SafeContractorCheckatradeLicensed waste carrier15+ yearsVAT registeredInsured to £10M
Meet your London & South team
Andy & Jack
Team Leader — London & the South
Andy has been with Abacus for over seven years, with more than two decades of experience in property clearances — and a particular specialism in probate. He works alongside his son Jack, making this a true family team.
Over the years Andy has built up a network of charities and resource centres across London and the South that are glad of his regular donations. With a genuine interest in property, history and the stories behind people's belongings, he has a knack for spotting things that matter — and has uncovered more than a few forgotten valuables and keepsakes for our customers along the way.
"They found photos that I had missed, and coins dotted around along with a few sentimental items."
— Croydon
"Andy and Jack were consummate professionals — empathetic, polite and efficient. They explained the process and what would happen to the items we had to dispose of."
— Fulham
"Andy and Jack were polite, efficient, hard working and did a great job!"
— West Hampstead
Recent clearances in London
Real jobs from our teams in and around London — every clearance is different.
Hammersmith · house clearance
4 bedroom semi detached house
BeforeAfter
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We were called early one Monday morning by a gentleman who had been let down by another clearance company. The house was due to be put on the market ready for sale and the estate agent's photographer was coming that Friday - could we help? He informed us it was a busy property, not in the best of conditions with greenhouses, sheds, and an overgrown garden to be cutback. We met at the property later the same day. On arrival, it was clear that in order to get this property cleared - we had some planning to do!
That afternoon was a flurry of organising - the customer was happy with our estimated price and plans so we got on with organising the three teams that would attend; two teams to clear the property and one to start on the garden.
This 4 bedroom West London property belonged to our client's mother who had passed away a year before. Our client had visited the property many times since his Mother passed and taken any items of value or sentimental value he could find and tried sorting, bagging and clearing the property himself initially until recommended a clearance company by the estate agents he had commissioned to sell the house. Grateful to have one less (mammoth) job on his neverending list of things to do, he got in touch with the firm and thought everything was in place to get the property cleared, garden cutback and ready to be marketed. Although he was unfortunately let down, the rest is a wonderful tale of the Abacus teams working together to get the job done!
Eleven loads of furniture, appliances, building materials, heavy garden statues and pots, clothes, shoes, crockery, ornaments, bags, boxes, suitcases and twenty of every other possible item you could think of, (including at least 2 spare, loose kitchen sinks!) were removed from the property. The items suitable for donation were donated, the more recyclable items were recycled and the garden was cleared and cut back.
Our client was so grateful that Abacus completed the house, garage, shed, greenhouse and garden clearance and cutback with about 30 minutes spare before the photographer arrived and recommended us to all his friends and family! We still get calls because of this jolly gentleman's recommendations today - and are always pleased to hear how he is well!
Dagenham · house clearance
3 bedroom semi detached house
BeforeAfter
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We were appointed to clear a 3 bedroom semi detached house in Dagenham, East London, excluding the carpets, fixtures and fittings. The property belonged to the council and needed to be cleared of all chattels by the end of the day and the keys returned to the Council. As we have cleared many council properties we knew exactly what we needed to do.
Our client told us that the property belonged to her late mother and she also had resided at the property for a number of years, however, her name was not on the tenancy agreement so she had to return the property back to the council and had found a one bedroom property in Dagenham to rent which was fully furnished and had no need for the goods left in her mothers property and had taken anything that she wished to keep before we arrived.
There was still a lot of crockery, pots pans etc in the kitchen cupboards to clear, the bedrooms still had a lot of clothes, personal belongings, ornaments and bits and bobs everywhere. We kept a lot of the ornaments, clothes, shoes and smaller pieces of furniture to one side which we could donate to charity, there was quite a lot in the property and took two loads to clear. Clearing the house took close to five hours. We took two full loads to the local recycling station in Dagenham before returning to the property and collecting the items to donate to charity, we locked up the property and set off to Dagenham council office to hand back the keys before they closed then distributed the appropriate items to a couple of different charities in and around Dagenham.
Barking · house clearance
Small but cluttered 2 bedroom bungalow
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Our client asked us to clear a small but cluttered 2 bedroom bungalow in Barking, East London, our client told us that the property belonged to her step father who was a bit of a recluse and did not enjoy the company of others, her mother passed away over ten years before and since then she had no contact with her step father, she had not visited the property in over ten years and told us she did not wish to return to the house. We collected the keys from a neighbour and firstly went into every room and took photographs (selection shown below) to give to our client when the work was complete, it was evident that her step father lived a simple life and enjoyed reading as there were a lot of books on various subjects. We assessed the bungalow for any items that could be donated to charity, there were two nice wall units storing books but very little else of any value that we could save.
Whilst the staff were clearing out the drawers in the bedroom they came across a small jewellery box which contained female jewellery and some old photographs of a woman. Our client had stated that there was nothing in the property she wanted kept, and we were aware this was a sensitive clearance, however we felt that we should make our client aware of our findings before disposing of the items so we telephoned her, she was very emotional as the jewellery and photographs we described to her were belongings of her late mother which she thought her step father had disposed of many years ago.
She asked us if we could deliver them to her work in Barking which was only a few miles away. The bungalow took a full day to clear and three loads due to the weight of the books. We packed our van with everything to go to the recycling station first, then the second load of books for donation, before returning for the book cases and remaining books. We put in the jewellery box and photographs and set off to another set of charity shops to donate the books and bookcases, then popped to our clients work place with the photographs and Jewellery box we found. She was so pleased we had found these! We showed her the pictures of the clearance as she did not plan on returning to the property to check it. She was happy with the work carried out and even gave our staff a tip as a thank you. We then set off to find more charity shops in Barking to dispose of the remaining books and ensure our van was empty for the following day.
We clear right across London — from Croydon and Bromley to Fulham, Camden, Hampstead and Richmond — covering all postcodes including SW, SE, N, E, NW and W. Our London team also travels well beyond the capital: we regularly clear homes across Surrey, and reach Portsmouth, Southampton, Brighton and into Kent and the wider South of England.
Clearing in London — what we've learned
Vehicles and recycling. Many London recycling centres now only accept tipping vehicles, not Luton vans, to keep their sites moving. That shapes which vehicle we bring to a job — alongside parking and what your clearance needs — and how many loads we can do in a day. By using our caged tipping vans where it helps, our London team can often manage two, sometimes three loads in a single day. It's also why we quote each job individually rather than off a fixed list.
ULEZ. All our vehicles are ULEZ compliant, so you'll never pick up an Ultra Low Emission Zone charge on top of your clearance — cleaner air, and less out of your pocket.
Parking. Anyone who knows London knows parking is the real challenge — resident-only bays, pay-to-park, and Council or Housing Association estates with more restrictions and fewer spaces every year. We're used to it: we help arrange parking permits, organise parking suspensions with local councils, and have even worked with TfL on parking dispensations so the team can get to your door.
House clearance in London from £695 +VAT per day — all labour included, extra loads half price. We confirm the number of loads before we start.
