Plot clearance contractor checklist

What makes a good plot clearance contractor?

A good plot clearance contractor leaves the plot clean, safe and at a usable level, and can prove where everything that left the plot ended up. Everything on the checklist below follows from those two outcomes. It applies whether the plot holds the remains of an old caseta, a cracked terrace, a collapsed boundary wall or just years of accumulated debris.

It is written for clearance that involves rubble and structures – the kind of work our plot clearance after demolition covers. For vegetation-only clearing, many of the same questions still apply, but the waste side is simpler.

1–3: Identity, scope and exclusions

1. Can you identify who you are hiring? The quote should show a name, a tax identification number and an address. A first name and a mobile number is not enough if something goes wrong.
2. Is the scope written down? The quote should describe what will be removed – rubble heaps, slabs, footings, walls, fencing, metal, vegetation in the way – and what the plot will look like at the end.
3. Are the exclusions stated? Trees to keep, walls to leave standing, buried services, anything that needs a técnico's assessment. If the plot has retaining walls, see our guide on retaining wall removal before anyone touches them.

4–6: Waste, sorting and receipts

4. Will the waste be sorted? Spanish waste law requires construction and demolition waste to be separated at least into wood, mineral fractions, metals, glass, plastic and gypsum. A contractor who loads everything into one lorry is not following it.
5. Where will it go? The answer should be an authorised facility, not "we'll take care of it".
6. Will you receive the delivery receipts? They are your proof that the waste was handled properly, and they are what the town hall usually asks for before returning any construction waste deposit it has required. Our sister site explains these deposits in waste deposits in Andalusia.

7–8: Asbestos and hazardous materials

7. What happens if they find fibre cement? Old sheds, water tanks and pipes on Costa del Sol plots are often made of it. The right answer is that the material is left untouched until checked and, if it contains asbestos, removed by a RERA-registered company under an approved work plan, kept apart from all other waste. We work exactly that way: a RERA-registered company carries out the asbestos removal as our subcontractor, and we coordinate the rest.
8. What about other hazardous items? Old fuel tanks, drums, batteries or chemicals left on a plot need their own handling, not a place in the rubble skip.

9–10: Access, neighbours and timing

9. Has access been planned? How a machine reaches the plot, where a lorry stands and whether that needs a permit to occupy the public road from the town hall. On steep or narrow urbanización roads, this decides more of the job than the clearance itself.
10. Has timing been considered? Plots near forest areas lie in Andalusia's Zona de Influencia Forestal, with fire-prevention duties. Heavy clearance is best planned before the driest months; ask the contractor how they handle work near dry vegetation.

11–12: Reporting and payment

11. How will you see the result? For owners abroad, before-and-after photos taken from the same points are the minimum, plus progress photos for larger jobs. You should be able to write in a language you are comfortable with; with us, English or Spanish.
12. Are the payment stages in writing? Linked to stages of the work, not demanded in full before anything starts.

Two extra questions are worth asking if the clearance follows a demolition: will the ground be left at a basic level, and who takes over afterwards? Our groundworks and levelling describes what basic levelling means, and boundary walls and fences that need to go are covered by wall and fence removal. For the factors behind the price, see plot clearance cost on our pricing site.

Why the checklist matters more when you're abroad

An owner who lives next to the plot sees the lorry leave, notices if rubble reappears at the end of the lane and can walk the site at the end of each day. An owner abroad sees none of that. The only evidence of a good clearance is what the contractor sends: photos, receipts and a written description of what was done. That is why the points about waste destination, receipts and reporting carry more weight for remote owners than any other item on the list.

It is also why identity matters. If a neighbour or the town hall later raises a problem – rubble dumped nearby, damage to a shared wall, a skip left in the road – you need to know exactly who did the work and how to reach them.

How we answer the twelve points

For transparency, this is how our own clearances measure up. Quotes are issued by Bauman Raymond Attila, a sole trader (autónomo) based in Marbella, with tax ID and address on the document. The scope and exclusions are written out item by item. Waste is sorted on site and delivered to an authorised facility, and you receive the delivery receipts. Asbestos is handled by a RERA-registered company as our subcontractor. We send photos before, during and after the work, in English or Spanish, and the payment terms are set out in the quote. Hold us to the same list as anyone else.

The checklist at a glance

If you are still deciding whether to hire anyone at all, read DIY plot clearing vs hiring first.