Q. I am refurbishing the house I have just bought and have rather a large amount of building waste I need to get rid of as I am replacing both the bathroom and the kitchen and have had a wall taken down. I need to hire a skip and someone has told me I need to obtain a permit from the local council to do so, is this true and if so what is the procedure?

A. Yes this is true!  When you hire a skip, you will need to have a skip permit in place before you place it on a public highway (which includes pavements, roads and highways). You need to ensure that the permit is up-to-date and covers the types of waste you are getting rid of.

Most councils let the skip hire company apply for the permit but a few councils require the person who is hiring the skip to get the permit. Your council will be able to give you more information on the permit and how to obtain one.

Skip permits are generally valid from one day to four weeks, but they can be renewed. The permit must be issued before the skip is placed on the public highway.

If you do not have a permit in place, the skip can be removed and impounded (and this can be done without warning sometimes), which may cause delays to the work.

You should check with your council where you can place the skip because it can vary from council to council. If your skip is placed entirely on private land you probably won’t need a skip permit.