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Property clearance, timed to your handover
Most property clearances come with a date attached: a tenant moving in, an estate agent's photographer, a closing date, a lease ending. The job is to get the place empty in time, without anyone having to drive over at the weekend to check on it.
That's what we plan for. When Spotless clears a property:
- You get a fixed price first. Quoted from photos, so you know the figure before you commit, with no extras on the day.
- We work to your date. Tell us the deadline and we'll plan the crew and the van around it.
- You don't have to be there. We can arrange keys with you, your agent or a lockbox, and send photos of the empty rooms when we're done.
- Anything important is set aside. Post, documents, keys, photographs and personal items are kept for you, not binned.
- It's handed back empty. Each room cleared and swept, ready for the agent's photographer or the next tenant.
Who we clear properties for
Landlords and letting agents
End of tenancy clear-outs are the most common: furniture the tenant didn't take, a full shed, bags in the attic, a mattress in every bedroom. Letting agents often send us the photos directly and coordinate keys. Our guide on clearing a rental between tenants covers the checklist landlords use, and for Dublin rentals there's more on deposits, keys and timing on our Dublin rental clearance page.
Estate agents and sellers
A house sells better empty and tidy, and agents want it that way for photos and viewings. We clear what the seller isn't taking, then the house can be photographed straight away. For tips on getting it market-ready, read clearing and power washing a property before sale, or see how we time a Dublin sale clear-out around the agent.
Executors and families
Clearing a family home after a death is part of settling the estate, and it's often the hardest part. We work gently, at whatever pace the family needs, and the work can be spread over several weeks if that helps. Papers that might matter to the solicitor, such as bank statements, policies, deeds and letters from the Revenue, are kept together for you rather than bagged with the rest. Our bereavement house clearance page explains how we approach it.
Vacant and inherited properties
Houses that have been empty for a while bring their own jobs: years of post, damp boxes, an outhouse nobody has opened, a garden that's taken over. We clear the lot, including garden clearance for the green waste and old garden furniture.
Commercial premises
Shops, offices, salons and small units at the end of a lease. See office clearance and factory and warehouse clearance for bigger premises.
Working back from the date that matters
The date drives the plan. Here's how we usually approach the common deadlines:
| Your deadline | How we plan it |
|---|---|
| Estate agent photos or first viewing | Clear early enough to leave a day for any cleaning, carpet cleaning or power washing before the photographer arrives |
| New tenant moving in | Clear first, leave white goods and anything that stays in place, and send photos so you can arrange cleaning and repairs |
| Closing date on a sale | Book a few days ahead of closing so nothing is rushed, and keep any items the buyer has agreed to take |
| End of a commercial lease | Fit around the landlord's inspection and any building rules on lifts and loading |
| Executor deadline or insurance inspection | Clear in stages if the family needs time, with valuables and papers set aside first |
Got a handover date? Send photos of each room, the attic and any shed or garage, plus the date you need it empty. We'll reply with a fixed price, usually the same day.
An end-of-tenancy clearance, step by step
Rentals are the jobs we see most often, and they tend to run the same way:
- Photos arrive. From you, the agent or the outgoing tenant: each room, the attic, the shed and anything in the garden.
- A fixed price comes back. Usually the same day, with a note of anything that needs special disposal.
- Keys are arranged. Collected from the agent, left in a lockbox, or handed over by a neighbour.
- The clear-out. Everything on the "goes" list is checked, carried out and sorted. Items on the landlord's inventory stay where they are.
- A sweep through. Floors brushed, or hoovered where there's carpet, so the cleaner can start straight away.
- Photos and keys back. You get pictures of every room on WhatsApp, and the keys go back the way they came.
How long a property clearance takes
Time on site depends on how full the property is and how easy it is to load, not on the number of bedrooms alone. As a rough guide for a crew of two or three:
| Property | What to expect |
|---|---|
| Furnished flat between tenants, a few leftovers | Often finished in a morning or an afternoon |
| Rental house with a shed and a full attic | Usually a day |
| Family home being sold, most contents still in it | One to two days |
| Inherited house untouched for years, plus outbuildings | Two days or more, sometimes split into stages |
| Small shop or office at the end of a lease | Depends on fittings, stock and the building's loading rules |
When you send photos, include the attic and anything outside. Those are the spaces that most often turn a one-day job into a two-day one, and we'd rather plan for it than find out on the day.
What stays and what goes in a rental
The most common mistake in a rental clearance is taking something the landlord owns, or leaving something the tenant should have taken. A short list agreed before the day avoids it. As a rough guide:
| Usually stays (landlord's) | Usually goes (tenant's or broken) |
|---|---|
| Items on the inventory: beds, sofa, table, wardrobes | Furniture the tenant brought with them |
| White goods: fridge, washing machine, cooker | Extra fridges, freezers and microwaves |
| Curtains, blinds and light fittings | Clothes, bedding, food and personal items |
| Garden furniture listed on the inventory | Bags in the attic, rubbish in the shed |
If a former tenant's belongings are involved, check where you stand before anything is removed, as the FAQ below explains.
What's included, and what isn't
A property clearance takes in whatever you don't want to keep, inside and out:
- Furniture and contents: beds, sofas, wardrobes, kitchen contents, clothes, books, ornaments.
- Appliances: fridges, freezers, washing machines, cookers and electricals, taken for recycling.
- The hidden spaces: the attic, the garage and the garden shed, which are often fuller than the house itself.
- Apartments: lifts, management company rules and loading bays are all part of the plan; see apartment clearance.
- Homes that have become very cluttered: handled discreetly and without judgement; see hoarder clearance.
What isn't included: we don't offer deep cleaning or repairs, or anything that needs a specialist, such as asbestos or gas cylinders. We can't take paint, solvents, oils or chemicals either, so take those to a civic amenity site or a hazardous waste collection and we'll clear the rest.
Empty properties: keys, post and utilities
A house nobody lives in needs a little thought before the clearance day:
- Keys and alarms. Tell us who holds the keys and whether there's an alarm code. A lockbox on the back door is handy for agents and executors.
- Post. We gather any post and paperwork we find and leave it in one place, or with whoever has the keys.
- Lighting. If the electricity has been cut off, let us know. The attic and any windowless rooms will need daylight or a torch, so we'll plan the day around that.
- Water. Plumbed-in washing machines and dishwashers are disconnected before they're carried out, so it helps to know where the stopcock is.
Selling? Clear the inside, wash the outside
First impressions start at the gate. Once the house is empty, a green, slippery driveway or a patio black with algae is the first thing buyers see. Because we also do power washing, we can clear the house and clean the outside on the same booking:
- driveway cleaning, whether the drive is block paving, concrete or tarmac
- patio cleaning for slabs, sandstone and granite
- carpet cleaning if the carpets are staying
We also clean roofs, gutters, walls and paths; the related links below cover the full range.
Insurance, permits and where the contents go
Landlords, agents and executors are responsible for the property and what leaves it, so it's worth knowing who you're dealing with. Spotless is based in Dublin and covers Dublin and all of Leinster. We're fully insured on every job, and we're an authorised waste carrier: our waste collection permit is NWCPO-25-13287-01, and anyone can check it on the NWCPO register.
That permit matters to property owners in particular. If waste from your property is dumped by an unpermitted collector, it can come back on you. With us, the contents are sorted as they leave: furniture and household items with plenty of use left are kept aside for reuse where possible, metal, appliances, electricals and cardboard are recycled, and only what remains goes to licensed waste facilities.
How property clearance is priced
Each property is priced on what's actually in it. Four things decide the figure: how much there is to take (counted in van loads), how easy it is to get out (stairs, lifts, the distance to parking), anything that needs special disposal such as fridges, mattresses and electricals, and how much sorting you'd like done on the day. Send pictures of every room, plus the attic, shed and garage, and a fixed price will come back to you, usually within the day. For large or unusual properties we may suggest a quick visit first.
If you'd like to read more before you call, our sister site propertyclearance.ie has a longer list of answers to common property clearance questions.
