Void clearance: waste carrier checks and transfer notes

The carrier must be registered

gov.uk is explicit about who must register: "You must register if your business does any of the following: transports waste (a carrier), buys, sells or disposes of waste (a dealer), arranges for someone else to buy, sell or dispose of waste (a broker)." It adds: "You can get an unlimited fine if you do not register" (gov.uk). Registration in England is with the Environment Agency, and there are separate processes for Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.

• Registration numbers start with 'CB', which gov.uk notes is on the registration letter or email.
• Registered organisations appear on the public register of waste carriers, brokers and dealers, so a claim can be checked rather than believed (environment.data.gov.uk).
• Upper tier registrations must be renewed every 3 years; lower tier registrations do not need renewing, so an old-looking date is not automatically a problem.
• Details must be kept current. gov.uk requires the Environment Agency to be told within 28 days if the organisation's contact details or management change, or if it changes what it does.

Your own duty: the transfer note

As the business handing waste over, you have your own obligations. gov.uk's guidance on disposing of business or commercial waste says you must "complete a waste transfer note for each load of waste that leaves your premises", "check if your waste carrier is registered to dispose of waste" and "not allow the waste carrier to dispose of your waste illegally" (gov.uk).

• Both sides fill in and sign the note, or a document containing the same information such as an invoice.
• Keep a paper or electronic copy for 2 years, and show it to an enforcement officer from the local council or the Environment Agency if asked.
• Include enough information to help the business taking the waste handle and dispose of it safely.
• Season tickets exist for repeat transfers. gov.uk allows a season ticket covering multiple transfers of non-hazardous waste over a period of up to a year where the waste holder, the carrier and the waste type all stay the same, with a separate schedule recording the date, time, quantity and site of each transfer, kept for 2 years after the last transfer. For a landlord clearing voids continuously with one contractor, this is usually the sensible arrangement.

Hazardous items are a separate route

gov.uk notes that you have extra responsibilities when dealing with hazardous waste, which has its own documentation rather than a standard transfer note. In a void, the usual candidates are chemicals, fuels, gas bottles, some electrical items, sharps and anything suspected of containing asbestos. These come out of the general clearance scope and go down their own routes, which is why they should be declared at quote stage rather than discovered on the day.

The three-minute check before you appoint

1. Ask for the CB registration number and the registered name, then look it up on the public register.
2. Ask where the waste goes. A named transfer station or recycling facility, not "our yard".
3. Ask what documentation comes back and when. Transfer notes should arrive with the invoice as a matter of routine.
4. Set up a season ticket if you clear voids regularly with the same contractor, and keep the schedule updated as the loads happen.

This page quotes published gov.uk guidance for buyers of clearance services and is not legal advice. Duties differ in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland, where registration is handled by the relevant environmental regulator rather than the Environment Agency.