Edinburgh House Clearance Service: How It Works

Our Edinburgh house clearance service is straightforward. You tell us about the property, we agree an up-front rate, and on the day our uniformed team removes everything you want gone, dismantling furniture and lifting carpets where needed. We take it all to our depot to be sorted for reuse and recycling, sweep and tidy the cleared rooms and leave paperwork once the job is complete. Below we explain each stage, what Edinburgh's tenements and parking mean for a clearance, and how our service compares with using the council.

Who uses our Edinburgh clearance service

• Families clearing the home of a parent or relative who has died.
• Solicitors handling executry clearances on behalf of executors.
• Landlords and letting agents dealing with items left behind between tenancies.
• Estate agents and sellers who need a property empty before viewings or entry.
• Homeowners downsizing, moving or finally tackling a full loft, cellar or garage.

How it works, step by step

1. Get in touch. Tell us the address, how full the property is and what needs to go. Photographs or a short video of each room help us understand the volume. Let us know about stairs, lifts and parking at the same time.
2. Agree an up-front rate. We give you a clear price before any work starts, so there are no surprises on the day.
3. Decide what stays. Move anything you are keeping into one room or label it clearly. Our guide to preparing your home for a clearance team has a full checklist.
4. Clearance day. We call ahead when we are on the way. The team dismantles larger furniture, lifts carpets and flooring if required and carries everything out with care for the property and the common stair.
5. Sorting and recycling. Everything goes to our depot to be sorted, and over 90% of what we collect is recycled.
6. Final sweep and paperwork. We sweep and tidy the cleared areas and leave paperwork once the job is complete.

Tenements, stairs and parking in Edinburgh

Many Edinburgh homes, from the New Town and Marchmont to Leith and Gorgie, are tenement flats with shared stairs and no lift. Stone stairs can be narrow and steep, so wardrobes, beds and sideboards often need to be dismantled before they can be carried down safely. Telling us the floor and the layout when you ask for a quote means we arrive with the right number of people and tools.

Parking is the other big consideration. Many Edinburgh streets have parking controls, and loading close to a stair door can be difficult in busy areas. Let us know about permit zones, yellow lines or anything else near the building, and whether there is anywhere nearby for a van to stop. A quick word with neighbours on the stair before the clearance day also helps, as they will see furniture coming down for a few hours.

Doing it yourself: what the council offers

If you only have a few items, the City of Edinburgh Council may be able to help. For a whole house, the limits soon add up.

Bulky uplift

Edinburgh's bulky waste collection costs £5 per item, with up to five items per collection, and is free for people receiving Council Tax Reduction. It does not take garden waste, building materials, tyres, items over seven feet long, or hazardous and liquid waste. Five items covers an old sofa and a bed, but a furnished flat holds far more than that.

Recycling centres

Edinburgh's household waste recycling centres at Seafield, Sighthill and Craigmillar work by booked appointment. Vans and trailers need a booked slot and ID, and vans are not allowed at Craigmillar. That works for a car boot of bags, but clearing a full property this way means several bookings, many trips and a lot of carrying.

What we can and cannot take

We remove non-hazardous household contents, including:

• furniture, beds, mattresses and upholstered seating
• white goods and small electrical items
• carpets, underlay and flooring
• clothes, books, kitchenware and general household items
• loft, cellar, shed and garden contents, plus garage clearances in Edinburgh

Upholstered seating such as sofas and armchairs may contain persistent organic pollutants, so in Scotland it must be incinerated rather than landfilled and must not be torn up or mixed with other waste. We make sure it goes down the correct route.

We do not remove asbestos or hazardous waste. If a shed or garage was built before 2000, its roof or panels may contain asbestos cement, which needs a licensed asbestos contractor. Chemicals, solvents and gas bottles should be set aside, and the council can advise where to take them.

Choosing any clearance company in Edinburgh

Whoever you book, check they are a registered waste carrier on SEPA's public register. Under the duty of care, you must only give your waste to an authorised person, and if someone you paid dumps it, you can be held responsible. Our list of questions to ask a house clearance company before hiring them covers insurance, recycling and paperwork as well.

Areas we cover across Edinburgh

Jettison Express is based in Glasgow and carries out house clearances throughout Edinburgh. We work in neighbourhoods across the city, including Leith, Morningside and Portobello, as well as Bruntsfield, Newington, Corstorphine, Gorgie, Dalry, Granton, Liberton and the Old Town and New Town. With over 65 combined years of industry experience and more than 780 completed projects, our team is used to clearing homes of every size, from studio flats to large family houses.

To arrange your Edinburgh house clearance, contact Jettison Express for an up-front quote or call 0333 880 6800, Monday to Friday, 8am to 6pm.