how much does house clearance cost

How Much Does A House Clearance Cost?

Whether you are clearing out an old bedroom, garage, rental property or dealing with a bereavement-related property where you want to get rid of everything at once, a house clearance service is what you’ll require.

In this guide, we discuss the cost of a house clearance and all the factors that affect the overall cost.
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Written By Danny Morgan | Updated:

✓ Fact: Using a house clearance company is often far cheaper than hiring multiple skips

How Much Does A House Clearance Cost?

The cost of a house clearance is determined by the amount and type of items to be cleared from a house. Therefore, to approximate the house clearance cost, we have used van loads as a measurement because this is how most companies base their rates.

  • 1/4 van load (around 250 KG) – £75-£125
  • 1/2 van load (around 500 KG) – £150-£200
  • 3/4 van load (around 750 KG) – £250-£300
  • Full van load (around 1,000 KG) – £300 -£400

The above prices include the costs of physically moving the items from the house and placing them in the van. However, if all of the items are contained in a single room/garage and don’t involve as much physical work, you may benefit from a discounted rate.

Cost of Single Items

If you only have a small number of items, it may be worth asking the house clearance company for individual prices.

Below is an approximate guide to the cost of a house clearance per item:

  • Furniture: £100-£500
  • Mattress: £20-£30
  • Appliances: £50-£200
  • White Goods: £50-£200
  • Hazardous Materials: £50-£200
  • Electronics: £5-£10 per electronic
  • Piano: £100-£200
  • Garden Waste: £50-£200
  • Black Bags (General Rubbish: £10-£20 per bag

What Affects The Cost of a House Clearance?

House clearances can range from a few hundred pounds to thousands and this is dependent upon the size of the property, items to be cleared and the method of disposal. Below are some of the factors that affect the overall cost that you may be expected to pay.

Size of The Property

The size of the property will be a major factor when it comes to house clearance. This is because the larger the property, the more time it will take to complete the job and the more people may be required to help. For example, there may be additional stairs or more corners to move bulky items around in a larger house.

Access To The Property

The perfect job for a house clearance company is where their is a driveway and there aren’t many stairs to deal with. However, if you have a flat that’s on the top floor or no driveway/place to park a removal van, this can add to the cost.

Number of Items

The number of items to be cleared will also impact the cost of the house clearance. Therefore, to reduce the cost, it’s recommended that you remove some of the items yourself if possible.

how much does a house clearance cost

Location

If the house to be cleared is within a populated city with ULEZ, congestion or other additional fees, that’ll add to the cost of a house clearance. More likely than not, a removal van will do multiple trips and the cost of fuel will also need to be accounted for i.e. trips to the recycling centre.

Type of Items

The type of items being cleared can also affect the cost of the house clearance. Some items such as furniture may need to be taken apart before they can be removed, which will add to the cost. Other items, such as hazardous materials may require specialist disposal and this could also add to the cost.

How You Can Reduce The Cost of a House Clearance

If you have seen the costs associated with a house clearance above and thought that it’s quite expensive, there are ways you can reduce such as the following:

Sell Some Items – Although you may think an item isn’t worth keeping, it may be worth something to someone else. Therefore, for certain items of value, list them on Facebook Marketplace, Vinted, eBay, Gumtree and other marketplaces.

Scrap Metal Items – Items that contain metal such as white goods, curtain rails or anything else will be collected by a scrap dealer. Therefore, it’s worth calling around local scrap dealers to see if they’ll collect it for free.

Donate To Charity – If you don’t have the time to list an item on a marketplace, you could donate it to charity instead.

Would A Skip Be Cheaper?

The average cost to hire a skip ranges from as little as £80 to £900 and you may be wondering if it’s cheaper than using a house clearance company. However, from our research, we found that more often than not, the cost of a house clearance is much cheaper than a skip. It’s also less stressful and physically demanding because the house clearance cost includes the men moving the items from your house and into the van.

Conclusion

Hopefully our guide on the cost of a house clearance has answered all your questions. However, if you require further information, feel free to get in touch and we will try to provide our assistance where possible.
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