A house clearance costs between € 500 and € 3.000. For a studio or small flat it starts at € 500, a terraced or family home usually sits between € 1.000 and € 1.750, and a detached house or a large property comes out at € 1.750 to € 3.000 or more. Where you land within that range depends on four things: how much is in the property, how easy the building is to reach, how much extra work the handover calls for and whether it has to be done at short notice.
We do not give a price per square metre. Two homes of the same size can be far apart in terms of work: one still holds half its contents, in the other the loft has not been cleared in thirty years. That is why someone from our team comes round, walks through the property with you, and you then get one fixed amount.
Guide prices per type of property
These amounts apply to a complete clearance: sorting, carrying out, removal, processing and handing the property over broom clean, the standard Dutch handover condition.
| Type of property | Guide price |
|---|---|
| Studio or small flat | from € 500 |
| Terraced house or family home | € 1.000 to € 1.750 |
| Detached house or large property | € 1.750 to € 3.000 or more |
If the flat is already half empty, you come out near the lower end. For a family home with a full shed, a garage and a loft stacked with boxes, the amount runs above the upper end. You hear that at the survey, so it does not turn up on the invoice afterwards. Within our service area we do not charge call-out costs: whether the property is in Bodegraven or in Gouda, the rate is the same.
What determines the price of a clearance?
Four points account for almost the whole price. If you know them, you can work out for yourself roughly where a property will land.
How much there is to clear
This weighs heaviest. The price depends on the number of cubic metres that has to leave the property and then be processed, not on the floor area. People who make their own estimate nearly always forget the same places: the loft, the cellar, the shed, the garage and whatever is standing at the back of the garden. More volume means more people, more trips and higher tipping charges.
How easy the property is to reach
A ground-floor flat where the lorry can stand at the door is empty sooner than a third floor without a lift. At the survey we look at the stairs and the stairwell, at the dimensions of the lift, and at whether we may load and unload or first need a permit from the council. In an old town centre with narrow streets, the same volume takes more hours.
Extra work at the handover
Many requests go further than emptying. A landlord or buyer often wants the floors taken out, curtain rails and light fittings removed and plugs and screw holes filled. Glued-down carpet and laminate with adhesive residue take the most work. If you mention this at the survey, it is part of the fixed price.
Whether it has to be done at short notice
We normally schedule a clearance within one to two weeks. If the property has to be empty within 24 to 48 hours, for instance because the handover of keys is already fixed, we put in extra people and an extra vehicle. That costs more than spreading the same work over two days. On the emergency clearance page you can read how we handle that.
What is and is not included in the price?
The fixed price covers everything from the full property to the broom clean handover:
- Sorting and setting aside. Usable furniture goes to a second-hand shop or a charity, and papers, photographs and personal belongings are put aside in boxes.
- Carrying out and removal, including the manpower, the equipment, the lorry and the trips to the processing plants.
- The rest we separate into wood, metal, plastic and electronics. Those tipping charges are part of the amount.
- A broom clean handover, storeroom and balcony included, with photographs of the empty property and a handover report for the estate agent, notary or landlord.
We do not remove asbestos ourselves. In properties built before 1994 it is still found regularly, for instance in a shed roof or in carpet adhesive, and only a certified removal firm may take it out. At the survey we point out what is suspect and we schedule the clearance straight after the removal work. Those removal costs run through that company and stand apart from our price.
If something comes up during the work that we did not discuss at the survey, for instance a garage that was locked, you hear what that costs first.
How we arrive at a fixed price
We only set the price once someone from our team has stood in the property. Over the telephone we could do no more than guess at it.
- The survey on site is free and usually possible within 1 to 3 working days. We walk through every room, loft, shed and garage included.
- Within 24 hours after that, the fixed price is on paper, setting out what we take away and what we hand over. For private customers that amount includes VAT.
- No after-calculation follows: no hourly rate, no surcharge per cubic metre and no tipping charges added later on.
- We agree the schedule with you. The clearance usually falls within one to two weeks.
Can a house be emptied free of charge in exchange for the contents?
We are asked this often, usually in the form of having a house emptied free of charge after a death. With us that is not possible: we do not buy contents and we do not offset anything against the price. You get a fixed price for the work, and what happens to the belongings stands apart from that.
Removal costs money. For every cubic metre that goes to a processing plant we pay tipping charges, and the people who empty the property have to be paid for that day. So the contents would have to fetch a great deal before that was covered. In most homes there is no question of that: tidy contents from the eighties or nineties fetch next to nothing second hand, and for a second-hand shop a three-piece suite, a dining set and a cabinet of crockery are more work than return.
If someone does promise you a free clearance, that company earns its money elsewhere: on a high basic amount, on costs that only appear on the final invoice, or by dumping belongings unsorted. If you can see belongings of real trade value in your own home, antiques or good tools for instance, sell those yourself and say at the survey what is staying. That saves volume, and volume sets the price.
A price for your situation
A range tells you whether you are in the right order of magnitude. For the exact amount, one visit is enough. On the house clearance page you can read what we do and how a clearance runs from start to finish. You can book a survey by telephone on 085 7444 039 or through the contact page. Please state what sort of property it concerns and when it has to be empty, then we know straight away whether that date is achievable.
