How much does portable toilet hire cost in the UK?
Portable toilet hire costs £40 on average in the UK. Most jobs fall between £20 and £150 per week. Unit and hire type: Standard site toilet, longer hire £20 to £40; Standard site toilet, short hire or with weekly service £40 to £75; Accessible or mains-flushing unit £75 to £150. Prices reviewed July 2026.
Portable toilet hire runs from about £20 a week for a basic site toilet on a longer contract up to £150 a week for an accessible or mains-connected unit, with around £40 a week a fair typical figure for a standard builder's site loo. For a one-off event, a single toilet for a weekend is roughly £75 to £150 delivered, and a luxury trailer for a wedding £350 to £900 or more.
Portable toilet hire cost calculator
Use the calculator to price your portable toilet hire in 2026. Adjust the options and area for a UK cost range. Nothing is sent anywhere.
Portable toilet hire cost breakdown
Typical portable toilet hire costs, by option:
| Unit and hire type | Typical UK cost |
|---|---|
| Standard site toilet, longer hire (4+ weeks) | £20 to £40 |
| Standard site toilet, short hire or with weekly service | £40 to £75 |
| Accessible or mains-flushing unit | £75 to £150 |
What's included in the price?
Typical portable toilet hire prices include:
- Delivery and collection of the unit, on most weekly hires within a local radius
- A self-contained recirculating toilet cabin with a lockable door
- A fresh charge of water and blue treatment chemical in the tank
- A toilet roll holder and a hand sanitiser dispenser
- The agreed hire period, charged by the week
- Emptying and licensed disposal of the waste at the end of the hire
What changes the price?
The things that move portable toilet hire prices most:
Whether you need it for a construction site by the week or a one-off event by the day
The type of unit, from a basic recirculating site loo to a mains-flushing, accessible or luxury trailer
How long you hire it, since a longer contract drops the weekly rate sharply
How often it needs servicing, which depends on how many people use it
Your region, with London and the South East the dearest
Delivery distance from the depot and whether the site has clear vehicle access
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 (through Bark; we may earn a fee, at no extra cost to you).
How the price is built up
The weekly rate covers the hire of the cabin, delivery and collection, and the cost of emptying and disposing of the waste at a licensed site. A longer contract spreads the fixed delivery cost over more weeks, which is why the weekly rate falls the longer you hire. Servicing, where a tanker empties the tank and restocks the consumables, is charged per visit and rises with how heavily the toilet is used. Region drives the rest, since delivery mileage and disposal gate fees are dearer in and around London. Portable toilet hire is a service rather than a trade, so there is no separate labour and materials split. The weekly rate bundles the unit itself, the water and chemical charge, delivery and the servicing that keeps it usable.
Ways to keep the cost down
- Hire for a longer fixed term where you can, since the weekly rate drops sharply against a one or two week hire
- Keep the unit on your own site or drive with clear vehicle access, so there are no extra delivery or awkward-access charges
- Match servicing to real use, as a lightly used site toilet may only need a fortnightly empty rather than a weekly one
- Get two or three local quotes, since delivery radius and depot location move the price more than the unit itself
Does where you live change the cost?
In London, portable toilet hire typically costs around £50 per week, about 20% above the UK average of £40. In the North, Scotland and Wales the guide figure is nearer £40.
| Region | From | Typical | Up to |
|---|---|---|---|
| Midlands / East (UK average) | £20 | £40 | £150 |
| London | £25 | £50 | £180 |
| South East / South West | £20 | £40 | £160 |
| North / Scotland / Wales | £20 | £40 | £150 |
Guide prices per week, scaled with the same regional multipliers as the calculator. Not quotes.
Portable toilet hire cost in major UK cities
| City | From | Typical | Up to |
|---|---|---|---|
| Belfast | £20 | £40 | £140 |
| Birmingham | £20 | £40 | £150 |
| Bristol | £20 | £40 | £160 |
| Cardiff | £20 | £40 | £150 |
| Edinburgh | £20 | £40 | £150 |
| Glasgow | £20 | £40 | £150 |
| Leeds | £20 | £40 | £150 |
| Liverpool | £20 | £40 | £150 |
| London | £25 | £50 | £180 |
| Manchester | £20 | £40 | £150 |
| Newcastle | £20 | £40 | £150 |
| Sheffield | £20 | £40 | £150 |
City guide estimates, scaled by local labour costs. Indicative averages for portable toilet hire, not quotes.
Jobs in London and the South East carry the highest weekly rates and delivery charges, while the North, Wales and Scotland are typically cheaper. Rural sites can pay more for delivery because of the distance from the nearest depot.
Compare this with a real quote
The figures above are guide prices. Two or three quotes for your portable toilet hire tell you what it costs where you live.
Free and no obligation. You answer a few questions on Bark, local pros get in touch, and you decide who, if anyone, to hire. We may earn a fee, at no extra cost to you.Common questions
How much does portable toilet hire cost in the UK?
A standard portable site toilet costs roughly £20 to £50 a week, with around £40 a fair typical figure. A short one or two week hire can reach £60 to £75 a week once delivery is added, because the fixed delivery cost is not spread over many weeks. Accessible and mains-flushing units run about £75 to £150 a week. For an event, a single unit for a weekend is £75 to £150 delivered, and a luxury toilet trailer £350 to £900 or more.
What changes the price of portable toilet hire?
The unit type is the biggest factor, from a basic recirculating site loo up to an accessible, mains-flushing or luxury trailer. After that it is hire length, since a longer contract spreads the delivery cost and cuts the weekly rate, then how often the toilet is serviced, your region and how far the depot is from your site. Delivery and collection is usually £40 to £90 combined, and a service visit £10 to £20 each time.
How much does it cost to hire a portable toilet for an event?
Event hire is priced per day or per weekend rather than by the week. A single standard toilet for a one-day event or a weekend is usually £75 to £150 delivered, since a minimum charge and the delivery both ways apply even for a single day. A larger or accessible unit is more, and a luxury toilet trailer with sinks and flushing cubicles for a wedding is typically £350 to £900 or more for the weekend.
Do I need servicing and how often?
A self-contained toilet needs emptying and restocking once the tank is used up. On a construction site that is usually a weekly or fortnightly service at £10 to £20 a visit, depending on how many people use it. HSE's guidance, citing the British Standard, puts it at one chemical toilet for every seven people working a 40-hour week, emptied weekly, and more often or with extra units if it is heavily used. A short event hire generally needs no service during the booking, as the unit is emptied on collection.
Is it cheaper to hire long term?
Yes. The weekly rate falls the longer you commit, because the fixed delivery and collection cost is spread over more weeks. A single one week hire is the dearest way to do it, often £60 to £75 for a standard unit, while the same toilet on a twelve week site contract can drop toward £20 to £30 a week. When you compare quotes, add the weekly rate, the delivery charge and the servicing together rather than judging on the headline weekly price alone.
Can I use a public toilet or a camping loo instead of hiring one?
On a building site, sometimes. HSE's guidance accepts existing toilets, such as public toilets, a local café or the bathroom in the house, provided there is proper agreement with the owner, they are available the whole time workers are on site, and someone keeps them clean and stocked. Providing welfare is your builder's duty under the Construction (Design and Management) Regulations 2015, not yours, and where those conditions cannot be met a hired unit is the practical route once a job runs beyond a day or two. For a small private event a chemical camping or composting toilet can work, but it needs emptying yourself and will not cope with larger numbers. For anything with real footfall a hired unit that is delivered, serviced and taken away is normally worth the cost.
Is a portable toilet with a hand sanitiser enough on a building site?
No, not on its own. Schedule 2 to the Construction (Design and Management) Regulations 2015 requires washing facilities in the immediate vicinity of every toilet on a construction site, with clean hot and cold, or warm, water, soap and a way to dry hands. HSE's guidance says a portable toilet with only a hand sanitiser and a small sink is inadequate unless other suitable washing facilities are nearby. So hire a unit with a proper basin and warm water, put a separate washing unit beside it, or agree that workers can use the bathroom in the house instead.
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.
- Construction welfare: toilets and washing HSE · HSE's welfare guidance for building sites, including one chemical toilet for every seven people working a 40-hour week, weekly servicing, and why a unit with only a hand sanitiser is not enough on its own.
- Welfare facilities on construction sites HSE · Says contractors must provide welfare, and that existing toilets such as public ones or those in an occupied building can be used with the owner's agreement, if they are available the whole time and kept clean.
- Construction (Design and Management) Regulations 2015, Schedule 2 legislation.gov.uk · The legal minimum for welfare on a construction site: toilets provided or made available, and washing facilities with hot and cold, or warm, water, soap and towels in the immediate vicinity of every toilet.
- Construction (Design and Management) Regulations 2015, regulation 7 legislation.gov.uk · On work to your own home the client duties pass to your contractor, which is why welfare on a domestic job is your builder's responsibility rather than yours.
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): Portable toilet hire typically costs £40 per week in the UK, ranging from £20 to £150 per week. Reviewed July 2026. costwiseuk.co.ukSource: Costwise (costwiseuk.co.uk)Costwise (2026). Portable toilet hire cost. Costwise UK cost data, version 2026-10-12. https://costwiseuk.co.uk/portable-toilet-hire-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.