The tenant has handed back the keys. The inventory check is tomorrow morning. And in the living room there is a three-seater sofa the tenant said they would take and did not, a wardrobe that will not fit up the new flat's stairwell, and fourteen black bags of general waste stacked by the back door. The cleaning crew cannot start until it is all gone, the new tenant's deposit is held, and the clock is running on the rent gap.
We clear between-tenancy waste across Cardiff, Newport and the surrounding areas every week — from studio flats in Cathays to five-bedroom houses in Cyncoed. Some of it comes from letting agents managing a portfolio. Some of it comes from landlords doing a single turnover. And an increasing amount comes from tenants themselves, who offered to "sort the rubbish" as a condition of getting their full deposit back and now realise how much work that actually is.
Here is how end of tenancy clearance works in practice, what it costs, and what you are legally required to do with the waste — whether you are a landlord, an agent or a tenant trying to get your deposit back.
What counts as an end of tenancy clearance in Cardiff?
In our experience it is nearly always a mix:
- Furniture the tenant left behind — sofas, bed frames, mattresses, wardrobes, dining tables, sometimes a full suite. Under the Environmental Protection Act 1990, once the tenancy ends, any waste left on the property becomes the landlord's or agent's responsibility. You cannot push it to the curb and hope the council takes it — they will not, and if it gets fly-tipped from there, the duty of care falls on you.
- General household waste — bin bags, odds and ends, packaging, broken appliances.
- White goods — washing machines, tumble dryers, dishwashers, ovens. We can't take fridges, freezers, asbestos, chemicals, oils, solvents, fuel, clinical waste, gas bottles or any other hazardous materials. Fridges and freezers need a specialist F-gas disposal route for their refrigerant gases, and we can point you to the right service if you need one.
- Carpets, flooring and fixtures — old carpets the tenant pulled up, curtain poles, bathroom fittings, laminate flooring offcuts.
A typical end of tenancy clearance fills between a quarter van and a full van, depending on the property size and how much the tenant left behind.
How much does an end of tenancy clearance cost in Cardiff?
These are the numbers that matter most:
| Load | Roughly equivalent to | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Quarter van | A single room of furniture + 10–15 bags | £160 |
| Half van | A one-bed flat, fully cleared | £290 |
| Full van | A two-to-three-bed house, or a house + garage | £450 |
Single items left behind — a mattress, a sofa, a wardrobe — charged individually. Mattress disposal runs £50, a two-seater sofa £40, a three-seater £60. Black bin bags on their own are £3 each (£2.50 from 40 bags up).
As for who pays: it depends on the tenancy agreement. Most Cardiff letting agents write a clause that the tenant must return the property empty. But enforcement is patchy — about two-thirds of our end of tenancy work is paid for by the landlord or agent, the remaining third comes from tenants who want the deposit back without a dispute.
What is your duty of care for end of tenancy waste?
Under the Environmental Protection Act 1990 and the Waste (Wales) Measure 2010, anyone who produces waste has a duty of care to ensure it is disposed of lawfully. For a landlord or agent, waste left behind by a tenant is waste you are responsible for — not the council, not the tenant once they have gone.
If you pay a man with a van to take it away and he fly-tips it in a lane in Splott, the enforcement officer comes to you. The fine is up to £5,000 and the clean-up cost lands on your invoice. The only protection is to use a registered waste carrier — our licence is CBDU034669 — and get a waste transfer note for every load.
Can you get same-day end of tenancy clearance in Cardiff?
The biggest stress in tenancy turnover is time. The old tenant is out on a Friday, the new tenant moves in on a Monday. If the waste clearance slips, everything slips.
We work same-day across Cardiff, Newport and the wider South Wales area. Send a photo on WhatsApp, get an estimate within the hour, and if you are happy, we come the same day — often within a few hours.
End of tenancy clearance for student lets in Cardiff
Cardiff's student turnover in June, July and September is its own beast. The Cathays and Roath terraces churn through thousands of tenancies in a matter of weeks. If you manage student properties, we can handle repeat clearances across multiple properties on the same route — one invoice, one waste transfer note covering the full run.
Quick answers
Can you take the waste without me being there?
Yes, as long as someone gives us access — a key safe code, a letting agent's office key, or a tenant still on site. We send photos of the load before and after.
Do you provide proof for the deposit scheme?
Yes — a waste transfer note showing our licence number, the date and a description of the waste. That satisfies both your duty of care and the evidence a deposit scheme might ask for.
What if the tenant left hazardous waste?
We can't take chemicals, solvents, oils, fuel, gas bottles, clinical waste, fridges, freezers or asbestos, so please don't move anything that looks hazardous. Send a photo and we'll point you to the nearest council recycling centre or the right specialist route.
How fast can you get here?
Message us before 12pm on a weekday and we are usually on site the same afternoon. Weekend clearances available too.