record-checks
2. Ontario, Bill 113, Police Record Checks Reform Act, 2015: https://www.ola.org/en/legislative-business/bills/parliament-41/session-1/bill-113
3. RCMP, Vulnerable sector checks: https://rcmp.ca/en/criminal-records/criminal-record-checks/vulnerable-sector-checks
4. WSIB, Operational Policy Manual, Domestic Workers: https://www.wsib.ca/en/operational-policy-manual/domestic-workers
5. WSIB, Independent operators: https://www.wsib.ca/en/businesses/registration-and-coverage/independent-operators
6. WSIB, Do you need to register: https://www.wsib.ca/en/businesses/registration-and-coverage/do-you-need-register-us
7. WSIB, Optional insurance: https://www.wsib.ca/en/businesses/registration-and-coverage/can-i-choose-have-wsib-insurance
8. Ontario, Occupiers' Liability Act, R.S.O. 1990, c. O.2: https://www.ontario.ca/laws/statute/90o02
9. Canada Revenue Agency, Employing a caregiver, baby-sitter, or domestic worker: https://www.canada.ca/en/revenue-agency/services/tax/businesses/topics/payroll/payroll-overview/employing-a-caregiver-baby-sitter-domestic-worker.html
10. Canada Revenue Agency, RC4110, Employee or Self-employed?: https://www.canada.ca/en/revenue-agency/services/forms-publications/publications/rc4110/employee-self-employed.html
11. Insurance Bureau of Canada, Types of home insurance coverage: http://www.ibc.ca/qc/home/types-of-coverage
12. RBC Insurance, Six insurance tips for home renovations: https://www.rbcinsurance.com/en-ca/advice-learning/home-insurance/six-insurance-tips-for-home-renovations/
13. Canadian Home Builders' Association, Insurance and workers' compensation: https://www.chba.ca/CHBA/Renovating/Insurance_and_Workers_Compensation.aspx
14. Zensurance, Cleaning business insurance: https://www.zensurance.com/cleaning-insurance
15. Western Financial Group, What insurance should a commercial cleaner have in Ontario: https://westernfinancialgroup.ca/What-insurance-should-a-commercial-cleaner-have-in-Ontario
16. Intact Insurance, Commercial general liability: https://www.intact.ca/en/business-insurance/coverage/liability-insurance
17. Insureon, Cleaning business insurance and bonding: https://www.insureon.com/cleaning-business-insurance
18. IRMI, Faulty work and the CGL: https://www.irmi.com/articles/expert-commentary/faulty-work-and-the-cgl
19. GEICO, What is a certificate of insurance: https://www.geico.com/information/aboutinsurance/business/what-is-a-certificate-of-insurance-coi/
20. Sterling Backcheck (Canada), Guide to Ontario's Police Record Checks Reform Act: https://www.sterlingbackcheck.ca/blog/2024/12/understanding-ontarios-police-record-checks-reform-act-a-guide-to-criminal-record-checks-and-third-party-screening-services/
21. SpringLaw, Hiring workers for your household in Ontario: https://springlaw.ca/hiring-workers-for-your-household-in-ontario/
22. BrokerLink, Will homeowners insurance cover a civil lawsuit in Canada: https://www.brokerlink.ca/blog/will-homeowners-insurance-cover-a-civil-lawsuit-in-canada
23. Square One, Coverage E glossary: https://www.squareone.ca/resource-centres/insurance-glossary/coverage-e
24. Insureon, Lost key coverage for building services: https://www.insureon.com/blog/safeguard-building-services-with-lost-key-insurance-coverage
25. Next Insurance, Lost key coverage: https://www.nextinsurance.com/general-liability-insurance/edu/lost-key-coverage/