EC Cleaners Network · From Requirement to Evidence
If a landlord or managing agent says the kitchen extraction must be cleaned, first establish what part of the system they are referring to and who controls each section of the extract route.
In leased commercial premises, kitchen extract ductwork can pass from the tenant’s kitchen into roof space, risers, plant areas or common parts controlled by somebody else. The cleaning requirement, access arrangements and close-out evidence may therefore need coordination between tenant, landlord, managing agent and other responsible parties.
What has the landlord or managing agent actually asked for?
Send the written instruction, lease extract, managing agent email, building fire risk action, insurer requirement or previous kitchen extract report if available. Include the site location and any known access arrangements for roofs, risers, plant rooms or common areas.
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Start with the written requirement and the lease
GOV.UK states that many responsibilities for rented business property depend on what the lease says. A landlord instruction should therefore be kept with any relevant lease wording, property-management requirement, fire risk action or insurer recommendation that explains why the work has been requested.
The aim is not to decide legal responsibility from a contractor quotation. It is to understand which party controls the relevant parts of the premises and what physical work needs to be coordinated.
Do not turn a property-management issue into a cleaning-only instruction before the system boundary and access responsibilities are understood.
Questions to answer before contractors are asked to price the work
Which kitchen and extract system?
Identify the specific kitchen, canopy and extraction route covered by the requirement.
Who controls each part of the route?
Establish whether ductwork passes through tenant space, landlord areas, common parts, roof zones or other premises.
Who controls access?
Roof access, risers, ceiling voids, plant rooms and high-level areas may require landlord or managing-agent coordination.
What triggered the requirement?
Check whether it came from the lease, insurer, fire risk assessment, building survey, property inspection or previous contractor report.
What evidence is required?
Ask whether the landlord wants a report, photographs, certificate, contractor details, remedial confirmation or another record.
Who will review the evidence?
Establish whether close-out goes to the landlord, managing agent, insurer, fire risk assessor or another party.
Shared ductwork can create shared coordination problems
London Fire Brigade guidance specifically notes that kitchen extract systems can pass through areas where cleaning responsibilities are shared. It gives the example of a restaurant extract system entering ductwork in an area controlled by the building landlord, owner or managing agent.
The Brigade says the relevant responsible persons should cooperate and coordinate so that the interior surfaces of the ductwork are cleaned in a coordinated way rather than different sections being treated on unrelated dates.
If one extraction system crosses different areas of responsibility, the maintenance plan still needs to follow the physical system.
Landlords and managing agents can also have fire-safety duties
Government fire-safety guidance explains that dutyholders can include commercial landlords where they are responsible under the lease for maintaining or repairing fire-safety measures. It also says managing agents can have duties where their contract makes them responsible for maintenance, repair or safety of the premises.
The exact position depends on the premises, agreements and areas under each party’s control. EC does not interpret leases or determine legal responsibility. The practical purpose is to preserve the documents and make sure the contractor scope does not ignore a section simply because it falls outside the tenant’s immediate kitchen area.
What if the landlord says the insurer requires it?
Ask for the insurer wording, risk survey, policy condition or broker communication behind the request. The landlord or managing agent may be passing on a legitimate building-insurance requirement, but the actual wording remains more useful than a summary such as “the insurer wants TR19”.
The existing EC insurance guidance explains why frequency, contractor status and evidence should be checked against the real policy or survey rather than treated as a universal insurer rule.
What if parts of the system are outside the tenant’s demise?
This is where access planning becomes critical. A contractor may be able to clean the canopy and local ductwork but still need landlord-controlled roof access, riser access, ceiling access or permission to enter a plant area before the wider system can be completed.
If those areas are not available, the contractor should record the limitation. The resulting certificate or report should not be used to imply that inaccessible sections were inspected or cleaned.
Define the physical scope before comparing prices
A landlord may ask for a “full extract clean”, while individual contractors may interpret that phrase differently. One price may cover the canopy and accessible ductwork. Another may include the fan, roof work, additional access and detailed evidence.
The quotation should identify the system sections included, access assumptions, exclusions, work outside the tenant’s immediate area and the evidence to be returned after completion.
If the physical scope differs, the prices are not directly comparable.
What should the landlord or managing agent receive afterwards?
The returned evidence should answer the original property-management requirement. BESA’s current public guidance describes post-clean verification including before-and-after photographs, DTT or WFTT measurements, written work details, access limitations or areas requiring attention, cleaned-area information and a hygiene certificate.
If part of the system remains inaccessible, if repairs are recommended, or if another landlord-controlled area still needs work, those actions should remain visible rather than disappearing behind the certificate.
Historic project context
Commercial kitchen extraction often connects the tenant’s cooking area to ductwork and plant that extend well beyond the visible canopy. That wider route is why access and responsibility need to be considered at building level where the system crosses different areas.
Historic EC Cleaners project imagery illustrates a commercial kitchen extraction environment. It is not presented as evidence of any landlord, lease or managing-agent dispute at the photographed premises.
A practical landlord and tenant workflow
- Keep the written instruction. Preserve the landlord, managing-agent or building-management wording.
- Check the relevant property documents. Keep any lease, insurer, fire-risk or building-maintenance context with the request.
- Map the extract route. Identify which sections sit in tenant space, common areas, roof zones or other controlled areas.
- Agree access. Arrange permissions, keys, roof procedures, plant-room entry and other enabling requirements before the work.
- Issue one clear contractor scope. Make included system sections and evidence requirements explicit.
- Record exclusions. Keep inaccessible or incomplete areas visible.
- Return the full evidence package. Provide the report, photographs, certificate and outstanding actions to the party that raised the requirement.
What EC can help organise
Property requirement
Landlord emails, managing-agent instructions, lease extracts supplied by the customer, insurer documents and building-management requirements.
System information
Previous cleaning reports, photographs, known duct routes, fan locations and access limitations.
Contractor brief
A clearer commercial enquiry showing the required system scope, site constraints and evidence expectations.
Returned evidence
Reports, photographs, certificates, exclusions and follow-up recommendations can be organised for onward review.
EC does not interpret commercial leases, decide landlord or tenant liability, provide legal advice or determine whether a fire-safety or insurance requirement has been legally satisfied.
Landlord and managing-agent kitchen extract requirements: frequently asked questions
What should I do if my landlord or managing agent says the kitchen extraction must be cleaned?
Ask for the requirement in writing and keep any lease, building, insurer, fire risk or maintenance context supplied with it. Identify which parts of the extract system are within the tenant’s control and which pass through landlord or common areas before contractors are asked to price the work.
Who is responsible for commercial kitchen extract cleaning, the tenant or the landlord?
There is no universal answer. GOV.UK states that many responsibilities for rented business property depend on the lease. Fire safety duties can also sit with more than one person or organisation depending on who controls or maintains parts of the premises.
What if the ductwork passes through landlord-controlled or common areas?
The parties may need to coordinate access and maintenance. London Fire Brigade specifically notes that kitchen extract systems can pass into areas controlled by a landlord, owner or managing agent and says responsible persons should cooperate so the ductwork is cleaned in a coordinated way.
Can a landlord simply ask for a TR19 certificate?
They can request evidence, but the physical scope still needs to be clear. A certificate should not hide inaccessible ductwork, excluded areas or incomplete cleaning. Ask what system needs to be addressed and what evidence the landlord or managing agent expects.
What if the landlord requirement comes from the building insurer?
Keep the actual insurer wording or risk survey with the landlord instruction. Insurance requirements can vary by policy and premises, so the contractor should work from the supplied requirement rather than assumptions about what insurers usually ask for.
What if access to the ductwork is controlled by the landlord?
Treat the access issue as a separate project requirement. Roof access, risers, ceiling voids, plant areas or common parts may need landlord coordination before the contractor can inspect or clean the intended system.
What evidence should go back to the landlord or managing agent after cleaning?
The returned package should match the original requirement and clearly show what was completed, what was inaccessible or excluded, and what remains outstanding. BESA’s current public guidance describes post-clean evidence including photographs, DTT or WFTT measurements, written work details, access limitations and a hygiene certificate.
Has a landlord or managing agent asked for kitchen extract cleaning?
Send the written requirement, site information and any existing extract reports. EC can help organise the building-level scope, access questions, contractor route and evidence requirement while leaving lease interpretation and legal responsibility with the relevant professional advisers and parties.
Responsibility statement:
EC Cleaners Network is operated by Search and Submit Ltd. Search and Submit Ltd does not inspect, clean, test, survey, design, remediate, certify or technically approve kitchen extraction or ventilation systems. Independent appointed contractors and competent professionals remain responsible for technical assessment, safe working, quotations, physical delivery, reporting, certification and professional conclusions within their appointed scope.
TR19® Grease and TR19® Air are BESA specifications. References are descriptive and no BESA endorsement of or affiliation with EC Cleaners Network is claimed.