Clearance work usually turns up attached to something else. A tenancy ending with furniture the next tenant does not want, a refurbishment leaving old units in the hallway, an office strip-out with twenty chairs nobody has a use for. We take it away and dispose of it properly, which is the part that actually matters.
Why the disposal matters more than the loading
Waste from your property remains your legal responsibility until it reaches a licensed facility. That is the bit most people do not know. If a cheap clearance firm fly-tips your old sofa on a side street and it is traced back, the enforcement action can land on you rather than on them.
We are a registered waste carrier and everything goes to a licensed transfer facility. We can provide the waste transfer documentation for any clearance, and you should ask for it from anyone who takes waste from your property, not just from us.
We load from inside, not from the kerb
Skip hire and most cheap clearance means you carry everything down to the street yourself. We do the carrying: down from the fourth floor flat, out of the basement, along the Barbican podium walkway if that is what it takes.
In Central London that distinction matters more than almost anywhere, because there is frequently nowhere legal to leave a skip and no way to get one onto the street at all without a licence and a suspension.
What we can take, and what needs a specialist
General household and office waste, furniture, mattresses, white goods, garden waste and non-hazardous building waste from small works are all fine.
What we cannot take is hazardous waste: asbestos, chemicals, paint in quantity, gas bottles, clinical waste and tyres. Those need a specialist carrier with the right licence, and any firm offering to take them away in a general load is not disposing of them legally. Large volumes of construction rubble need a skip or a grab lorry rather than a van.
Pricing by volume, and why we want photographs
Clearance is priced by van load, agreed before we start loading. People consistently underestimate a pile in a hallway by about half, which is why a description is worth much less than a photograph.
Send pictures and we can quote accurately with no adjustment at the end. A quote given over the phone from a verbal description is the most common source of the "actually, it is more than we thought" conversation, and we would rather avoid having it.
Reuse before disposal
A good share of what people clear is still perfectly serviceable. Office chairs, working white goods, sofas in decent condition. Where that is the case we would rather route it to reuse than to a transfer station, and we will tell you when something is worth listing rather than binning.
It is not always possible and we will not pretend otherwise. Mattresses in particular are difficult and almost always end up as waste. But it is worth asking the question before a working fridge goes in the van.
Who this is for
Landlords and tenants at the end of a tenancy, homeowners after a refurbishment, offices doing a strip-out, and anyone with more to get rid of than the council will collect.
What is included
- Loading from inside the property rather than from the kerbside
- Carrying down stairs and out of upper floor flats
- Disposal at a licensed waste transfer facility
- Waste transfer documentation on request
- Recycling and routing to reuse where items are still serviceable
- Sweeping up after ourselves
- A fixed price based on volume, agreed before we load
What is not included
Stated plainly so nobody books the wrong thing.
- Asbestos, chemicals, paint in quantity, gas bottles, clinical waste or tyres
- Large quantities of construction rubble, which needs a skip or a grab lorry
- Stripping out fitted kitchens, bathrooms or fixed installations
- Confidential document destruction, which needs a certified provider
Access and what to plan for
Clearance is carrying work, so the floor and the route matter as much as the volume. Upper floor flats with no lift, basements with external steps and estates with long walkways all change the crew rather than the price band. Where the van cannot get close there is no skip alternative in most of the centre, so the carry is the job and we price it honestly.
Van and crew
Clearance runs by van load, most commonly a Luton. Larger clearances are multiple loads and we will tell you how many we expect from the photographs rather than discovering it halfway through. Where the street will not take a box van we use a transit and adjust the number of loads, which we quote up front.
What we bring
- Heavy duty waste bags and sacks
- Sack truck and trolley
- Gloves and protective kit
- Floor protection for communal areas
- Basic tools for breaking down bulky furniture
- Brush and dustpan
What it costs
£280 to £1,700
For house clearance in Central London, including VAT, the crew, the van, the wrapping, the fuel and the Congestion Charge. Most land near £780.
Worked examples and what moves the figure →Where in that band you land is set by these.
- Volume, measured in van loads
- The floor, and whether there is a lift
- Distance from the door to the van
- Whether items need breaking down first
- Disposal type, since some materials cost more to process
- Whether it is combined with a move
How much notice we need
Usually a few days, and same-week is common. End of tenancy clearances tend to have a hard date, so tell us the deadline when you first get in touch. If the clearance is part of a move, book them together and we will sequence the two visits so nothing gets mixed up.
How to book
- Send photographs of everything that needs to go
- Tell us the floor and whether there is a lift
- We quote a fixed price by volume before any loading starts
- We load from inside, sweep up and take it away
- We provide the waste transfer documentation on request
What tends to go wrong
Three things we see repeatedly on this kind of job, all of them avoidable with a bit of notice.
Using an unlicensed clearance firm
If your waste is fly-tipped, the liability can follow back to you as the producer. Ask for the waste carrier registration and the transfer note. Anyone legitimate will provide both without hesitating.
Describing the pile instead of photographing it
Verbal estimates run about half the true volume. A photo takes ten seconds and means the price you are quoted is the price you pay.
Mixing the keep pile with the clear pile
On a combined move and clearance, mark what is being kept before we arrive. Sorting at the door is how something you wanted ends up in the wrong van.
We hold goods in transit and public liability insurance, and we are a registered waste carrier for the clearance work. Certificates go to your building management directly where they ask for them. Full detail is on the about page.
Rubbish and Waste Clearance: common questions
Are you a licensed waste carrier?
Yes, and you should ask that of anyone taking waste away. Waste from your property remains your responsibility in law until it reaches a licensed facility, so if it is fly-tipped it can come back to you. We can provide the waste transfer documentation for any clearance.
How do you price a clearance?
By volume, as a fixed figure agreed before we start loading. Send photographs rather than describing it, because a pile in a hallway is almost always bigger than it sounds. From photos we can quote accurately with no adjustment at the end.
Can you clear a flat at the end of a tenancy?
Yes, and it is a common job. If some contents are being kept and some cleared, tell us which is which in advance, ideally with the keep items marked. Sorting it at the door slows everything down and creates mistakes.
What can you not take away?
Asbestos, chemicals, paint in quantity, gas bottles, clinical waste and tyres all need a specialist carrier with the right licence. Large volumes of construction rubble need a skip or a grab lorry. Any firm offering to take those in a general van load is not disposing of them legally.
Do I need a skip instead?
In most of Central London a skip is impractical: you need a licence, usually a bay suspension, and there is often nowhere legal to put it. Clearance by van avoids all of that and means we carry from inside rather than you carrying to the kerb.
What happens to the things you take?
Everything goes to a licensed transfer facility for sorting, recycling and disposal. Where items are still serviceable, working appliances or decent office furniture, we would rather route them to reuse and we will say so before they go in the van.
Related services
- House Removals in Central LondonWhole house moves with the wrapping, the parking and the access planned in advance.
- Office and Business Moves in Central LondonDesks, IT and archives, moved out of hours with the building paperwork already filed.
- Emergency Van and Man Hire in Central LondonSame day and next day slots for the moves that could not be planned.
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Waste clearance across Central London
We cover all 37 Central London areas. Each area page has the parking and access detail specific to it.
Get a fixed price for waste clearance in Central London