Office clearance checklist: plan the handover

Decide what a finished office should look like.

Be specific about the result: empty the store room, remove twenty redundant workstations, or clear the agreed contents across two floors. Include cupboards and shared areas that are easy to miss. Record any furniture the landlord owns or the next tenant is keeping.

A contents clearance is not automatically a strip-out. Fixed cabinets, partitions, cabling, fittings and building repairs need a separate discussion. Agree which rooms will remain in use during the work.

Count by area, not by memory.

Use one room or floor list so departments do not give conflicting instructions. Record the owner of each area and mark what remains in use, what moves elsewhere and what can leave. For example: “Second-floor desks go after Friday; reception and the occupied meeting room stay untouched.”

Keep the detailed furniture count and equipment/data checks with the people responsible for them. The guides below cover those tasks without repeating the whole building plan.

Check the building before choosing a date.

Ask the building manager about loading bays, goods lifts, access bookings and times when work is allowed. Explain stairs, long routes through the building and any furniture that will not fit into the lift. Share the handover deadline, rather than assuming a preferred collection date is reserved.

Do not ask staff to move heavy furniture downstairs to simplify the quote. The handling plan should account for where it is now.

Keep information separate from furniture.

Name the IT or information owner who can release devices and records. Keep confidential material outside the ordinary clearance instructions until its handling has been agreed. Collection alone does not include data destruction or confidential disposal.

Agree one scope and a way to handle changes

Give providers the same areas, deadlines, access restrictions and exclusions. Agree who can approve an extra room or changed instructions, and how a revised price will be confirmed before additional work starts. A preferred date is not a booking.

Keep a simple handover list: area, agreed result, items staying, person authorising changes and person checking completion. If you want WeMovers to carry out the clearance, compare the service against that list.

Keep useful equipment working, then check the handover.

Consider whether usable furniture could move elsewhere within your organisation or go to a confirmed recipient. Check ownership and any lease-return obligations before adding equipment to the clearance.

On the day, identify the agreed contents and retained items. Check the cleared areas before the team leaves, or nominate someone to do so. Payment to WeMovers is due on completion, and every collection receives a waste transfer note. Agree any additional business records beforehand; reuse and recycling outcomes are not guaranteed.