How much does a house clearance cost in the UK?
House clearance costs £700 on average in the UK. Most jobs fall between £250 and £1,800 per property. Property size: Flat or part clearance £250 to £550; Two to three bed house £500 to £1,100; Four bed or full probate clearance £1,100 to £1,800. Prices reviewed July 2026.
A house clearance costs roughly £250 for a small flat in a cheaper region up to £1,800 for a full four-bed or probate house in the South East, with about £700 a fair typical figure for a two to three bed home. Firms price mainly by how much has to come out, not by the hour.
House clearance cost calculator
Use the calculator to price your house clearance in 2026. Adjust the options and area for a UK cost range. Nothing is sent anywhere.
House clearance cost breakdown
Typical house clearance costs, by option:
| Property size | Typical UK cost |
|---|---|
| Flat or part clearance (studio to one bed) | £250 to £550 |
| Two to three bed house | £500 to £1,100 |
| Four bed or full probate clearance | £1,100 to £1,800 |
What's included in the price?
Typical house clearance prices include:
- A two or three person crew to carry everything out of the property
- Loading into a van and removal off site
- Legal disposal, recycling and tipping fees at licensed sites
- A receipt or transfer note showing the firm's waste carrier registration number
- Removal of general furniture, white goods and household items
- A sweep through so the property is left broom-clean
What changes the price?
The things that move house clearance prices most:
The volume of contents, since firms price by how many van loads or cubic yards come out
Property size, from a one-bed flat to a four-bed house
Access, including floor level, stairs, lift and how far the van can park
Heavy or awkward items such as pianos, safes, sheds and fridges that carry extra fees
Your region, with London and the South East dearest and the North, Scotland and Wales cheaper
Whether saleable furniture or antiques can be offset against the bill
These are why two quotes for the same job can differ, and the only way to know your price is to get prices from local firms.
How the price is built up
The price is built from the crew's labour for the day, the van and fuel, and the tipping and recycling fees, which rise with the weight and type of waste. Region drives a lot of the gap because labour rates and tip gate fees are higher around London. Heavy or hazardous items, poor access and upper floors add time on top, while good saleable furniture and antiques can be deducted from the total by firms that resell them. A house clearance is nearly all labour and disposal. The bill is the crew's time carrying and loading, the van, and the gate fees to tip and recycle the waste legally, so there are no materials in the usual sense.
Ways to keep the cost down
- Sell or give away anything with real value first, since a lighter property means fewer van loads to pay for.
- Clear one or two easy rooms yourself to cut the volume the crew has to remove.
- Get two or three quotes and check the firm is a registered waste carrier, so the waste is not fly-tipped in your name.
- Ask whether saleable contents can be offset against the bill, which some firms will do for good furniture or antiques.
Does where you live change the cost?
In London, house clearance typically costs around £840 per property, about 20% above the UK average of £700. In the North, Scotland and Wales the guide figure is nearer £680.
| Region | From | Typical | Up to |
|---|---|---|---|
| Midlands / East (UK average) | £250 | £700 | £1,800 |
| London | £300 | £840 | £2,200 |
| South East / South West | £260 | £740 | £1,900 |
| North / Scotland / Wales | £240 | £680 | £1,700 |
Guide prices per property, scaled with the same regional multipliers as the calculator. Not quotes.
House clearance cost in major UK cities
| City | From | Typical | Up to |
|---|---|---|---|
| Belfast | £240 | £670 | £1,700 |
| Birmingham | £250 | £700 | £1,800 |
| Bristol | £260 | £740 | £1,900 |
| Cardiff | £240 | £680 | £1,700 |
| Edinburgh | £240 | £680 | £1,700 |
| Glasgow | £240 | £680 | £1,700 |
| Leeds | £240 | £680 | £1,700 |
| Liverpool | £240 | £680 | £1,700 |
| London | £300 | £840 | £2,200 |
| Manchester | £240 | £680 | £1,700 |
| Newcastle | £240 | £680 | £1,700 |
| Sheffield | £240 | £680 | £1,700 |
City guide estimates, scaled by local labour costs. Indicative averages for house clearance, not quotes.
The South East and London cost the most, driven by higher labour rates and tip gate fees plus parking and congestion charges. The North, Scotland and Wales are typically a little cheaper for the same size of property.
Compare this with a real quote
The figures above are guide prices. Two or three quotes for your house clearance tell you what it costs where you live.
Common questions
How much does a house clearance cost in the UK?
A full house clearance costs about £250 to £1,800, and firms price mainly by volume rather than by the hour. A small flat or part clearance is roughly £250 to £550, a two to three bed house around £500 to £1,100, and a large four-bed or probate clearance £1,100 to £1,800. A typical family home lands near £700. London and the South East sit at the top of each band.
What changes the price of a house clearance?
Volume is the biggest driver, since firms charge by how many van loads or cubic yards come out rather than the room count alone. A packed house costs far more than a half-empty one of the same size. Access matters too, so upper floors, stairs with no lift and parking a street away all add labour. Heavy items like pianos, safes and fridges carry extra fees, and your region shifts the whole bill up or down.
Is a house clearance cheaper than hiring a skip?
It depends on who does the lifting. A skip is cheaper on paper at £90 to £380 a week, but you carry and load everything yourself and still pay for a permit if it sits on the road. A house clearance at £250 to £1,800 includes a crew who empty the property for you and sort the recycling. For a full house you cannot face clearing alone, the clearance usually wins on time and effort, while for a small tidy-up you can load yourself, a skip is cheaper.
Can I do a house clearance myself?
You can, and for a small or half-empty property it saves a lot. Hiring a van for a day is £60 to £120 plus fuel, and most household waste recycling centres take DIY loads for free or a small fee on certain items. The catch is time, heavy lifting and the trips to the tip, which can run to a full weekend for a two-bed house. Bulky furniture, white goods and a full loft are where paying a crew starts to make sense.
How long does a house clearance take?
Most clearances are done in a single day. A two or three person crew can empty a one to two bed flat in a morning, and a three-bed house usually inside a day. A large four-bed, a hoarded property or a full probate clearance with lofts, garages and sheds can take one to two days. Firms can normally book you in within a few days of the quote.
Will the value of the furniture reduce the cost?
Sometimes. Many house clearance firms resell good furniture, appliances and antiques, and a reputable one will offset that value against your bill or, for a house full of saleable items, clear it at little or no charge. It only works with items that have a real resale market, so tired flat-pack and worn sofas count for nothing. Ask upfront whether saleable contents are deducted, and never let anyone take valuables without agreeing it in writing.
What should I check before a firm clears the house?
Check that the firm holds an upper tier waste carrier registration before anything leaves. In England and Wales, section 34(2A) of the Environmental Protection Act 1990 makes the occupier responsible for handing household waste, including furniture and appliances, only to an authorised person, and government guidance names house clearance as a case to check. In England the number starts CBDU and is on the Environment Agency's public register. A breach can bring a fixed penalty of up to £600 in England, so keep the receipt. A landlord clearing a vacated let is not dealing with household waste, so the full business duty of care applies.
Can sofas and armchairs go out with the rest of the clearance?
Not mixed in with it, in England. Environment Agency guidance treats waste upholstered domestic seating, such as sofas, sofa beds, armchairs and upholstered chairs, as likely to contain persistent organic pollutants (POPs). It must be kept apart from other waste, including in a skip, and it has to be incinerated. It can travel in the same van if it is not mixed in, but if it contaminates a mixed load, the whole load must be treated as POPs waste. Expect seating to be handled as a separate item and ask how the firm prices it. Mattresses, beds and curtains are not covered by this rule.
Check they are registered before they start
Anyone taking waste away from your home has to be a registered carrier. Your duty of care does not end at the gate, so if it is fly-tipped the failure traces back to you. Checking takes about a minute and it is free.
- Check a waste carrier is registered Environment Agency · The public register. If waste taken from your home is fly-tipped and it was not handed to a registered carrier, the duty of care failure is yours
- Check a waste carrier is registered in Wales Natural Resources Wales · The Welsh public register. A registration with Natural Resources Wales, the Environment Agency or SEPA is valid in all three countries, so check the one the carrier names
Official guidance and sources
The rules and schemes referenced on this page come from these official UK sources. The price figures are Costwise's own; see how we price.
- Waste duty of care: code of practice GOV.UK (Defra and Environment Agency) · The statutory code for England and Wales: a householder must hand waste only to an authorised person, the code names skip hire and house clearance as cases to check the firm's upper tier registration, and a trader who does the work owns the waste it produces.
- Bigger fines possible for littering and fly-tipping GOV.UK (Defra) · Raised the maximum fixed penalty for a householder who breaches the waste duty of care in England to £600.
- Manage waste upholstered domestic seating containing POPs GOV.UK (Environment Agency) · Upholstered seating such as sofas and armchairs must not be mixed with other waste, including in a skip, and must be incinerated; mattresses and curtains are not covered.
- Household waste recycling centres: DIY waste charges, government response GOV.UK (Defra) · The government's decision that councils in England should not charge for small amounts of DIY waste at recycling centres.
Cite this data
These figures are free to use in articles, reports and research under a CC BY 4.0 licence. All we ask is a credit to Costwise, and online a link. Where your style allows, please make "Costwise" the linked word so readers can check the figure for their own region.
Costwise (2026): House clearance typically costs £700 per property in the UK, ranging from £250 to £1,800 per property. Reviewed July 2026. costwiseuk.co.ukSource: Costwise (costwiseuk.co.uk)Costwise (2026). House clearance cost. Costwise UK cost data, version 2026-10-12. https://costwiseuk.co.uk/house-clearance-cost/2026-10-12 (158 jobs)Dataset DOI: 10.5281/zenodo.21159943 · also on Kaggle, Hugging Face and Figshare. Method: how we price. Downloadable CSV.
These are independent guide prices based on typical UK jobs in 2026. Your actual cost depends on your property, spec, access and where you live. Always get at least three written quotes before committing.