Your Job – Flat Clearance

This page explains what goes into a flat clearance once you have been quoted. For a general description of the service, see our Flat Clearance page.

Fewer contents, but not always less time

A flat usually holds less than a house, so it is natural to expect a quicker job. Often it is not. In a house we can usually park at the door and carry things a short way. In a flat, the work is mostly in the route out. Every item has to travel from the room to the van, and that route decides the time far more than the number of items does.

The carrying route

• Several flights of stairs, carried by hand if there is no lift
• Tight turns on stairs and landings
• Narrow doors, in the flat and in the communal areas
• Long corridors between the flat door and the stairs or lift
• A long walk from the building entrance to the van

Each of these adds to every trip. A flat on the third floor with no lift means the same sofa, mattress or wardrobe goes down three flights, and so does everything else.

Bulky furniture: whole or dismantled

A sofa may come out of the flat easily and still get stuck at the first landing. At the survey we check whether bulky furniture can be taken out whole or needs dismantling, and we look at the whole route, not just the flat door. Where something has to be taken apart, we allow for the extra time in the quote.

Lifts, load limits and building rules

If there is a lift, we need to know its size and its load limit, because a lift that is too small for a mattress or a wardrobe is no use for it. Many buildings also have their own rules, such as:

• Whether there is a separate service lift
• Whether the lift has to be booked, and for which slot
• Permitted working hours for moving and clearance work
• Any restrictions on what can be carried through shared areas

If the lift is out of service on the day, the work moves to the stairs. That can add a great deal of time, so tell us if the lift is unreliable.

Communal areas and neighbours

We keep communal entrances, corridors and escape routes clear as we work, so that nothing we carry or stack blocks the way for other residents or in an emergency. We take care around shared walls, doors and floors, and protect the areas we pass through where needed.

Access, codes and parking

• Entry codes and fobs. We need to be able to get in, and to get in and out repeatedly through the day.
• Loading bays. Whether there is one, whether it has to be booked, and how long we can use it.
• Parking restrictions. Permits, time limits and bays near the building affect how close the van can get. See Your Job – House Clearance for how parking and carry distance change the time.

What to tell us before the survey or booking

• The floor number, and whether there is a lift
• Any instructions from the building manager, managing agent or landlord
• Entry codes or fobs, and who can let us in
• Whether a lift or loading bay has to be booked
• Any restrictions on working hours or parking
• Any large furniture that you think may not fit through the doors or stairwell

Photographs of the stairwell, lift and corridors, as well as the front of the building, help us survey it more fully. If the flat is cluttered, see our Hoarding Clearance page.

Ready to go ahead?

Arrange a free survey or call us on 0151 733 3355. You can also go back to Your Job to see the other services.