Sparkling Services clears entire houses, from basement to attic, in Brussels, Flanders and Wallonia. The site visit is free and usually takes place within 48 hours; you get a fixed price before work starts, and the job itself usually takes 1 to 3 days. Depending on the value of your belongings, there are three options: free clearance, we pay you the difference, or a fixed price on quotation. Reusable items are put to good use or donated, the rest is sorted and recycled.
What our house clearance includes
A Sparkling Services house clearance covers everything needed to leave a property completely empty: sorting, dismantling, carrying, removal, donation, recycling and a final sweep. You do not need to pack, lift anything or make trips to the local recycling centre.
Our crews work through every room, including the spaces people tend to forget when asking for a quote: the cellar, the loft, the garage, the garden shed, the conservatory and the cupboard under the stairs. The quoted price covers all of it, so nothing new appears on the bill on the day. Only one space to empty? We also handle clearing a basement or cellar on its own, loft and attic clearance under the roof and emptying a garage or workshop.
Included as standard
- On-site sorting into items to donate, materials to recycle and genuine waste.
- Dismantling of wardrobes, beds, shelving and free-standing kitchen units.
- Carrying and loading, including down the steep, narrow staircases typical of Belgian terraced houses.
- Removal by van or lorry to reuse organisations and suitable processing facilities.
- Setting aside papers, photographs, jewellery and personal items found while sorting.
- Final sweep, so the house is ready for the notary, the estate agent, the landlord or the new owners.
What we do not do
We do not remove asbestos. If we spot suspect sheeting or pipe lagging, we will refer you to a certified asbestos contractor. Hazardous products such as full paint tins, solvents or gas bottles are noted during the visit so that the right disposal route can be arranged.
Who uses a house clearance service, and when?
Most house clearances follow a life event: a bereavement, a move into a care home, a property sale or the end of a lease. We work for private individuals, families, heirs, notaries, estate agents, property managers and social services (CPAS/OCMW).
Typical situations
- After a death in the family: relatives often need to empty a parent's home before it is sold or handed back to the landlord. We work calmly and keep aside anything with sentimental value.
- A move into a care home: we first set aside the furniture and keepsakes going to the new room, then clear everything else.
- Selling the property: an empty house photographs and shows better, and buyers in Belgium generally expect vacant possession on completion.
- End of tenancy: a tenant or landlord has to hand the property back empty before the check-out inspection (état des lieux / plaatsbeschrijving).
- A house bought with its contents: the previous occupants left everything behind and you want to start renovating.
- Relocating abroad or downsizing: you leave with a few suitcases and need the rest dealt with properly.
- A house with a shop on the ground floor: we clear the shop and the home above in one go; for the business premises alone, see our shop and retail unit clearance.
Clearing a house from abroad
This service is designed for expats leaving Belgium and for heirs living in the UK, elsewhere in Europe or further afield. We can run the whole job without you being in the country: a video call instead of a site visit, keys collected from the notary or a neighbour, updates by phone or email and a full set of photos when the house is empty.
How a house clearance works, step by step
A house clearance follows five steps: assessment, fixed quote, preparation, clearance day and handover. For a complete family home, the work on site usually takes 1 to 3 days.
- Site visit or photo assessment. We usually visit within 48 hours, or you send photos and a short video of each room. The visit is free and there is no obligation.
- Fixed, itemised quote. You receive one total price including VAT, stating the estimated volume, the rooms involved, any options (deep cleaning, a furniture lift) and anything excluded.
- Preparation. You tell us what to keep. We apply to the municipality for a parking reservation for the van and arrange access to the keys.
- Clearance day. The team sorts, dismantles, wraps and loads, room by room. Anything you are keeping is gathered in one room or in clearly labelled boxes.
- Final check and handover. We sweep, walk round with you or send photos, and return the keys. A full clean can follow if you need one.
As a rough guide, a typical family home holds around 50 to 60 cubic metres of contents, while a sparsely furnished 100 m² house may come to about 30 m³. That spread is exactly why we prefer to see the property before we price it.
Where do your furniture and belongings go?
At Sparkling Services, anything reusable is put to good use or donated to social-economy organisations, and everything else is sorted and sent through appropriate recycling and treatment channels.
Reuse comes first
Sound furniture, crockery, linen, books, toys and working small appliances go to charities and social-economy organisations (for example Les Petits Riens, Oxfam, Terre or, in Flanders, De Kringwinkel), depending on the region and on what they are accepting at the time. The value of reusable or resaleable items is deducted from the price, transparently.
Sorting everything else
- Wood and damaged furniture go for wood recycling rather than landfill or incineration.
- Metal, from radiators and bed frames to bicycles and tools, goes for metal recycling.
- Electrical and electronic equipment goes into the official WEEE take-back network.
- Paper, cardboard, textiles and mattresses are kept separate wherever possible.
- Residual waste is limited to what genuinely cannot be reused or recycled.
Is a free house clearance possible?
Yes, when the value of reusable or resaleable items covers the cost of the clearance: you pay nothing. If that value exceeds the cost, we pay you the difference. If there are few or no items of value, you pay a fixed price on quotation. The visit and the quote are free and without obligation, and an estimate from photos is also possible.
House clearance prices: what shapes the quote
We do not publish rates: the price of a house clearance depends on what is in the house. Depending on the value of reusable or resaleable goods, there are three options; the price is set in a fixed quote after the assessment or from photos.
| Option | When? | What you pay |
|---|---|---|
| Free clearance | The value of reusable or resaleable items covers the cost of the clearance | Nothing |
| We pay you | The value of the goods exceeds the cost of the clearance | Nothing: we pay you the difference |
| You pay | Few or no items of value | A fixed price on quotation |
What affects the price
- Volume in cubic metres, the single biggest factor.
- Access: upper floors without a lift, a spiral staircase, a narrow street or a van parked far from the door.
- Heavy or bulky items such as a piano, a safe, solid oak wardrobes or an American-style fridge.
- Sorting time: searching for documents takes longer than clearing a house the family has already gone through.
- Special waste: chemicals, tyres or building rubble go through paid disposal routes.
- Options: cleaning after the clearance, Saturday work or a very short deadline.
The visit and the quote are free and without obligation; a few photos sent by WhatsApp or through the form are often enough for an estimate. The price set in the quote does not change on the day of the job. Our detailed invoice can be sent straight to the notary handling the estate.
Practicalities in Belgium: parking, stairs and keys
We handle most of the practical side of a house clearance ourselves, including the parking reservation, access and key collection. Here is what is useful to know, especially if you are new to Belgium.
Parking for the van
In many Belgian towns you need a temporary parking ban or a permit to occupy the public road before a removal van can park outside a house. In Brussels each of the 19 municipalities has its own rules and fees; in Flanders and Wallonia the request goes to the town hall, sometimes via the local police. Lead times vary, so we submit the application for you, ideally one to two weeks before the clearance.
Stairs, upper floors and furniture lifts
Belgian town houses are known for steep, narrow staircases. Our crews dismantle furniture so it fits through; where that is impossible, we bring in an external furniture lift through a window, provided the street allows it.
Keys and absent owners
You do not need to be there. Keys can be handed to us by a notary, an estate agent, a neighbour or left in a key safe. You follow progress by phone or email and receive photos at the end.
Three regions, three languages
We work in all 19 Brussels municipalities and across the provinces of Flanders and Wallonia except the province of Luxembourg, in English, French and Dutch. Waste management is a regional matter in Belgium, so we adapt the processing routes to the region where the property is located.
Choosing a house clearance company you can trust
A reliable house clearance company gives you four things: a written fixed price, a VAT invoice, a registration to transport waste and a straight answer about where your belongings end up.
- A written price before work starts. Be wary of verbal estimates and eye-catching low prices that double on the day.
- A traceable business. Company number, VAT number, full contact details and an itemised invoice, which the notary or your co-heirs may well ask for.
- Licensed waste transport. In Belgium, carrying other people's waste requires a registration with the regional authority (OVAM in Flanders, Brussels Environment, the Walloon Public Service). It is perfectly reasonable to ask for it.
- Traceability. Ask where the furniture goes. A company that donates and recycles can explain this in a sentence or two.
A note on local terms
You will see the service called "vide maison" or "débarras" in French and "woningontruiming" or "huis leegmaken" in Dutch. They all mean the same thing as house clearance: emptying a home of its entire contents. As a fully trilingual company, we can deal with Belgian notaries, landlords and agencies on your behalf in their language.
Why choose Sparkling Services to clear your house
Sparkling Services is a Belgian house clearance company working in Brussels, Flanders and Wallonia, with fixed prices, three options depending on the value of your belongings and a genuine commitment to reuse.
- One point of contact from the first call to the return of the keys.
- Three options: the value of your reusable items is deducted from the price, can make the clearance free, or we pay you the difference.
- Real donations to reuse organisations, and careful sorting of everything else.
- Respect for the property and the people: discretion with neighbours, care for floors and stairwells, attention to family keepsakes.
- Fluent English, as well as French and Dutch, which matters when you are dealing with Belgian paperwork from abroad.
- Remote-friendly for heirs and owners who cannot travel to Belgium.
To get your price, call +32 485 39 99 41 or send a few photos through the form, and we will come back to you with a clear proposal.
