Garden clearance
Garden Clearance Prices Swing by £900 for the "Same" Job
Published guides put a medium garden clearance at £300 to £600 outside London and £380 to £1,200 in London and the South East, but another guide prices similar work far lower. Waste volume, not garden size, explains most of the gap.
By the Aspen Rose team8 min read
Those are other companies' figures, not ours. We have not put Aspen Rose prices on this page: the cost of clearing a garden depends on what's actually in it and how much of it has to leave, not on a headline number from a guide.
This guide compares the numbers, explains the gap, and covers who takes the waste and how to check them.
What do published guides say garden clearance costs?
The three guides disagree widely, so they sit side by side and not as an average.
| Source | Scope | London | Outside London |
|---|---|---|---|
| Fantastic Services (2026 guide, per job; London column is London and the South East) | Light: tidy-up, light overgrowth | £250 to £450 | £150 to £300 |
| Moderate: beds, shrubs, moderate waste | £380 to £1,200 | £300 to £600 | |
| Heavy: 200 m² or more, bulky items | £900 to £2,500+ | £600 to £2,000+ | |
| Housekeep (October 2026, VAT included) | Light: lawn clippings, light debris | £80 to £140 | £70 to £90 |
| Moderate: hedge cuttings, weeds, several beds | £140 to £190 | £90 to £130 | |
| Heavy: overgrown, bulky items | £190 to £300+ | £130 to £160+ | |
| Airtasker (updated 12 August 2025) | Hourly, UK | £45 to £65 an hour |
Airtasker also lists a London average of £400 without saying whether it is per hour or per job. A figure that can't say which of those two things it is isn't useful for comparison, whatever attention the headline number gets, so it is left out of the table.
Why do the guides disagree by hundreds of pounds?
Most of the gap is almost certainly scope, even though none of the three guides spells it out plainly enough to prove it. Fantastic Services' prices cover cutting back, gathering, loading, removal of standard green waste and general debris, and disposal with waste documentation. Housekeep prices by garden condition and says most gardeners charge about £5 to £10 a bag for waste, with soil, rubble, treated wood and bulky items costing more and passed on to you. A low labour figure plus a per-bag charge can add up to far more than it first looks, and the number that reads cheapest on the page is often the one with the most still to add.
The pages also have rough edges: Housekeep's summary gives £150 to £300+ while its main section gives £80 to £300+. Use them to see which questions to ask, not as a price for your garden.
Why does waste volume matter more than garden size?
Because clearing is mostly cutting back, loading and disposing. Fantastic Services names volume of waste as the main driver, not garden area, which means a small plot left to run wild can cost more than a large one that is only untidy.
What moves the price, according to the guides:
- Type of waste. Green waste is cheapest to dispose of. Soil, rubble and treated wood cost more, and sheds, decking and large structures are charged separately by Fantastic Services.
- How overgrown it is. Cutting back before clearing adds labour.
- Access. Fantastic Services says rear or side-gate access is quicker and cheaper than carrying waste through the house, up steps or down a narrow path. Housekeep also says limited access, such as through the house or a narrow alley, raises the price.
- Trees. Felling or reducing sizeable trees is excluded from Fantastic Services' clearance prices and is a different job, covered in how much a tree surgeon costs.
Access is the factor people most often forget to mention when they ask for a quote over the phone, and it is frequently the real difference between two otherwise similar prices.
What does a skip cost, and is it cheaper?
Sometimes, but the guides disagree here too. Fantastic Services lists a mini skip (2 to 3 yd³) at £90 to £150, a midi skip (4 to 5 yd³) at £150 to £250 and a builder's skip (6 to 8 yd³) at £200 to £350. A council permit of about £30 to £60 is extra if it sits on a public road. A MyJobQuote guide from August 2026 gives about £220 for a mini skip and about £200 as an average waste removal charge.
A skip only helps if someone will load it, because you pay for the hire, not the labour. Hiring one solves storage, not clearance, and if nobody is loading it for you, the actual job is still undone. If a firm is loading it for you, ask whether the skip and any road permit are in the quote or a separate line.
Who is allowed to take your garden waste away?
Only an authorised person, and you are responsible for checking. GOV.UK says that if you give waste to someone who cannot legally take it, and you did not do the checks, you might get a fixed penalty notice from your council or be prosecuted. That can apply if fly-tipped waste is traced back to you.
The checks, from GOV.UK and Test Valley Borough Council:
- Ask for the registration number. GOV.UK says waste carrier registration numbers start with "CB".
- Search the Environment Agency's public register of waste carriers, brokers and dealers. You can search by business name, registration number or postcode. For a skip or house clearance firm GOV.UK says to select "upper tier". Scotland and Wales have their own registration processes.
- Ask where the waste goes and note the vehicle registration.
- Ask for a waste transfer note and a receipt, and keep them. Test Valley Borough Council also advises paying by card, cheque or transfer, not cash.
Whether a particular gardener needs to be registered depends on the work and the waste. Test Valley Council lists landscape gardeners and tree surgeons among trades that normally need registration, and GOV.UK says registration is usually free for a business that only carries waste it produces itself. The practical rule is simple: if someone is taking waste from your property, ask, and check.
How do you compare two clearance quotes?
Put the same questions to each firm:
- Fixed price or hourly, and if hourly, how many hours do they expect?
- Does it include loading, removal and disposal of green waste, or is that per bag or per load?
- Are soil, rubble, sheds, fencing and other bulky items included?
- Is skip hire included, and who applies for any road permit?
- What is the registration number?
Keeping the garden tidy afterwards is a separate cost, covered in what garden maintenance costs in London.
Why a visit is the reliable way to price it
Photos hide access and what is under the brambles, and that's exactly why a phone quote for anything beyond a light tidy-up is a guess dressed up as a price. We visit before pricing: the visit is free and carries no obligation, and the written quote that follows lists what is included. Green waste from our jobs is taken away and disposed of properly at recycling centres. You can read about our garden clearance service or ask for a free visit.
Sources
- Fantastic Services: How much does garden clearance cost?
- Housekeep: How much does garden clearance cost?
- Airtasker: How much does garden clearance cost?
- MyJobQuote: Landscaping costs
- GOV.UK: Dispose of household waste
- GOV.UK: Register as a waste carrier, broker or dealer
- Environment Agency: Register of waste carriers, brokers and dealers
- Test Valley Borough Council: Household waste duty of care
This article sets out Aspen Rose's own reading of the published guides above, useful background, not a quote, and not professional or legal advice on waste carrier rules. Prices and scope vary by garden and by what has to be disposed of, so get written quotes for your own before deciding. Request a free, no-obligation quote and we'll price your clearance properly.
Garden clearance cost questions
What do "upper tier" and "lower tier" mean on the waste carrier register?
The Environment Agency says lower tier covers people who only carry their own waste (other than construction or demolition waste), plus charities. Upper tier is everyone else, such as a skip company moving other people's waste. For a skip or house clearance firm, GOV.UK says to search the upper tier.
Is clearance quoted per hour or as a fixed price?
Both are used. Airtasker says most of its taskers charge by the hour, with some accepting a single job quote, while Fantastic Services prices by job. Hourly leaves the final cost open, so ask for an estimate of the hours.
Is tree work included in a clearance price?
Not in the guide that spells it out. Fantastic Services lists felling or reducing sizeable trees as excluded from its clearance prices, along with sheds, decking, soil and rubble. If trees are part of the job, ask for them as their own line in the written quote.
Related services
- Garden ClearanceGarden clearance across London and Hertfordshire — overgrown beds, leaf buildup and site clearance handled quickly and tidily by Aspen Rose. Get a free quote.
- Garden MaintenanceRegular garden maintenance across London and Hertfordshire — mowing, pruning, weeding and seasonal care from an experienced team. Get a free quote.
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