What £780 covers
- Two or three crew, and the loading rather than you bringing it down
- The van and however many runs the volume takes
- Tipping and disposal fees at a licensed transfer station
- Waste transfer notes, so you can evidence where it went
- Sweeping through at the end rather than leaving what would not fit
- The Congestion Charge at £18, ULEZ and parking
- Public liability cover and registered waste carrier status
House clearance prices per van load
Clearance is priced by how much of a Luton van it fills, because that sets both the crew time and the tip fee. A full Luton holds about 15 cubic yards, roughly two builder's skips. Every figure includes VAT, loading from inside, the tip fee and the waste transfer note.
| Load | Price |
|---|---|
| Minimum loadA single item, or up to ten bags. A sofa, a mattress or a broken washing machine. | £120 to £180 |
| Quarter loadA bed, a wardrobe and a dozen bags. The end of most small jobs. | £200 to £290 |
| Half loadA furnished bedroom, a storage unit or a small garage. | £300 to £440 |
| Three quarter loadA studio flat without the kitchen, or a well filled garage. | £430 to £600 |
| Full Luton loadA furnished one bedroom flat, or a packed garage and shed. | £520 to £700 |
| Each further full load, same visitLess than the first, because the crew, the travel and the Congestion Charge are already paid for. | £420 to £560 |
Worked examples
Four typical clearance jobs with the access at both ends, priced the way we would quote them, so you can find the one that looks like yours.
Bermondsey, one room
Bedroom cleared after a tenancy ended: bed, wardrobe, chest of drawers and eleven bags. Second floor with a lift, one run.
£310
Camden, one bedroom flat
Full flat clearance including the kitchen, first floor walk-up, two runs, a fridge freezer taken separately for its refrigerant.
£600
Wandsworth, three bed house
Probate clearance including a loft and a garden shed, three crew for the day, four runs, garden waste separated at the transfer station.
£1,100
Pimlico, garage and storage unit
Twenty years of boxes, furniture and two broken appliances, ground level access, three runs on a weekday.
£760
What the volume does to the price
| Situation | Price |
|---|---|
| A single roomA bedroom, a garage or a storage unit. One run for most of them. | £280 to £440 |
| A studio or one bedroom flatTwo runs where the kitchen is included. Appliances handled separately. | £440 to £760 |
| A two bedroom flat or small houseA full day. Where a loft is involved, plan for a third crew member. | £690 to £1,130 |
| A three or four bedroom houseA day or two, three or four runs, loft and shed included where you want them cleared. | £1,000 to £1,700 |
What moves the figure
- How full the rooms actually arethe whole price
- A heavily packed one bedroom costs more than a sparse three bedroom. This is why clearance is quoted from photographs rather than from a room count.
- What the tip charges to take it+£100 to £310 a load
- Transfer station fees are charged by weight and they are the largest single cost inside a clearance figure. Soil, rubble and plasterboard cost more than furniture.
- Fridges, freezers and air conditioning units+£30 to £75 each
- Refrigerant has to be handled separately under the regulations. They cannot go on a general load and they are worth mentioning up front.
- Mattresses+£25 to £50 each
- Charged separately at almost every transfer station in London because they are difficult to process.
- Sofas, armchairs and other upholstered seating+£20 to £45 each
- Since 2023 the Environment Agency has required upholstered domestic seating to be incinerated rather than landfilled, because the foam and fabric can contain persistent organic pollutants. Transfer stations charge for that separately, so a three piece suite costs more to clear than its volume suggests.
- Heavy waste: rubble, soil and plasterboardpriced by weight
- The tip charges by the tonne, so a quarter load of rubble can cost as much as a full load of furniture. Plasterboard has to be kept apart from general waste. Bag it separately and tell us how much there is.
- Paint and chemicalsnot in the load
- Empty or fully dried tins go in with everything else. Liquid paint, solvents and chemicals cannot go in a general load at all. Most London councils take household paint at their reuse and recycling centres, which is the cheapest place for it.
- The floor, and the carry to the van+£75 to £250
- Everything comes down rather than going up, which helps, but a fourth floor walk-up with four loads is still a day of stairs.
- A loft, a cellar or a shed+£125 to £310
- Each one is a separate space to empty and lofts in particular are slow. Say whether you want them included, because most quotes assume you do not.
Why we quote clearance from photographs
Room count tells us almost nothing about a clearance. We have cleared one bedroom flats that took four runs and four bedroom houses that took two. What we need is a photograph of each room as it stands, including the loft hatch and the shed, and a note about anything heavy or hazardous.
From that we can quote a fixed figure that holds. Firms that quote a clearance from a room count over the phone are either guessing high, or planning to renegotiate on the day once your van is loaded and your options have narrowed.
What the tip actually charges
Disposal is the biggest cost inside a clearance price and it is charged by weight at a licensed transfer station. That is why a room of books costs more than a room of empty wardrobes, and why nobody who quotes you £200 for a full flat clearance is planning to use a transfer station.
The corollary is worth knowing: fly tipping is prosecuted against the person whose waste it was, not only the person who dumped it. If a clearance quote is dramatically below everything else, ask for the carrier registration number and the waste transfer note, because you are the one the council writes to.
What we take out before it goes to the tip
Anything reusable goes to a charity or a reuse network rather than a transfer station where we can, which lowers the weight and lowers your cost. Furniture in good condition, working white goods, books and clothing all have somewhere better to go.
Where a clearance contains items with real resale value, we will say so rather than tipping them. On probate clearances in particular it is worth having a valuer look before we start, because the difference is sometimes larger than the whole clearance fee.
Probate and end of tenancy clearances
Probate work is most of the larger clearances we do and it has its own rhythm. The family wants specific items kept and the rest gone, so we work from a list and photograph anything ambiguous before it leaves rather than after.
End of tenancy is the opposite problem, which is time. A landlord wants the flat empty by a date, the tenant has already gone, and the clock is on. Those we can usually turn round inside a couple of days, and we provide the waste transfer notes the agent will ask for.
How to bring the number down
Every one of these is something you can do rather than something we can discount.
- Take anything valuable or sentimental out yourself before we quote
- Sell or give away the furniture in good condition rather than paying to dispose of it
- Separate the garden waste, rubble and soil, which are charged at a different rate
- Say up front how many fridges, freezers and mattresses there are
- Clear the loft and the shed yourself if you have time, since those are the slow spaces
- Book a weekday rather than a weekend
- Have somewhere legal for the van to stop, or accept a longer carry rather than paying for a suspension
House clearance costs: common questions
How much is a van load of rubbish removal in London?
A minimum load, meaning a single item or up to ten bags, costs £120 to £180. A quarter Luton load costs £200 to £290, a half load £300 to £440, a three quarter load £430 to £600 and a full Luton load £520 to £700. Each further full load on the same visit costs £420 to £560. All of it includes VAT, loading and the tip fee.
How much does it cost to get rid of a sofa?
On its own, a sofa is a minimum load at £120 to £180 including the tip fee. Added to a larger clearance it costs £20 to £45 on top of the volume it takes up, because upholstered seating has to be incinerated rather than landfilled and transfer stations charge separately for it.
Can you take paint?
Empty or dried out tins, yes. Liquid paint, solvents and other chemicals cannot go in a general load. Most London councils accept household paint at their reuse and recycling centres, so set it aside and take it there, or ask your council about collection.
How much does house clearance cost in London?
From £120 for a small load and £280 for a single room, up to £1,700 for a full three or four bedroom house, including VAT and the tipping fees. A studio or one bedroom flat runs £440 to £760. A two bedroom flat or small house runs £690 to £1,130. The figure covers the crew, the van, however many runs it takes, the disposal charges and the waste transfer notes.
Why do you want photographs before quoting?
Because room count does not predict volume and volume sets the price. We have cleared one bedroom flats that took four runs to the transfer station and four bedroom houses that took two. Photographs of each room, plus the loft and the shed, let us quote a figure that holds rather than one that gets revised once we are inside.
Is the tip fee included?
Yes. Disposal at a licensed transfer station is inside the quoted figure rather than added afterwards, and it is the largest single cost in a clearance. A quote that excludes tipping is not a clearance quote, it is a van hire quote.
Do you provide waste transfer notes?
Always, and you should insist on them from anyone. We are a registered waste carrier and the note evidences where your waste went. Fly tipping is prosecuted against the person whose waste it was as well as the person who dumped it, so a cheap clearance with no paperwork is a risk you are carrying rather than a saving you made.
Can you take fridges, freezers and mattresses?
Yes, though both are charged separately. Fridges, freezers and air conditioning units cost £30 to £75 each because the refrigerant has to be handled under its own regulations. Mattresses cost £25 to £50 each because transfer stations charge extra to process them. Tell us how many at the quote stage.
Do you clear lofts, cellars and sheds?
Where you ask us to, and it is worth asking explicitly because most quotes assume the main rooms only. A loft adds £125 to £310 depending on the hatch and what is up there, and it is the slowest part of almost every clearance.
How quickly can you clear a property?
A single room or a small flat inside a couple of days for a weekday slot. A full house needs the photographs first, then a day or two on site. End of tenancy work where an agent has set a deadline is what we turn round fastest.
What happens to things that are still usable?
Furniture in good condition, working white goods, books and clothing go to a charity or a reuse network rather than a transfer station wherever we can place them. It lowers the weight going to the tip, which lowers what you pay.
How we do the job itself
This page is about the money. The rubbish and waste clearance page covers the method: the crew, the wrapping, the access planning and what tends to go wrong.
Prices by area
The band above holds across all 46 Central London areas we cover. What changes between them is the parking and the housing stock, which is what decides where in the band you land.