The honest answer most clearance companies will not give you: the vast majority of house clearances cost the customer money. The exceptions are real but uncommon. Here is how to tell which situation you are in before you call anyone.
- Most house clearances cost the customer £150–£800. Labour, van fuel, and licensed disposal usually cost more than the resale value of what gets cleared.
- A clearance can be balanced or free when contents include solid wood antiques, vintage furniture, or significant scrap metal.
- A clearance company paying you is genuinely rare: it needs documented antiques, large quantities of scrap metal, or a high-demand collection.
- "Free house clearance" companies often take only the sellable items and leave the rest, so you end up paying a second company anyway.
- Send photos of anything you suspect is valuable before you book. A reputable company will tell you honestly, even if it means less work for them.
01The short answer
Most house clearances cost the customer between £150 and £800, depending on the size of the property and what is in it. The reason is straightforward: the labour, van fuel, and licensed disposal fees required to clear a house typically cost more than the resale value of what gets cleared.
The contents of most UK homes, flat-pack furniture, well-used sofas, a collection of DVDs, a 15-year-old fridge, have little or no secondhand market value. Some items cost money to dispose of correctly (mattresses, fridges, electricals). The clearance company absorbs those costs, which is reflected in the price you pay.
Occasionally, a clearance is balanced or even free. This happens when contents include solid wood antique furniture, vintage pieces with genuine demand, or significant quantities of recyclable metal. Mukin will tell you honestly when that applies to your job. We will not tell you it applies when it does not.
02When you will pay for a house clearance
This covers the majority of jobs. Here is where the cost comes from:
| Cost driver | Typical cost to the clearance company |
|---|---|
| Labour (two-person crew, full day) | £200–£300 in wages before van costs |
| Van and fuel | £60–£120 per job, Luton van with tail lift |
| Licensed disposal | £80–£200 for a full van from a 3-bed house |
| Specialist items | Mattresses, fridges, and electricals have their own disposal routes and costs |
Add that up and a small clearance job has costs of £300–£500 before resale income is factored in. If the contents have limited value on the secondhand market, the customer pays the gap. See how clearance pricing works for a full breakdown by property size.
03When a clearance might be free or net-zero
A clearance can balance out when the contents have genuine resale value. The items that tend to offset costs are:
- Solid wood furniture. Victorian and Edwardian dressers, wardrobes, and sideboards have an active secondhand market, particularly in the York antique trade. Good condition matters.
- Vintage or retro pieces. Mid-century modern furniture (1950s–1970s) sells reliably if in good condition. Brands or designers with collector followings (G-Plan, Parker Knoll in certain styles) add value.
- Quality soft furnishings. Clean, undamaged sofas and armchairs from recognisable makers can offset part of the disposal cost.
- Scrap metal. A garage full of copper piping, a workshop with steel tooling, or a property with lead flashing adds up quickly. Scrap prices fluctuate but metal is one of the few reliable high-value streams in a clearance.
When Mukin sees a job where contents are likely to offset significant costs, we will say so and reflect it in the quote. We do not artificially inflate quotes to pocket the resale value. That is not how we operate.
Send photos before you book
Not sure what you have? Send WhatsApp photos to 07857 386029. We will give you an honest assessment. If something looks like it warrants specialist valuation, we will tell you that too, even if it means less work for us.
04When a clearance company will pay you
This is genuinely rare. A clearance company will pay you when the resaleable contents clearly and significantly exceed the cost of the job. The scenarios where this actually happens:
- A property with documented antiques: furniture, ceramics, or art with provenance and established auction values.
- A workshop or commercial property with large quantities of scrap metal (copper, brass, aluminium).
- A collection with specific high market demand, such as vintage vinyl, certain watches, or named designer pieces.
If you have items in these categories, the right first step is to get an independent valuation from a specialist before approaching any clearance company. A clearance quote is not an auction valuation. Tennants of Leyburn is a Yorkshire-based auction house with a good reputation for furniture and antiques; they offer free appraisals on items submitted via their website.
Mukin will not promise you a payout to win a booking. If the honest answer is that we will need to charge, we will say so upfront.
05What about "free house clearance" companies?
You will see adverts for free house clearance, particularly in areas with older housing stock where the chance of finding resaleable items is higher. The model is real but it has a catch.
Companies that offer free clearance typically only take what is sellable. They will load the solid oak dresser and leave the mattresses, the broken appliances, the bags of general rubbish, and the white goods. You still have half a house to clear.
You then need to call a second company for the remainder, and that second job, stripped of anything valuable, costs more per item than it would have as part of a whole-house quote. In many cases, customers end up paying more than if they had taken a single fixed-price quote from the start.
Mukin quotes the whole job. One price, one visit, everything cleared. If the contents reduce the price, we reflect that in the initial quote rather than cherry-picking.
06How clearance companies value contents
An experienced clearance crew walks a property and makes quick assessments based on a few factors:
| Factor | What it means for the price |
|---|---|
| Condition | Water damage, rips, pet hair, or broken parts limit resale value regardless of age or style |
| Market demand | What sells changes; Victorian mahogany is currently less fashionable than mid-century oak |
| Completeness | A matching set of dining chairs is worth more than individual pieces |
| Accessibility | A valuable piece on the third floor with no lift has its value reduced by the extraction cost |
Clearance companies are not antique dealers and should not be used as valuers for items of genuine significance. If you suspect something is genuinely valuable, get a specialist opinion first.
07What to do if you have potentially valuable items
- Photograph anything that looks potentially significant and send it to two or three clearance companies for an honest opinion. If the responses vary wildly, that tells you something.
- For suspected antiques or named pieces, contact a reputable auction house. Tennants of Leyburn is close to York and offers a free preliminary appraisal.
- Do not bundle clearly valuable items into a clearance quote without getting them assessed first. A clearance price reflects average value across a load, not the peak value of individual items.
- Once genuinely valuable items are removed or sold separately, get a clearance quote for everything remaining. At that point, you know exactly what you are working with.
Frequently asked questions
Do all house clearance companies pay you?
No. Most clearance jobs cost the customer because disposal fees and labour outweigh resale value. Companies that advertise "we pay you" are either selective about what they take or only operate where contents are known to be valuable.
How much do you get for a house clearance?
In the typical case, you pay for the clearance rather than receiving money. Prices for a 3-bed house in York typically run £300–£700 depending on access, volume, and what specialist items are included. See our house clearance pricing guide for full detail.
Are "free house clearance" services actually free?
Sometimes, but only when contents are genuinely valuable enough to offset the job cost. More often, free clearance companies only take sellable items and leave the rest. You typically end up needing a second clearance for what remains.
What if I am not sure if something is valuable?
Send photos to a clearance company and ask directly. A reputable operator will tell you honestly. For anything that might be genuinely significant, an auction house appraisal is worth the time before you book a clearance.
Will clearance companies buy individual items?
Rarely. Most price the job as a whole. For individual pieces of value, selling privately, via Facebook Marketplace, or through an auction house usually returns more than a clearance company would factor in.