Should I choose the lowest quote?

Not on price alone. Two quotes are only comparable if they cover the same rooms, the same labour, the same access assumptions and the same types of material. A low figure that excludes the loft, the long carry or residual waste is not cheaper. Ask what is included.

Do I need to meet the company at the house?

Not always. Photographs and a clear description are often enough to start. Some properties still need a visit, particularly where access is tight. A company that will not price from pictures is not automatically worse; a company that quotes a whole house from one doorway photograph is not automatically better.

What if someone pressures me to book immediately?

You can wait. Inherited and probate houses especially should not be emptied because a caller is in a hurry. Do the searches for documents and valuables first. A reasonable company can live with that.

Is a local company always the right choice?

Knowledge of Cornish access helps. “Local” is not a substitute for being able to explain waste handling, quote basis and what they will not take. Ask the same questions regardless of where the van is based.

Guide

How to choose a house clearance company

Practical questions — waste carrier status, what happens to goods, how the quote is built, special waste, access — without pressure and without naming rivals.

Information checked: 21 March 2026

What you are actually hiring

A house clearance is labour, vehicles and a method for dealing with mixed household contents. You are not hiring a personality, a slogan or a promise that the job will be effortless. You are hiring someone to enter a property, remove agreed goods, and send those goods through reuse, recycling or authorised disposal.

The useful way to choose is to ask the same questions of every company, including us, and to compare answers rather than adjectives. This page does not rank named competitors. It is a list of questions that still work if you have never used a clearance firm before.

If you are still deciding whether you need a clearance at all, read house clearance vs skip hire first.

Ask whether they are an authorised waste carrier

Household waste that leaves your property with someone else should go to an authorised person. The practical check is a search on the Environment Agency register of waste carriers and brokers.

How to check a waste carrier explains how to search and what “reasonable steps” means for a householder. It is not written to frighten you. It is written so that a registration number on a website is something you look up rather than something you take on trust.

Ask:

What is the registration name and number?
Does that name match the invoice?
How is residual waste recorded? The GOV.UK pages on waste transfer notes and the duty of care code of practice describe the framework.

A company that cannot answer calmly is telling you something useful.

Ask what happens to the goods

You should hear a hierarchy, not a single word such as “recycled”.

Useful answers mention:

items you have asked to keep, and how those are marked
reusable furniture and household goods
materials that can be separated for recycling
residual waste through authorised routes
categories they will not take

Less useful answers are a recycling percentage with no evidence, a claim of zero waste, or “we take everything” without exceptions. Read what happens to house clearance items and reuse and recycling so you know what a straight answer sounds like.

If particular pieces must go to a named person or organisation, say so and ask whether that is practical on the day.

Ask how the quote is built

A comparable quote names the rooms, the outbuildings, the access assumptions and the material. Bedroom counts are a weak basis. Photographs plus a postcode plus a note about stairs and parking are a strong one.

Ask:

What is included — loft, garage, shed, garden, cupboards?
What would increase the figure — extra volume, a longer carry, a second load, material that needs a specialist?
Is the quote for labour and disposal together, or are there extras?
What happens if the job is smaller or larger than the photographs suggested?

The house clearance cost page explains the variables we use. Other companies may group them differently. The point is that you can see the grouping.

Be cautious of a figure given after a thirty-second glance, and equally cautious of a refusal to give any range after you have sent thorough photographs. Some jobs cannot be priced remotely. That should be explained, not used as fog.

We do not advertise same-day availability. If a timetable is being used to force a booking, treat that as information.

Ask about special waste

Every honest company has a list of things it will not automatically take. Asbestos-suspect material, gas cylinders, certain chemicals, clinical waste and some batteries are the usual examples. See what we clear.

Ask what they do if those items appear on the day. The acceptable answers are “we stop and talk” or “that needs a specialist”. The unacceptable answer is a shrug and a suggestion that it can go in the general load.

Tell them what you already know about. Hidden problems help nobody.

Ask about access

Cornwall jobs fail on access more often than they fail on willingness. Narrow lanes, nowhere to turn, a long carry, a hatch that will not take a wardrobe, parking that is only legal at certain times — these belong in the first conversation.

Ask how they would handle the approach you have photographed. If they have not asked you about the approach, they have not finished quoting.

Rural properties, coastal cottages and holiday lets are normal here. They are not a special category that only one firm can touch. They do need accurate description.

Ask how they handle probate and distance

If the house is inherited, listen for a distinction between valuing contents and removing unwanted contents. A company that treats a probate house as a standard rubbish job is the wrong company. See probate house clearance, bereavement house clearance and valuations.

If you live outside Cornwall, listen for a process: enquiry, photographs, access, a retain list, quote, clearance, confirmation. House clearance when you live outside Cornwall describes that sequence. Be wary of anyone who promises a particular key-safe or estate-agent arrangement as if it were already in place. Access has to be agreed for the property you have.

No pressure

You can take a day. You can take a week. You can finish searching for documents first. Prepare for house clearance is worth doing before you book anyone, including us.

Pressure shows up as:

a price that exists only if you confirm while they are on the phone
a suggestion that goods will “have to go today”
reluctance to put the scope in writing
dismissal of questions about waste or valuables

None of those are illegal in themselves. They are a poor way to empty a house you cannot easily put back together.

A compact list you can copy

Waste carrier name and number — and have I searched the register?
What happens to reusable goods, recyclable materials and residual waste?
What will they not take?
Which rooms and outbuildings are in the quote?
What access assumptions is the figure based on?
How will retained items be identified?
How is the waste transfer recorded?
What would change the price?
Can I have the scope in writing?
Do I have time to finish documents and valuables first?

If you want those answers from us, send the postcode and photographs through get a quote. How house clearance works is the longer description of the job itself.