What a "near me" search actually shows you
Type "house clearance near me" into Google and you'll get a map with a few businesses, some ads and a list of websites. It looks like a list of local firms. Often it isn't.
- The map results are ranked partly on distance from you, partly on how well a listing matches the search, and partly on reviews and prominence. The pin sits wherever the business registered its address, which might be a home, a yard or an office that never sees a van.
- The ads belong to whoever paid for the click that day. Some are clearance companies; some are directories.
- Directories and quote sites take your details and pass them on to one or more companies, sometimes for a fee. You may not know who's coming until they ring.
- Town pages. Many companies, us included, have a page for each town they work in. That tells you they cover the area, not that they have a depot on the main street.
So "near me" is a starting point, not a check. The useful question isn't how close the company is. It's who will actually turn up, whether they're legal, and whether they'll do what they say.
Does local matter for a house clearance?
Less than you might think. A clearance isn't an emergency call-out. It's planned from photos, priced in advance and booked for a day that suits you. A company an hour away that holds a permit, is insured and keeps to its price is a far better choice than one round the corner with none of those.
Local knowledge does help in smaller ways. A crew that knows the area knows which streets have permit parking, which estates have tight cul-de-sacs, and which country lanes won't take a large van. But most of that knowledge comes just as well from an Eircode and a few good photos.
Five checks before you book
1. A waste collection permit
Every business paid to take away household waste must hold a waste collection permit, issued through the NWCPO. Get the number before you agree to anything, then look it up on the public register. Our guide on why a professional clearance company matters explains your duty of care as a householder and walks through the register check step by step. Ours is NWCPO-25-13287-01.
2. Insurance
Heavy furniture coming down the stairs can mark a wall or catch a banister. Ask whether the company is insured for the job and how they'd handle any damage. We're fully insured on every job.
3. Reviews that match your job
Look past the star rating. Read recent reviews and look for jobs like yours: a full house after a death, a packed attic, a rental between tenants. See whether the owner replies, and whether customers say the final bill matched the quote and the rooms were swept afterwards. Ours are on our reviews page.
4. A fixed price, in writing
Get one price for the whole job, written down, even if it's a WhatsApp message. Make sure it says what's included: every room, the attic, the shed and the garden. "From" prices and open-ended hourly rates make quotes hard to compare and easy to grow on the day. For what goes into a fair figure, read our guide to what a house clearance costs.
5. Who turns up, and where things go
Find out whether the people you're talking to are the people who'll carry the furniture, or whether the job gets subcontracted. Then ask where the contents end up. You want to hear about reuse, recycling and licensed facilities, not "don't worry about that".
spotless.ieQuestions to ask on the phone
| Ask | A good answer | A reason to keep looking |
|---|---|---|
| What's your permit number? | Given straight away, and it checks out | "We don't need one" or "I'll send it later" |
| Is the price fixed? | Yes, in writing, for everything in the photos | An hourly rate with no ceiling |
| Who will do the job? | Our own crew, and you'll know who's coming | "We'll find someone in your area" |
| Are you insured? | Yes, with a clear answer about damage | Hesitation, or a change of subject |
| Where do the contents go? | Reuse, recycling, licensed facilities | Vague, or "it all goes in the skip" |
| How soon can you come? | A realistic date | A promise that sounds too good to be true |
Looking for a clearance near you in Leinster? Send photos of every room, the attic and any outbuildings, with the Eircode. You'll get a fixed price in writing, usually the same day.
How far we travel
We're based in Dublin and clear houses across the whole province: Dublin and Kildare, Wicklow and Wexford, Meath and Louth, Carlow, Kilkenny and Laois, and Offaly, Westmeath and Longford in the midlands. Distance changes the planning, not the service.
- Dublin and the commuter belt. County Dublin, north Kildare, east Meath and north Wicklow are close enough that a full house is a normal one- or two-day job. See house clearance in Kildare or our wider page on house clearances across Leinster.
- Further out. For houses in Kilkenny, Carlow, Laois, Offaly, Westmeath, Longford or Wexford, we work out the van loads from your photos so there's no wasted round trip, start early, and build the travel into the fixed price.
- Rural houses. Farmhouses with outbuildings, long lanes and tight gates are all fine. Show them in the photos and mention anything awkward.
If a property is outside Leinster, we'll say so when you first get in touch, so you can look elsewhere straight away.
Getting quotes without losing a week
Send the same set of photos to two or three companies at once, covering each room plus the attic, garage, shed and garden, with the Eircode and a note about stairs and parking. Then compare like with like. Is every quote fixed? Does each one include the attic and the shed? Has each company given you a permit number you've checked? A low figure is only good value if the answer to all three is yes.
When you're ready, our house clearance page explains how a Spotless clearance works from the first photo to the empty house, and our guide to how house clearance works in Ireland covers the wider process.
