Every empty week costs a landlord money, and a void that lands in January costs more than one that lands in June because the reletting market is slower. Void property clearance is the part of the turnaround most likely to hold everything else up, simply because nothing can be decorated, repaired or photographed until the previous tenant’s leftovers have gone. We handle a lot of these through our Skelmersdale skip hire service, and speed is usually the whole point.
Why voids cluster in the winter months
Tenancies have a rhythm to them. A good number of twelve month agreements signed in the new year come up for renewal in the new year, and a fair proportion of tenants who have been thinking about moving make the decision over Christmas and give notice in the first week of January. The result is that we see a distinct run of void clearances through January and February across Skelmersdale and the surrounding area.
The winter void has a particular risk attached that a summer one does not. An empty property with the heating off through a cold snap is where burst pipes happen, and a landlord who has cleared the property and then left it unheated for six weeks can find the clearance was the easy part. Leave the heating ticking over on a frost setting rather than switching it off entirely.
What tenants actually leave
The pattern is consistent enough that we can usually predict the load from the property type. Beds and mattresses almost always stay, because they are the hardest thing to move and the least worth taking. Wardrobes and flat pack furniture stay because they will not survive being dismantled a second time. Sofas stay more often than not.
Then there is the accumulated layer that nobody plans for. Half tins of paint in the shed, an old barbecue, curtains, kitchenware, and the contents of whatever cupboard the previous tenant decided was not their problem. In a family let there is usually a garden component too, particularly if the tenancy ended in winter and the garden has been left since autumn.
Mattresses are worth a specific word because they are bulky, they hold water if they have been anywhere damp, and they take up a disproportionate amount of a skip. Break the volume down where you can and load them flat rather than standing them up.
The duty of care point that catches landlords out
This is the bit that matters legally and it is widely misunderstood. Waste from a property you own but do not live in is not simply household waste that you can dispose of as you please. Once you are clearing a rental property as a landlord, you carry a duty of care over that waste and over who takes it away.
In practice that means using a licensed carrier and being able to show you did. Our skip hire duty of care guide sets out what that involves and what paperwork should exist. The reason it matters is that if waste from your property is later found fly-tipped, the trail comes back to you, and being able to point at a licensed carrier and a documented transfer is what ends the conversation.
We are a licensed waste carrier and site operator, and the details are on record. Anyone offering to clear a property cheaply out of a van with no paperwork is offering you a risk rather than a saving. Our broader advice on skip hire for landlords covers the practical side of managing this across a portfolio.
Electricals, and what cannot go in with the rest
Void clearances throw up more electrical waste than almost any other kind of job. Old televisions, microwaves, kettles, a washing machine that was on its last legs when the tenancy started. None of that belongs in a general skip, and our guide to how to dispose of electrical waste responsibly explains where it should go instead.
Fridges and freezers need separate handling again because of the coolant. If the tenant has left white goods, tell us when you book and we will advise rather than having the driver decline them on the day, which helps nobody.
Sizing it when you cannot see inside yet
The awkward part of a void is that you often book the skip before you have properly seen what is in there, particularly if the tenant left without a final inspection. Our rough guide is that a one bedroom flat clearance usually sits comfortably in a midi, while a three bedroom house with a garden component wants an 8 tonne builders skip.
If you cannot tell at all, book the smaller unit and talk to us about an exchange rather than paying for capacity you do not use. We would rather swap a skip than have you guess high.
Local coverage and turning it round quickly
We cover Skelmersdale and the villages around it, including Parbold skip hire and out towards Appley Bridge skip hire, and because we run our own vehicles from our own yard rather than working through a broker we can generally move faster than a national booking service. Everything comes back to our recycling centre, where a void load gets sorted properly rather than going straight to disposal, and our environmental and recycling page explains what that means in practice.
If you have a property standing empty and want it cleared this week rather than next, ring us on 01695 769123. Tell us the property size and we will give you a size and a date. Our contact page works just as well if you are managing several at once.
