Quick answer
Most New York City co-op and condo buildings require any recurring vendor — including a house cleaner who visits weekly — to submit a certificate of insurance (COI) naming the building, its management company, and sometimes the board as additional insured, typically with general liability coverage of at least $1,000,000 per occurrence, before issuing standing access or a service-elevator key.
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The short answer
If you’re hiring — or running — a cleaning service for a New York City co-op or condo, expect the building to require a certificate of insurance (COI) before granting standing access. This isn’t a formality most buildings skip; it’s one of the most common reasons a first cleaning visit gets delayed or a vendor is turned away at the front desk.
Why buildings require this at all
A co-op or condo board is responsible for the building’s common areas and, in many structures, has some exposure related to what happens inside individual units too. When a vendor — a cleaner, a contractor, a dog walker with a key — has recurring, often unescorted access to a unit or the building’s common areas, the board wants that vendor’s own insurance to be the first line of coverage if something goes wrong: a slip on a wet floor, water damage from a mishandled mop bucket, an injury in a hallway. The COI is how the building confirms that coverage exists before handing over a key or elevator access.
What the COI actually needs to say
A generic insurance certificate that just lists the cleaning company’s name usually isn’t sufficient. Buildings typically require:
- Additional insured status — the building itself, and often the management company and the board by name, listed as additional insured parties on the policy, not just the vendor’s own business name
- General liability minimums — commonly at least $1,000,000 per occurrence and $2,000,000 aggregate, though the exact figure is set by each building individually
- Workers’ compensation coverage, where the vendor has employees (a factor that matters if a cleaning company sends staff rather than a sole owner-operator)
- Correct legal names — the exact legal name of the building, co-op corporation, or condo association, which the managing agent can supply
Every building’s requirement sheet differs slightly, which is why the first step is always asking the specific building’s management office rather than assuming a standard COI template will clear the bar.
Getting it sorted before day one
The most common failure point isn’t the insurance itself — most professional cleaning companies already carry adequate general liability coverage. It’s timing: submitting the COI after the first visit is already scheduled, only to find the building won’t issue a service-elevator key or lockbox code until the certificate is approved. A cleaning company that handles this proactively — requesting the building’s exact requirements and submitting a compliant COI before the first appointment — avoids the awkward, and sometimes costly, delay of a cancelled or rescheduled first visit.
Keeping it current
COIs typically run on an annual renewal cycle. A lapsed certificate can suspend an otherwise-established vendor’s access mid-contract if the building’s management office notices the expiry before it’s renewed. Tracking renewal dates on a calendar and resubmitting proactively — rather than waiting for a building to flag it — keeps a recurring cleaning arrangement running without interruption.