House Clearance Birmingham

3. Reuse options for Birmingham & West Midlands

With any house clearance, the first thing to consider is what items you can sell or donate, rather than throw away. 

There are lots of reuse options in the Birmingham and W Midlands area. These include charitable organisations like the ReUsers and CT Furniture, local auction companies, or posting it on LoveJunk, Freecycle and other online marketplaces. 

For a comprehensive guide on local reuse options, check out our Reuse Options in Birmingham Guide.

4. Disposal of Waste from your Birmingham House Clearance

Assuming you do the clearance yourself rather than hire someone to do it for you, then you will need to get rid of anything that cannot be sold or donated. 

The three main ways to get rid of bulky rubbish from a house clearance are a) take it to the recycling centre b) pay a man & van rubbish clearance company; or c) hire a skip. 

A) Recycling centres and council tips in Birmingham

The local recycling centre or council tip is the cheapest way to dispose of things that you cannot sell or give away. You do need transport though. So, if you don’t have a car, you will need to hire one (see below). Note that the local recycling centre will not allow (or charges) anyone using a van. 

There are 5 household recycling centres in Birmingham. For detailed information on each, check out our Guide to Birmingham Recycling Centres.

B) Man & Van Rubbish Clearance company

A man & van waste collector comes to the property and removes anything you need to get rid of. The company will sell on what they can and take the rest to a commercial recycling centre for disposal. These companies charge according to type and amount of junk. If you use man & van, make sure you separate items you want to sell and get a bit of money for. Unlike a house clearance company, they won't make this distinction for you. 

There are lots of great man & van waste collectors in Birmingham area. The best way to find a good, licensed operator for an excellent price is to list your job on LoveJunk. What you see there is a free no obligation quote, and you can compare between collectors. 

C) Hire a skip

Before hiring a skip, we recommend you read our Skip Hire Guide.

A builders skip (this is the most popular size) in Birmingham will cost around £240 - £280, including VAT. If you put the skip on the street (rather than in a driveway), you will also have to pay for a council skip permit. A permit in Birmingham costs £22 and last 7 days.

Here are some local skip companies operating in West Midlands area:

5. Declutterers in Birmingham

When it comes to deciding what to keep and what to throw away, it can be a difficult decision. One idea is to ask a friend to help who isn’t sentimental about your items. Another idea - if you have time and a bit of extra money - is to enlist the help of a declutterer or professional home organiser. 

Here are some declutter organisations operating in Birmingham and the West Midlands:

6. Self-storage companies in Birmingham

Self-storage units are ideal for storing any items from a house clearance that you’d like to keep or resell later, but don’t have enough space for at your own property. They charge by the week or month and based on the size of unit you rent.

Here are some high rated self-storage companies in Birmingham.

7. Van Hire

If you're looking to save money and forgo the house clearance company, you might want to hire a van. It's likely you’ll have large items that won’t fit in a car and it will save you time going to and from recycling centres, for example. 

Below are some well-rated van hire companies in Birmingham and their hire prices of a Long Wheel Van. It would be better to have a Luton Van (one size bigger) for efficiency, but Birmingham's recycling centres do not allow entry for that size of van. 

8. Does Birmingham council do house clearances?

No, Birmingham council does not offer a house clearance service. 

The council does provide a bulky waste collection service from your home. This is designed for a few items (eg. Sofa, fridge) and not an entire house clearance. The council operatives also only collect items from outside the property. 

You can read more about the council bulky waste collection service and other rubbish clearance options for the area in our Guide to Rubbish Clearance in Birmingham.

9. Same day house clearance

House clearance companies normally require at least a few days’ notice. If you need to arrange a clearance of a property very urgently, then your best bet is to put the job on LoveJunk and specify tomorrow (or even same day) for your collection time.  This will alert local clearance companies of your job, so that any who have some capacity can let you know very quickly. Please note however, that urgent clearances (particularly same day house clearances) in Birmingham (just like any other part of the UK) will normally attract a premium.  So if you can wait a few days, you are likely to end up paying less. 

10. Probate house clearance in Birmingham

A probate house clearance is a clearance that happens after someone dies. If these are your circumstances, your solicitor should explain to you in full detail what the process entails, including who pays for the clearance and/or receives any money from sale of goods. 

Some house clearance companies specialise in only probate house clearances. Whereas others can be more generalist. Specialist operators may be particularly sympathetic and sensitive to the situation because they are so experienced in dealing with recent bereavement. If you are unsure which house clearance company to use, be sure to ask them for testimonials from recent customers in similar circumstances. 

11. Examples of house clearance jobs

Further reading

We hope that this article has been useful and that it answered questions you had about clearing a property in Birmingham. If you have any more questions or comments about our article, please contact [email protected].

For some more general articles that may help with your house clearance Birmingham, take a look at:

• Comprehensive House Clearance Guide: for step by step advice on clearing a property, including answers to house clearance FAQs.
• Decluttering Guide: advice for deciding what to keep and what to throw when looking to declutter.
• Mattress Disposal Guide
• Carpet Disposal Guide
• Sofa Disposal Guide
• Furniture Disposal Guide