After builders cleaning in Lewisham
From £212 all in: two cleaners for three hours with their own equipment and detergents. Every extra cleaner-hour is £30.
- Crews of two or more, with their own kit
- 7 days a week, 8am to 7pm
- No payment online; a 50% deposit holds the date
Over a quarter of Lewisham households (26.2%) live in terraced houses, and Complete After Builders cleans those and the borough's new flats after building work from £212 all in. A 3-bed terrace after a refurbishment is usually £332.
Lewisham in numbers
- 36%of homes in the borough were built before 1919VOA, homes with a recorded build date, 2025
- 9%were built in 2015 or laterVOA, homes with a recorded build date, 2025
- 58%of households live in flatsCensus 2021
- 27%of households rent privatelyCensus 2021
Terraces, conversions and new blocks in Lewisham
At the 2021 Census 57.7% of Lewisham households lived in flats: 39.1% in purpose-built blocks and 16.3% in flats inside converted or shared houses. 26.2% lived in terraced houses, 13.0% in semis and 3.0% in detached houses. Ownership is the largest tenure at 41.9%, with 27.2% renting privately and 29.2% from a social landlord.
A terrace after a loft conversion or a knock-through has dust on two or three floors and on every stair tread. A conversion flat has the same old boards and cornices in a smaller space. The council lists 29 conservation areas, including Blackheath, Brockley, Forest Hill, Ladywell, Lee Manor and Telegraph Hill, and where an Article 4 direction applies, new windows, doors, porches, roof changes and even painting the outside of a house need planning permission. Original sashes and front doors tend to survive because of it, and the crew treats them with care.
A 3-bed terrace after a standard refurbishment takes 2 cleaners for 5 hours: £332 all in. A 4-bed after a full renovation with a new bathroom on each floor is 4 cleaners for 5 hours, £632.
Building hours and Section 61 consent in Lewisham
Lewisham limits noisy building work to 8am to 6pm on weekdays and 8am to 1pm on Saturdays, with none on Sundays or bank holidays, and backs that with a code of practice, construction management plans and Section 61 consents under the Control of Pollution Act 1974. The council decides a Section 61 application within 28 days, and a consented site that needs to work outside its terms must ask at least 14 days ahead and say how neighbours will be told.
For a builders clean the useful date is the end of the last noisy job, usually sanding or cutting. Book the crew for after it, once the tools, materials and rubbish are out and the water, hot water and power are on.
Skip, scaffold and bay suspension fees in Lewisham
A skip on a Lewisham road must come from a skip company registered with the council, which applies for the licence. Skips may not stand on yellow lines or corners, and one in a controlled zone also needs a bay suspension with at least 5 working days' notice.
| Licence | Lewisham fee |
|---|---|
| Skip, per 30 days | £88 |
| Building materials or bulk waste bags on the road, per month | £88 |
| Roll-on roll-off skip, container or welfare unit, per 30 days | £251, including a £103 inspection |
| Scaffold or hoarding, three months | £383, plus a £103 inspection and a refundable deposit |
| Bay suspension | £62 admin per application, plus £56 a day for each pay-to-park or shared-use bay |
Scaffold extensions are £81 per three months and an unlicensed site risks a £500 penalty. Note the bulk bags: a builder who leaves rubble sacks on the pavement needs the materials licence, and the sacks still have to be collected before the clean, because the crew does not move them.
Landmann Way and where builders' rubble goes
Lewisham's free reuse and recycling centre is at Landmann Way in New Cross. It accepts rubble, hardcore, soil, bricks, bathroom suites and kitchen units from residents, but DIY waste is capped at four visits in four weeks with two 50-litre bags or one large item each time, and it refuses plasterboard, paint and solvents. Trade waste is turned away, including waste a private contractor removes for a resident, and vans are limited to four visits a year, entering by 3pm (11am on Saturdays).
So a renovation's waste goes in the skip or with a licensed carrier, and that is the builder's job. The crew does not take rubble, plasterboard or paint tins away; it needs them gone before it starts.
Parking a cleaning crew in Lewisham
Controlled zones in Lewisham keep different hours: Blackheath and Lewisham Central run 9am to 7pm Monday to Saturday, while the Deptford zones run 9am to 5pm on weekdays, and signs at each zone entrance give the hours. From 1 April 2026 a resident in a zone can buy paperless visitor permits, £8.69 a day, £37.25 a week or £2.24 an hour, and send them as e-vouchers to tradespeople, who add their own vehicle details. For a builders clean, buy a day permit and send the e-voucher to the office, and the crew adds the van's details; or tell us about a driveway or a free bay when you book.
Regeneration and new homes in Lewisham
Lewisham adopted its Local Plan 2020 to 2040 on 16 July 2025, with 75 site allocations and a target of 1,667 net new homes a year. Two London Plan opportunity areas lie wholly or partly in the borough: New Cross, Lewisham and Catford, with room for 13,500 homes and 4,000 jobs, and Deptford Creek and Greenwich Riverside, shared with Greenwich, at 5,500 homes. Lewisham Gateway, which replaced the roundabout by the station, will have over 1,000 homes, and in October 2025 the council's planning committee approved Landsec's rebuild of Lewisham Shopping Centre with around 1,700. In Catford the town centre framework allows for up to 2,700 homes over the coming decades, and Deptford has the Timber Yard and Convoys Wharf on the river.
Handover cleans in new blocks are lighter than refurbishments: a new 2-bed is usually 2 cleaners for 3 hours, £212. Developers handing over a block a floor at a time can read about commercial after builders cleaning, and plaster-heavy refurbishments are covered under construction dust cleaning. Every total is on our prices.
Areas we cover in Lewisham
What a builders clean costs here
CleanersHours£30£32 kit
Every crew brings its own vacuums, cloths, ladders and detergents; the £32 covers them once per job. The table shows our usual starting point for a standard refurbishment. Lighter or heavier work moves it, and you can set your own crew and hours in the form.
Price my cleanLewisham builders clean questions
Anything else? Ring 07418 351088.
Who applies for a skip licence in Lewisham?
The skip company, which must be registered with the council. The licence is £88 per 30 days, and a skip in a controlled zone also needs a bay suspension booked at least 5 working days ahead.
Can my builder take the rubble to Landmann Way?
No. The centre refuses trade waste, including rubbish a contractor clears for a resident, and it does not take plasterboard at all. A skip or a licensed waste carrier is the route.
How does the crew park in a Lewisham controlled zone?
On a visitor permit sent as an e-voucher, £8.69 for a day, or in a driveway or free bay. Tell the office which when you book.
Can you clean while the scaffold is still up?
Only once all the work is finished, outside as well as in. Striking a scaffold drops grit on sills and through open windows, so the clean goes better after it has gone.
How much notice do you need in Lewisham?
About a week is usually enough. Fridays and weekends go first, so book those earlier.
Sources for the local facts on this page
- Census 2021: 57.7% of Lewisham households in flats (39.1% purpose-built, 16.3% converted or shared houses), 26.2% terraced, 13.0% semi, 3.0% detached nomisweb.co.uk
- Census 2021 tenure: 41.9% owned, 27.2% private rented, 29.2% social rented nomisweb.co.uk
- 29 conservation areas, including Blackheath, Brockley, Forest Hill, Ladywell, Lee Manor and Telegraph Hill lewisham.gov.uk
- Article 4 directions require permission for new windows, doors, roof changes, porches and painting the outside lewisham.gov.uk
- Building work 8am to 6pm weekdays, 8am to 1pm Saturdays, none on Sundays or bank holidays lewisham.gov.uk
- Section 61 decided within 28 days; dispensation requests at least 14 days ahead lewisham.gov.uk
- Skip licence £88 per 30 days via a registered skip company; no yellow lines or corners; CPZ needs a bay suspension, 5 working days lewisham.gov.uk
- Scaffold or hoarding £383 for three months plus £103 inspection and deposit; extensions £81; £500 penalty lewisham.gov.uk
- Materials licence including bulk waste bags £88 a month; roll-on roll-off skip, container or welfare unit £251 per 30 days including £103 inspection lewisham.gov.uk
- Bay suspension £62 admin per application plus £56 per pay-to-park or shared-use bay per day lewisham.gov.uk
- Landmann Way: rubble and bathroom suites from residents, four DIY visits in four weeks, two 50-litre bags or one item; no plasterboard, paint or solvents; trade and contractor waste refused; vans four visits a year, by 3pm (11am Saturdays) lewisham.gov.uk
- CPZ hours: Blackheath and Lewisham Central 9am to 7pm Monday to Saturday; Deptford zones 9am to 5pm weekdays lewisham.gov.uk
- Visitor permits from 1 April 2026: £8.69 a day, £37.25 a week, £2.24 an hour, sent as e-vouchers to tradespeople lewisham.gov.uk
- Local Plan adopted 16 July 2025 with 75 site allocations lewisham.gov.uk
- Local Plan target of 1,667 net new homes a year lewisham.gov.uk
- London Plan: two opportunity areas wholly or partly in Lewisham: New Cross, Lewisham and Catford, 13,500 homes and 4,000 jobs; Deptford Creek and Greenwich Riverside, shared with Greenwich, 5,500 homes london.gov.uk
- Lewisham Gateway: over 1,000 homes in place of the roundabout lewisham.gov.uk
- Lewisham Shopping Centre: Landsec's plans for around 1,700 homes approved by the Strategic Planning Committee, October 2025 lewisham.gov.uk
- Timber Yard, Deptford Wharves (brownfield register) planning.data.gov.uk
- Convoys Wharf, 40 acres, the largest development site in the borough lewisham.gov.uk
- Catford Town Centre Framework: up to 2,700 homes over the next couple of decades lewisham.gov.uk
- New Cross/Lewisham/Catford opportunity area wholly in Lewisham; Deptford Creekside/Greenwich Riverside partly in Lewisham and Greenwich (TfL statement of common ground, Lewisham Local Plan) lewisham.gov.uk
Builders nearly done?
Book the clean for the day after they finish. Price it in a minute, or ring and talk it through.
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