Gutter and leaf cleanup in Southfield.
Paper bags, not plastic.
Leaves in the gutters, downspouts backing up, a lawn to clear before the snow. Tell us the house and what needs doing.
A referral service for Southfield homeowners. An automated assistant answers; calls are recorded.
Typical cost: One lawn company that lists Southfield bills leaf removal at $69 per worker per hour, plus $1 a bag or $22 a square yard hauled; another starts cleanups at $250 before dump fees (Cut King · Lawnade)
- Cost to call
- Nothing
- Answered by
- Automated assistant
- Hours
- Any hour
What to ask a crew for
“Fall cleanup” means something different to every crew. Get each piece named on the quote.
Clearing the gutters is one job. Getting the leaves off the property is another, and in Southfield it depends on how the city will take them.
- Every run cleared, including the back of the house and any garage, with the debris taken down rather than blown onto the lawn.
- Each downspout run through to where it discharges, so the first rain does not back up at the elbow.
- Yard leaves raked or blown, if the crew does yards. Not every gutter contractor does; ask.
- Bagged in paper for the city, or hauled. Southfield will not take yard waste in plastic bags, so a crew that bags in plastic is leaving you a pile.
- Brush taken away by whoever cut it. The city says contractors hired by residents collect and dispose of their own brush.
The median Southfield home was built in 1969 (the Census). On a house that age, a cleaning can turn up a sag or a soft fascia board behind the hangers. That is a repair, priced on its own: gutter repair in Southfield.
Cost
Published by lawn companies working around Southfield, labeled with who said it. Not quotes, and not ours.
| Leaf removal, per worker per hourCut King, which lists Southfield, February 2026 | $69 |
|---|---|
| Bagging leaves in paper for the city truckCut King, February 2026 | +$1 per bag |
| Hauling leaves away insteadCut King, February 2026 | +$22 per square yard |
| A property cleanup, starting priceLawnade, Metro Detroit, January 2026 | $250, dump fees extra |
| Hourly rate for leaf raking crewsa Detroit booking service, January 2025 | from $55 per person per hour |
Ask for gutters, leaves, brush and hauling as separate lines, in writing.
These are Metro Detroit figures, not Southfield prices. Cut King takes leaf work only from customers with an active mowing account through November 1 (its page). Ask for gutter cleaning as its own line; repair and replacement ranges are on the cost page.
Southfield's own code says gutters stay free from obstructions.
The property maintenance code the city adopted requires roof drains, gutters and downspouts to be kept in good repair and free from obstructions. the adopting ordinance · the code's own wording
Clear the gutters once the leaves are down, while the city is still collecting the bags.
How the city takes yard waste
From the city's Yard Waste/Brush Collection page, in its order.
- Collected curbside on your regular rubbish day, from mid April through mid December, weather permitting.
- In approved paper yard waste bags, or a container of up to 32 gallons marked with a yard waste sticker from Public Works at 248-796-4860, or marked with a “Y”. Yard waste in plastic bags will not be collected.
- At the curb after 4 p.m. the afternoon before, and no later than 7 a.m. on pickup day.
- Brush: no limbs over 6 inches thick or 8 feet long, branches under 2 feet tied in bundles under 50 pounds, the cut ends facing the street.
- No whole trees, lot clearing or large amounts of brush. The city will not chip brush a contractor removes; that is the contractor's to take away.
Questions about yard waste go to the city's Public Works Department at 248-796-4860 (the city's page).
When to book
After most of the leaves on your street are down, and early enough that the bags reach the curb before collection ends in mid December (the city's page). The city says “weather permitting”, so an early freeze can end it sooner.
Guards keep out some of the leaves; they do not replace cleaning, and two Metro Detroit contractors price them five times apart. What guards do and cost
Tell us the house and whether the leaves get bagged or hauled.
Questions
Checked October 10, 2026
Will Southfield pick up my leaves?
- Yes, on your regular rubbish day from mid April through mid December, weather permitting, in paper yard waste bags or a stickered container. Plastic bags are not collected (the city's page).
Will the city take brush my contractor cut?
- No: the city says hired contractors collect and dispose of their own brush, and it will not chip large amounts removed by a resident or contractor (the city's page). Make hauling a line on the quote.
Can a crew dump the leaves in my trash?
- Michigan law keeps more than a small amount of yard waste out of landfills (the state law). Ask where hauled leaves are taken.
Does a leaf crew need a license?
- The city repeats the state's rule that a contractor hired for more than $600 of labor and materials must hold a state license, and the state names gutters as a licensed trade (the city's building FAQ · the trades list). The state's list has no line for raking or hauling leaves.
Will I be charged for the visit?
- Calling us costs nothing. Some contractors charge to come out and get on a ladder. Ask before they come, and get the price in writing.