Should landscaper pay for rubbish disposal?

[SadlyMissTaken]

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

A commercial contract for this sort of work would include “taking all arisings” & “making good”, that is, the removal of rubbish & leaving the site as you found it. There are specific clauses addressing this.
Always have a contract. I think you are stuck.

According to Google (which might be wrong of course):

Yes, in the UK, the tradesperson building your patio is legally responsible for removing and properly disposing of all the waste they create, as it's considered business waste, not yours. They have a "duty of care" under the Environmental Protection Act 1990 to ensure it's handled by a licensed carrier and not fly-tipped, with the cost typically included in their quote.

Don't feel so daft OP, plenty of people have work done without contracts that detail every brick and tile. And most tradespeople do take the rubbish away. Most of the time it all works out fine but on the rare occasion without a contract you get caught out. Unlucky.

Order a skip, chuck the lot in and then have a large G&T in your lovely new garden under the stars xxx

Never give a contractor the figure you have to spend. If you say £5k the quote is never going to come in under that, even if it would cost £3k.

What sort of waste is it? This will determine how you could get rid of it. There's usually someone locally that could use rubble as hardcore or to put in the bottom of a raised bed. If there's metal is there a local tat man who would take it off your hands.

clearabee is very easy to use - you can get a free quote online right now. You might need a pic of the rubbish. We paid £150 and a man loaded it up in his van in an hour and all gone to a proper disposal site

You could also cost up Hippo bags which you can fill and have collected

This is the local authorities fault really OP. They have made it impossible for small traders / jobbing builders to dispose of waste. It’s insane that we have to pay for literally everything on top now. He should have included a skip in your quote / made clear it was excluded but £5k to build a wall and patio isn’t exactly mega money. My gardener doesn’t take my green waste away. Cheapest might be to get a grab lorry to come and pick it up for you if they are able to access and they will literally grab it off the floor with the grabbers.

Filling skips is pretty good exercise

I understand skips are £300/half hour to hire Huh! Who on earth said this to you???

We're 4yrs in renovating a derelict house. We've hired many skips and its never been rent by the hour! Always a set price- generally for a week. If you are only putting in 1 item such as hard core, and not a mix of various things/rubbish, then we've always had a discount because they don't need to sort at the other end. Ring a few local companies to get ideas of prices.

Thanks all. I will learn from this. I certainly didn't expect to be left to dispose of wooden pallets etc from materials he ordered. It's a very small patio so just didn't think it would create such a mountain of waste.
I'm in London which is why skips are expensive but will do some hunting around

Also in London and have hired skips several times. You definitely don’t pay per half hour or even day. You pay per skip, however long you have it.

For the pallets and hardcore- advertise them on nextdoor, olio, freecycle and/or facebook market place for free. Someone might take them. If not, then look at skip hire. Some companies also delivery/collect tonne bags rather than metal type skips. I doubt they'd be cheaper, but if space is limited, it might be an option.

I had landscaping done recently and removal and disposal was one of the itemised things on the quote. Also the contract advised we had the option of allowing the workmen access to use a toilet or paying to hire a portaloo. Also had reason to hire a skip which cost £440 including vat and a roadside permit. Skip contract also stated extra cost if a mattress was being disposed of
It also stated a weight limit so you need to look at that and said garden waste had to be bagged in separate bags no mixing soil and hard core

We’ve had quite a few landscapers, they always mention the rubbish and include the price for it in the quote. Ur mistake was telling him what your willing to pay without mentioning the removal of waste, so he decided he’s going to do the job for 5k n won’t factor in waste removal as it means more money for him.

Skip is is usually paid separately but should be costed in the job, and definitely expect the guy to fill it!

When we had a new patio laid we paid for a skip for the waste and contractor filled it.

I'm having a skip for 5 days coming tomorrow. It is 4 yards one. It is costing £240. Could you check out local prices and get a spade and do a bit each day or pay a local teen/student to load the skip for you. I would assume the £5k was for work carried out. Any removal of rubbish would be separate. Do not pay him until he completes the job though.

Where do you live, that skips are £300 per half hour? I.recently paid for an 8yd skip which I filled over 3 weeks, and cost £325.

I don't think you should take any notice of the advice on this thread. It's standard practice for a professional landscaper that a job includes waste removal - but always get a contract.

Re the £300 for 30 minutes, this would be a wait and load service. Skip companies offer this for scenarios where the skip can't be left on site, for example if there's no space to drop it, or the road is too busy/dangerous to get a permit to leave it there. If you have somewhere you can put the skip, then you can likely keep it for a week or two, and load it a bit at a time.

I think the half hour thing is because of the permit restrictions on the street as someone mentioned as I don't have space for a skip in front garden. However quite a bit is sand so will advertise this with the hardcore

You may not have had a contract but if you didn’t even get a written quotation you haven’t a leg to stand on. You will either pay him or somebody else to remove it.

If he didn't say rubbish removal was included then I don't think you can assume it should be or was.

I mean he should've told you it wasn't and said how much extra it would be. As obviously it's not like you'd just accept leaving it there forever?

Has all his building work been completed? if not, he gets his payment when you are satisfied with the job. Tell him to remove and dispose of his own pallets.

Put a message on local Facebook page asking if anyone does uplift and disposal. Get a few prices then get it removed. Builder is a clown, he should have made this clear to you. It could have been removed in stages.

keep back the money until you’re happy he’s planning on doing a bunk without finishing the job, trust me it’ll cost you a lot more to have someone else complete it. Trust me he’ll finish it when he realises he’s getting nothing.

I wouldnt of assumed rubbish removal in the 5k, you will need to either hire a skip or hire a rubbish removal company to take it. We did a house clearance last year (loads of stuff) cost us £300 for them to pick it up & take it away.