Landlord guide

Eviction cleanout: what happens after the constable leaves

By Tyler BornsteinAugust 27, 20268 min read
TL;DR

An eviction cleanout runs $250 to $650 flat depending on how much the tenant left behind. The order matters more than the price. Massachusetts has rules about what happens to a tenant's belongings after an execution of possession, and a constable or sheriff is usually the one carrying out the physical eviction. Confirm with your attorney or the constable that the contents can be disposed of, then text photos and your town for a flat price within 24 hours.

The unit is empty of people and full of everything else. Half a bedroom set, a mattress leaning against the wall, kitchen cabinets still stocked, a fridge nobody has opened in three weeks. That is the usual condition of a unit after a formal eviction, and it is the part no landlord budgets for.

We do the hauling. We do not do the legal side, and this is one of the few jobs where getting the sequence right matters more than getting a good number. The contents of that unit were somebody's property until a legal process said otherwise. Confirm that first, then call us.

Massachusetts has rules about storing a tenant's belongings after an execution of possession. They are not the same rules that apply to a tenant who simply moved out and left junk behind. I am a hauler, not a lawyer, and I am not going to paraphrase a statute for you and get it wrong.

What is generally true is this. A constable or sheriff carries out the physical eviction, not the landlord. That constable is at the center of the day, and your attorney handled the case that got you there. Between the two of them, you can find out exactly what happens to the belongings and when you are clear to dispose of them. The Massachusetts Housing Court is where the paperwork side of all this lives.

Ask before the truck gets booked, not after. If you are not sure whether you are allowed to throw it out yet, we are the wrong call today. Ask the constable first. We will still be here next week, and the job will cost the same.

Once you tell us the legal process is complete and the contents can be disposed of, we take you at your word and we haul. That is the line. We are the crew that empties the unit. Deciding when it can be emptied is above our pay grade and outside our job.

What is usually left in an evicted unit

Most evicted units look like a move that stopped halfway. Whatever fit in a car went with the tenant. The rest is standing where it was.

A tenant who left on their own terms and abandoned some junk is a different job with a much simpler sequence. That one is a rental property cleanout, and you can book it the day you find it.

  • Furniture that was too heavy to move — couches, mattresses, dressers, a kitchen table
  • Bagged trash, sometimes a lot of it, often in rooms nobody was using
  • A fridge and a freezer with food in them, usually with the power already off
  • Clothes, paper, and small items spread across the floor of every room
  • Occasionally something with real value, which is exactly why the legal question comes first

The fridge is the part people underestimate

Power has usually been off for weeks by the time anyone opens that unit. A full fridge that has been warm since the middle of last month is the reason these jobs get described as worse than they are.

We bag the contents on site and haul the appliance with it. The fridge itself goes to a licensed recycler for the metal and the refrigerant, not to the transfer station. That is standard on every appliance we take, but it comes up more on evictions than anywhere else.

If the unit has been sitting warm for more than a few weeks, say so when you text the photos. It changes how the crew packs the trailer, not what you pay.

What an eviction cleanout costs

We price by volume, which means how much space the contents take in the trailer. $90 covers one or two items. $250 is a truck load. $425 is a half trailer. $650 is a full trailer. Labor, loading, hauling, and disposal are all inside that number.

Most eviction cleanouts land between $425 and $650. A unit that was lived in until the day of the eviction is fuller than a unit somebody packed up and left.

Weight adjusts the base. Ordinary household contents run 1.0x. A load that is mostly furniture, trash, and a couple of appliances is heavy at 1.2x. Very heavy loads, like a unit with plaster or tile mixed into the pile, run 1.45x. Access adds on top: one flight of stairs is +$40, two or more flights is +$80, and a third-floor unit with a narrow stairwell and a tight landing is a very difficult access at +$120. Over 8 items, add $4 per item beyond the first 8.

Quotes carry roughly plus or minus 15 percent until we see the job in person. We say the band out loud instead of lowballing the photos and revising it once the trailer is parked in front of the building.

Eviction cleanout pricing — flat, volume-based, all-in
What is left in the unitTypical volumeFlat base price
A mattress and a couch, nothing else1–2 items$90
One-bedroom, partly cleared outTruck load$250
Two-bedroom, furniture in every roomHalf trailer$425
Lived in until eviction day, nothing removedFull trailer$650

The real cost of an eviction is the empty month after it

You are not paying us to clean a unit. You are paying to stop the unit from sitting empty. Every week it stays full is a week it cannot be shown, painted, or re-let.

Most eviction cleanouts are booked within 24 to 48 hours, and same-day is often available in Billerica and the towns around it. The crew is on site one to three hours. A unit cleared in the morning can have painters in it that afternoon.

If the property came back through the bank rather than through a tenant, the deadline usually belongs to a listing agent instead of you. Different paperwork, same trailer. That one is a foreclosure cleanout.

We do not charge a premium for urgency. A truck load is $250 whether you need it Thursday or in three weeks. Hourly haulers are paid to be slow, and an evicted unit is exactly the job where that shows up — lots of small items, lots of trips up and down. We charge $650 for a full trailer whether the crew takes two hours or five. A slow afternoon costs us, not you.

Photos in, price back, crew in a two-hour window

Text photos of each room, the kitchen, the bathroom, and any storage or basement space that came with the unit. Add your town. That is about two minutes of your time and there is no appointment to get a quote.

  • Photos and your town, by text or to quotes@statementjunkremoval.com
  • One flat price back within 24 hours
  • You pick a two-hour arrival window, same day or next
  • Crew loads, hauls, and sweeps the unit, usually one to three hours
  • You pay after, only when you are happy — cash, check, Venmo, Zelle, or card, no deposit up front

Not everything from an evicted unit goes to the transfer station

A unit full of a family's belongings is not the same thing as a unit full of garbage, even when the paperwork is finished. So we sort it rather than tipping the whole trailer.

Usable furniture and working appliances get donated locally, to Goodwill, Savers, or Habitat ReStore. Metal and electronics go to licensed recyclers. True waste is the only thing that heads to the transfer station. The sorting happens while we load, so it does not change your price and it does not add time to the job.

Some units are a specialist call, not a junk removal call

If the unit has human or animal waste across the floors, mold growing on the contents, or needles in it, that is biohazard remediation. Those crews carry containment gear and disposal permits that a junk removal crew does not. We will tell you that on the phone and step back.

Hoarding-level conditions are a related problem but a different one. Some of those we can do and some we cannot, and it depends entirely on what is underneath the pile. Send photos and we will be straight about which one it is. There is more detail in our hoarder cleanout guide.

We also cannot take wet paint, asbestos, chemicals, medical waste, or propane tanks. Evicted units turn up propane tanks and half-used chemicals more often than you would expect. Those get set aside for your town's hazardous-waste collection instead of going on the trailer.

When you should not call us

If the constable has not finished and you have not confirmed the contents can be disposed of, do not book us. That is the first one and it is the one that costs real money if you get it wrong.

A mattress, a couch, and four bags of trash is not our job either, assuming you own a pickup and have a Saturday morning free. The transfer station beats our $90 to $250 on a load that size. Dump fees in most of our towns run $20 to $50 a visit depending on weight, and we will say so on the phone rather than take the booking.

Furniture in decent shape has a better home than a trailer. Your town's Buy Nothing group or Facebook Marketplace usually clears a couch within a day or two. Costs nothing and somebody gets a couch.

Remediation comes before hauling, always. If the unit needs a specialist crew in it first, get them in and call us afterward.

Get a flat price for the unit

Text photos of the unit and your town to (978) 330-8980, or email them to quotes@statementjunkremoval.com. One flat price back within 24 hours. We are out Monday through Saturday, 07:00 to 19:00, across 16 towns with Billerica as home base.

If the constable has not signed off yet, call anyway and ask us to pencil in a date. We would rather wait a week than haul something that should not have gone yet.

05 — FAQ

Straight
answers.

The questions people ask before they book. Can’t find yours? Text us a photo and ask.

We do not ask for paperwork and we are not in a position to verify it. We ask you to confirm that the legal process is finished and the contents can be disposed of. That confirmation is yours to make with your attorney or the constable. Massachusetts has rules about storing a tenant's belongings after an execution of possession, and getting that wrong is expensive. Ask first, book second.
Most eviction cleanouts run $425 to $650. A partly cleared one-bedroom is a truck load at $250. A two-bedroom with furniture in every room is a half trailer at $425. A unit lived in until eviction day is usually a full trailer at $650. Those prices are flat and all-in, covering labor, loading, hauling, and disposal. Quotes carry about plus or minus 15 percent until we see the job.
Most eviction cleanouts are booked within 24 to 48 hours, and same-day is often available in Billerica and the surrounding towns. The crew is on site one to three hours depending on volume and stairs. A unit cleared in the morning can have painters in it the same afternoon.
Yes, and we quote it up front rather than adding it later. One flight of stairs adds $40. Two or more flights add $80. A third-floor unit with a narrow stairwell and a tight landing is a very difficult access at +$120. Send a photo of the stairs along with the rooms and the stair cost is already inside the number we send back.
We bag it on site and haul it with the appliance. The fridge goes to a licensed recycler for the metal and the refrigerant rather than to the transfer station. Mention it when you text the photos if the power has been off for weeks, so the crew can pack the trailer accordingly. It does not change the price.
Only once you have confirmed the contents can be disposed of. Personal papers are the category most likely to matter later, so this is the one worth asking your attorney or the constable about specifically. If you want them kept rather than hauled, box them yourself before we arrive and we will work around the boxes.
Then it is not a junk removal job. Human or animal waste on the floors, mold on the contents, or needles all need a biohazard remediation contractor with containment gear and disposal permits. We will tell you that on the phone. Once remediation is done, call us back and we will haul what is left.
The hauling is the same. The legal sequence is not. A tenant who moved out and left junk behind is a straightforward turnover, covered in our rental property cleanout guide. An eviction involves a constable, an execution of possession, and rules about the tenant's belongings that you need to clear with your attorney before anything goes on the trailer. Volume, weight, and access set the price either way.
04 — GET A QUOTE

Send photos.
Get a price.

The fastest way to book us. Upload photos of what needs to go, tell us where, and we'll reply with a flat quote — usually within a few hours.

01Flat, all-in pricing

Labor, loading, hauling, disposal — one number.

02Same-week scheduling

Most jobs booked within 48 hours. Emergencies welcome.

03Locally owned

You're hiring your neighbors. We answer the phone ourselves.

04We donate & recycle

Anything usable goes to local charities & recyclers.

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statement.
Not a mess.

Photos in, price back same day. It'll be the easiest phone call you make this week.