Rubbish removal
Office clearance
Office clearance costs £65 to £100 per person, covering a desk, chair, pedestal, storage and a share of sundries (Clear Workspace cost guide, March 2026). That puts a small office of 5 to 15 people at £325 to £1,500 before any resale value is taken off. Computers and other data-bearing equipment are handled separately and usually charged per device.
What this covers
What it costs. Prices by size and region, and what moves them, are in the cost guide. Full cost breakdown.
Typical jobs
- Clearing desks, chairs and storage from a 10 person office at the end of a lease
- Removing old computers, monitors and printers with certificates of data destruction
- Taking away a meeting room's furniture before a refit
- Clearing a home office of a desk, filing cabinets and old electronics
- A whole-floor strip-out of furniture and partitions before handing the space back
What is involved
An office clearance removes furniture, equipment, files and general waste from business premises, often at the end of a lease or before a refit. Crews work out of hours when needed, dismantle desks and storage, and take everything to reuse, recycling or disposal.
Electricals. Computers, monitors, servers and printers are waste electrical and electronic equipment (WEEE) and must go through the WEEE system. Drives in computers, phones, printers and servers can hold personal and business data. Clear Workspace notes that certified data destruction carries a per-device charge (March 2026): ask for a certificate listing serial numbers.
Paperwork. A business must complete a waste transfer note for each load of waste that leaves its premises and must check that its waste carrier is registered (GOV.UK). Confidential paper should go for secure shredding with a certificate, not in the general load.
Furniture. Good quality chairs and desks have a resale value, and some clearance firms buy them back to reduce the bill. Seating needs care: the GOV.UK rules on upholstered seating containing POPs cover home office chairs, so ask how the firm handles any chairs from a home office.
Choosing a firm
Check the firm's registration on the public register of waste carriers: the Environment Agency in England, Natural Resources Wales, SEPA in Scotland or DAERA in Northern Ireland. As a business you must complete a waste transfer note for each load that leaves the premises, so agree before the job who fills it in.
Ask how IT equipment is handled: whether drives are wiped or shredded, to what standard, and whether you get a certificate with serial numbers. Ask whether furniture resale is credited, whether the price covers out of hours work, lift bookings and parking, and whether the firm carries public liability insurance your landlord or building manager will ask to see.
The rubbish removal page covers the rules.
Read next
Common questions
How much does an office clearance cost?
Clear Workspace quotes £65 to £100 per person (March 2026), so a small office of 5 to 15 people costs £325 to £1,500 and a medium office of 15 to 50 people £975 to £5,000. RubbishBids prices a London office of 1 to 5 desks at £150 to £300.
Do I need a waste transfer note for an office clearance?
Yes. GOV.UK says a business must complete a waste transfer note for each load of waste that leaves its premises and must check its carrier is registered.
What happens to old computers in an office clearance?
They are WEEE and go to an authorised treatment route. Any device that stores data should be wiped or physically destroyed first, and Clear Workspace notes certified data destruction is charged per device. Ask for a certificate listing serial numbers.