Active discussions

Please or to access all these features

Talk
AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

Should landscaper pay for rubbish disposal?

87 replies

SadlyMissTaken · 06/01/2026 17:16

Hi all
I commissioned someone to build a patio and walls at the back of my garden. Limit on price was £5k. I made clear I could not go above that. No contract (I know ... Idiot) Part way through landscaper said he expected my partner to take the rubbish (concrete from old path and wall etc) to the tip. I don't drive, partner is an alcoholic and we split up before xmas. Property is mine.
I did point out that relying on partner wasn't going to work.
The guy has been a nightmare to deal with to say the least but that's another story.
Job is now almost finished and builder has texted me asking for full payment minus £200 for outstanding remaining work on the patio (there is more than £200 worth outstanding). The pile of rubbish in my front garden and side alley is now massive. I understand skips are £300/half hour to hire and I will also need help filling it up. AIBU to dispute being left with this extra cost given I specified £5k max for the job? Or should I suck it up as I didn't sign a contract?
Thanks

OP posts:
Loobyloolovesandypandy · 06/01/2026 17:29

Similar thing. Building work going on. Builder emphasised we would need to pay for any skips he hired. We are on our third.

ErrolTheDragon · 06/01/2026 17:28

Sorry, you should have explicitly agreed a price including removal of all waste.

Willowskyblue · 06/01/2026 17:27

I would expect the finished job to include removal.
If you’re going to dispute, obviously don’t pay until it’s sorted and certainly don’t pay more than for what has been done to date.
I’m not sure skips around here are £300 per half hour - have you phoned around?

SarahAndQuack · 06/01/2026 17:27

SadlyMissTaken · 06/01/2026 17:23

The agreement was build patio and wallls total price not to exceed 5k. I know I should have had a contract, I was an idiot as stated in the OP but that's irrelevant now.

Well, it's sort of not irrelevant, because rubbish disposal is one of those things that doesn't have a standard answer; it's something you'd agree in the contract.

Some landscapers will happily remove rubbish for you, for a price. They'll be people who do that routinely and have it all organised. Others won't. It's not something people generally do as a one-off, so if your landscaper is someone who doesn't routinely do it, he won't be likely to have the wherewithal suddenly to change his mind and fit it into the budget.

PrizedPickledPopcorn · 06/01/2026 17:26

My local authority says that tradesmen must handle the waste. We can only used the tip for our own DIY. Worth checking what your local authority says!

Cyclistmumgrandma · 06/01/2026 17:26

So the agreement was to build the patio and the wall. It did not mention waste disposal. Sorry, but legally you do not have a leg to stand on.

Original poster
SadlyMissTaken · 06/01/2026 17:25

Ok I suspected I was BU. Live and learn I guess....

OP posts:
SayingThisWithLove · 06/01/2026 17:24

SadlyMissTaken · 06/01/2026 17:23

The agreement was build patio and wallls total price not to exceed 5k. I know I should have had a contract, I was an idiot as stated in the OP but that's irrelevant now.

And does the price exceed this? For the patio and walls?

SayingThisWithLove · 06/01/2026 17:24

I’ve usually had to get rid of my own rubbish unless I explicitly ask and pay for removal. I wouldn’t have assumed it was included but I may be a minority there.

Original poster
SadlyMissTaken · 06/01/2026 17:23

The agreement was build patio and wallls total price not to exceed 5k. I know I should have had a contract, I was an idiot as stated in the OP but that's irrelevant now.

OP posts:
Nopenott0day · 06/01/2026 17:23

Yabu. You stipulated 5k for a new patio. Not &removal. Does he even have a waste removal license?

SarahAndQuack · 06/01/2026 17:19

I think you're on sticky ground without a contract TBH.

I think a landscaper not taking away that sort of amount of waste is really pretty crap - he may not do waste disposal, but he ought to have made that clear at the start. But I don't understand getting someone in to do anything costing 5k and not having a written agreement about where the money was going!