Furniture removal is a pickup service. A local business comes to your home or office, carries out the old furniture, and takes it to a donation site, recycler or landfill. You don't need a truck or a strong friend. You do need to know the price range and your free options first.
We'll pass your enquiry to a local business that serves your part of Los Angeles. This page is a guide to the whole job. For all the other items a hauler can take, start on the junk removal Los Angeles home page. For wider price ranges, see junk removal pricing.
Who will take a sofa without a fire label?
Most haulers will take a sofa with no flammability label, because they are collecting it as waste, not selling it. Charities and resale shops are stricter and may refuse it. California's label rules apply to new upholstered furniture offered for sale, so a missing tag on an old sofa is rarely a barrier to pickup.
California's Bureau of Household Goods and Services says a law label and flammability label must be attached to every article of new upholstered furniture offered for sale or sold in the state. That is a rule for sellers of new pieces. If you want to donate or sell the sofa, ask the charity or buyer first. If you only want it gone, say in your enquiry that the label is missing and let the business tell you.
Why is furniture removal so expensive?
Furniture removal costs what it does because you pay for labor, truck space, fuel and disposal, and most businesses set a minimum charge. Published guides put a single couch at roughly $75 to $200 nationally. Los Angeles often runs higher than midsize cities, so treat any figure as a guide.
Here is what moves the price:
- How much you have. One item costs less than a full load, but a minimum charge means a lone chair can cost nearly as much as a chair and a dresser.
- Size and weight. Sleeper sofas, sectionals and solid wood dressers take more people and more truck space.
- Access. Stairs, narrow hallways, long carries and no parking near the door add labor.
- Disposal. Dump fees are passed on to you.
- Timing. Same-day or rush slots usually cost more. See same-day junk removal.
Published ranges from Taskrabbit and Dropcurb put a couch or loveseat at about $75 to $200, a sectional at about $150 to $300, and a dresser, desk or bookshelf at about $75 to $150. Dropcurb also says Los Angeles prices can run 20 to 40 percent above midsize cities. The business you are matched with quotes the real price.
Does a furniture store remove your old furniture?
Many furniture stores will haul away your old piece when they deliver the new one, but not all do, and some charge for it. It is usually offered only with a purchase. Ask before you buy, because the offer often needs to be arranged at checkout and may apply only to the item being replaced.
Ask three things: is it free or a set fee, will they take the old piece from inside the home, and do they take it on delivery day only. If the answer is no, or the fee is close to a hauler's minimum, book a separate pickup. A hauler can also take the whole room at once, such as the old couch, a broken chair and a bed frame, which a store usually will not.
Does Los Angeles pick up old furniture for free?
LA Sanitation offers single-family homes in the City of Los Angeles an unlimited curbside bulky item pickup at no extra charge, and couches, tables and chairs are accepted. You request it through the MyLA311 app, the online service request form, or the 24-hour line at 1-800-773-2489. Put the furniture out on your regular trash day, and ask at least one business day before. Have a short list of what you are putting out.
Eligibility differs by building. Single-family homes and small buildings are usually handled by the city's sanitation department. Larger apartment buildings are generally served by a private hauler under the city's system, so the building manager is the first call. The city also runs free drop-off events on set Saturdays, and rules can change, so confirm the current rules on the LA Sanitation bulky item page before you schedule.
The city pickup is a good fit when you can wait, can move the pieces to the curb yourself, and live in an area the city serves. A paid pickup fits when the furniture is upstairs, heavy, needs to go this week, or you live outside the city limits. Other Los Angeles County cities run their own programs.
Other free routes: donation pickup for furniture in good condition, and giveaways on local marketplace apps. Both work only for clean, usable pieces.
Can you put furniture in an apartment dumpster?
Usually not. Apartment dumpsters are for bagged household trash, and the property manager pays for their pickups. Sofas and mattresses are bulky items, and leaving them in or beside a dumpster can be treated as illegal dumping, which can bring a fine to you or the building. Ask your manager about bulky pickup instead.
In an apartment, check three things. Ask the manager how bulky items are collected. Check the lease for rules about leaving furniture in common areas. If the building has no process, book a paid pickup. Illegal dumping penalties in Los Angeles can outweigh a pickup fee, so the paid route is usually the safer one.
What should you send to get an accurate furniture quote?
Send clear photos of every item, where it sits in the home, and how it gets to the truck. A quote based on photos is closer to the final price than a guess. The list of items, the floor and the stairs matter more to the price than any description of condition.
When you fill in the form, include:
- Photos of each piece, from the front and from the side, plus the whole pile if it is a clean-out project.
- Item list and count, including bed frames, mattresses and anything that needs taking apart.
- Access. Floor number, elevator or stairs, parking and any gate code.
- Special conditions. Tell the business up front if furniture has had bed bugs. They may wrap it or handle it differently, and some will want to know before they arrive.
- Timing. Whether you need a day this week or can wait for a cheaper slot.
Mattresses and box springs often have their own handling and price, so see mattress removal if one is part of the job. After you send the form, we pass it to a local business, and that business contacts you with a quote. You decide whether to book. If you want to compare, you can get quotes from more than one business.
Questions people ask
What is the cheapest way to get rid of unwanted furniture?
The cheapest routes are free ones: city bulky item pickup if your address qualifies, donation pickup for furniture in good condition, or a giveaway to a neighbor. They cost time, not money. If none of them fit, a single paid pickup that bundles several items usually costs less per piece than booking one item at a time.
What is the minimum price for junk removal?
Most businesses set a minimum charge. Published guides put the smallest load, about an eighth of a truck, at roughly $60 to $150, though some full-service companies start higher. Los Angeles can run above that. The minimum applies even for one item, so adding a second or third piece to the same visit is usually better value.
What's included in a $99 junk removal service?
A $99 price is usually a starting rate for a single small item or the smallest load, with conditions. Check whether labor, disposal and stairs are included, and whether the price holds once the crew sees the pile. Ask for the total in writing. Terms vary by business, so read what the quote covers before you agree.
Why do some junk removal companies cost more than others?
Price follows truck size, crew size, disposal fees and how a business sets its rates: per item, by truck space or by the hour. Some add a dispatch or service fee. Two quotes for the same couch can differ by a lot, which is why it helps to compare quotes for the same list of items and the same access.
Can you get furniture removed if it has bed bugs?
Yes, but tell the business before the visit. Don't drag it to the curb or leave it in a shared area, because that can spread the problem to neighbors. Some businesses will wrap the item or schedule it so it goes straight to the truck. Ask how they handle it, and whether a pest control visit should come first.
Sources
Last updated