What You Need To Know Before Hiring A Skip – The Essential Skip Hire Guide
27th Mar, 2018
It’s a question we’re asked a lot here at Skip Hire Network, and the answer can depend on a lot of things! Most skip hire companies will collect their skip within 1 or 2 weeks of delivery, but can do it sooner if you require – for example, if you only want to hire a skip for a day. Here at Skip Hire Network, we’ll provide your skip for 2 weeks as standard. If you need it for longer, make sure you let us know early, and be aware that each additional week is charged at a further £10 + VAT.
Bear in mind, there are a couple of other factors that can affect the length of time you can hire a skip. Crucially, you’ll need to be aware of whether you need a skip hire permit, and whether or not you’re in a restricted area. If so, you’ll also need to take that into account. If you’re not sure of the answers to these questions, don’t worry – below, we’ve provided a comprehensive overview of everything you need to know!
Here’s what we’ll be covering:
- Do I need a skip hire permit?
- How long is a skip hire permit valid for?
- How do I get a skip hire permit?
- How much does a skip hire permit cost?
- How long does it take to get a skip hire permit?
- How do I know if I’m in a restricted area?
Right then – let’s get to the answers!
Do You Need A Permit To Hire A Skip?
If you’re planning to place your skip on any public road or pavement with a public right of way – even if it’s right outside your house – then yes, you’ll need a skip permit, or skip licence. Failing to arrange this, whether or not it’s an honest mistake, can mean that your skip gets taken away, and you’re liable to be heavily fined.
However, you won’t need a skip permit if you’ve got a space available on your own private land – say, your driveway for example. In that case, you can keep the skip for the full maximum of two weeks (if you’re hiring from us, that is). As we touched on above, this also can be even longer, provided you’re happy to pay the extra costs.
How Long Is A Skip Hire Permit Valid For?
Skip permits are issued by local councils, and the time limits can vary between each one. Skip permits from Manchester City Council, for example, are valid for an a maximum of seven days. That means if, hypothetically, you’re hiring a skip from us and planning to place it within the city limits, you’ll need to make sure that you’re done with it before this seven-day limit runs out. Alternatively, you can look at whether it’s possible for you to extend or renew the permit past this point.
How Do You Get A Skip Hire Permit?
Local councils have different preferences on who they’d prefer to arrange the skip hire permit. Most of them allow the skip hire operator (that’s us) to apply for the permit on your behalf, and that is indeed a service we can provide at Skip Hire Network. Just make sure you let us know for certain whether you’d like us to, one way or the other! In fact, to use Manchester as an example again, they actually prefer that only the operator organise it, rather than the end user. However, others prefer you to arrange it directly, so check with your local council beforehand.
Just in case, we’d always recommend calling your local council and enquiring, giving as much detail as possible. As a rule of thumb, you shouldn’t need to, but it’s always best to be on the safe side, isn’t it?
How Much Does A Skip Hire Permit Cost?
You guessed it – it varies between councils. Major city centres obviously tend to cost more than more rural areas, and there can be some quite drastic differences in price. Some areas of London, for example, can charge as much as £80 per day, which seems ludicrously high compared to Bristol’s £13 per day.
It also depends on how long you plan to have your skip on the road for. Like us, most councils tend to issue them for one to two weeks, with additional charges levied for any extensions.
Now, on average the cost of a skip hire licence is about £30. When a skip hire company arranges a permit on your behalf, they’ll generally add a mark-up on the permit price, to cover administration costs. VAT isn’t payable on skip permits, but operators like us are obliged to add VAT when we’re passing on that cost to you. (If nothing else, it’s evidence that we’re VAT registered!)
Here are some skip permit prices in a sample of key areas:
Scotland
- Edinburgh skip licence: £25
- Glasgow skip licence: £55
North of England
- Manchester skip licence: £20
- Leeds skip licence: £20
- Liverpool skip licence: £10
- Newcastle skip licence: £20
Midlands
- Birmingham skip licence: £13
- Nottingham skip licence: £15
South of England
- Bristol skip licence: £13
- Essex skip licence: £20
- Exeter skip licence: £45
- Luton skip licence: £55
- London (on average) skip licence: £50
- Southampton skip licence: £15
How Long Does It Take To Get A Skip Hire Permit?
Generally, most councils will ask for 3 to 4 days to arrange the permit, so you need to take that into account. If you want Skip Hire Network to sort it for you, make sure you let us know the exact times you want your skip for as best you can, and don’t forget to allow time for it to reach you!
On the other hand, if you want your skip to be placed in a restricted area, councils will want at least 10 days notice. They may well also need to hear that from you personally, rather than us, so once again, take the time to check!
How Do You Know If You’re In A Restricted Area?
Restricted areas include Controlled Parking Zones (CPZ), a residents’ parking bay or an area with metered parking, which means you’ll need to pay parking bay suspension fees for as long as your skip is occupying the space. We probably don’t need to tell you by now that these can vary dramatically by council. Manchester City Council, for example, helpfully signposts its restricted areas in the downloadable maps on its website (around the Etihad Stadium is a predictably restricted area, for example).
If you have any more questions on hiring a skip, don’t forget that you can always check out the FAQ section of our website. If you’re all set with the information you need, just head on over to our homepage and enter in your postcode and phone number for your instant online quote!