It costs less than most site managers assume

Welfare unit hire occupies a peculiar position in construction budgeting. Site managers know they need full welfare provision — the regulations require it, the principal contractor expects it, and HSE will check — but many delay arranging it because they assume the cost is prohibitive. It rarely is.

This guide provides realistic figures so you can budget accurately, compare quotes with confidence, and understand what drives the price.

Typical weekly rates in 2026

Welfare unit hire across Cheshire, Shropshire, Staffordshire, and Greater Manchester typically falls between one hundred and fifty and three hundred pounds per week. Where your hire lands within that range depends on several factors:

Unit size and specification

Welfare units range from compact towable units serving teams of six to eight, up to large static cabins serving twenty or more. The specification varies accordingly:

  • Compact towable welfare units: Toilet, handwash basin, small canteen area, basic heating. Suitable for small to medium crews. Typically at the lower end of the price range.
  • Standard anti-vandal welfare units: Toilet cubicle, hot and cold handwashing, canteen with seating for six to eight, kettle, microwave, drying room, heating. The most common specification for medium construction sites. Mid-range pricing.
  • Large welfare units: Multiple toilet cubicles, extensive washing facilities, canteen seating for twelve or more, dedicated drying room, changing area. For larger crews and longer projects. Upper end of the range.

Hire duration

As with portable toilet hire, longer commitments attract lower weekly rates. A four-week hire will cost more per week than a twenty-week hire, because our fixed costs are spread over fewer weeks. For hires of eight weeks or more, expect pricing at the lower end of the range.

Location and delivery distance

Delivery distance affects the one-off delivery and collection charge rather than the weekly rate. Sites within our core coverage area benefit from standard delivery pricing. More remote sites may incur a modest additional delivery charge.

Power arrangement

The welfare unit needs electricity. How that is provided affects the overall cost:

  • Mains connection: If your site has a mains electrical supply that can power the welfare unit, there is no additional power cost beyond the electricity itself.
  • Generator hire: If the site has no mains supply, a generator is needed. A small diesel generator suitable for a standard welfare unit costs approximately fifty to one hundred pounds per week to hire. Fuel consumption is modest — five to ten litres per day during working hours.

What is included in our weekly rate

At Chelford Mobile Services, the weekly rate covers a fully operational welfare facility — not a bare cabin that you then need to equip and service yourself. The hire includes:

  • The welfare unit: Toilet, washing facilities with hot and cold running water, canteen area with seating, kettle, and microwave, drying room, heating, lighting
  • Regular servicing: Cleaning, waste removal from the toilet, consumable restocking
  • Consumables: Toilet paper, hand soap, paper towels, cleaning chemicals — all replenished at each service visit
  • Routine maintenance: If something breaks, sticks, leaks, or stops working during the hire, we fix it as part of the service

You are paying for a working facility, maintained to a consistent standard, for the duration of your hire.

What is not included

Power supply

As described above, the welfare unit needs electricity. Mains connection or generator hire is your responsibility, though we can advise on the specification and arrange generator hire alongside the if needed.

Delivery and collection

A one-off charge at the start and end of the hire, typically one hundred to two hundred pounds depending on distance. The delivery vehicle is larger than a standard portable toilet delivery truck — a flatbed with a crane or HIAB for offloading — and the logistics are accordingly more involved.

Significant damage

Normal wear and tear during the hire is expected and not charged for. Significant damage beyond fair wear — structural damage, vandalism, fire damage, theft of fixtures — may incur charges.

Comparing welfare unit costs with the alternatives

Welfare unit versus portable toilet alone

A portable toilet costs forty to sixty pounds per week. A welfare unit costs one hundred and fifty to three hundred pounds per week. The is three to five times the cost.

But the welfare unit provides five or six times the facilities. A portable toilet gives you a toilet. A gives you a toilet, hot water, washing facilities, a canteen, a drying room, and heating. On sites where the regulations require all of those provisions, the is not an upgrade — it is the minimum.

Welfare unit versus non-compliance

An HSE improvement notice for inadequate welfare carries no direct fine. But failing to comply with the notice is a criminal offence. The administrative burden of responding to the notice, the follow-up inspections, and the reputational impact are all costs that far exceed a few months of welfare unit hire.

More practically, principal contractors who discover inadequate welfare on your site will draw conclusions about your overall management standards. On large-scale projects where subcontractor selection is competitive, a reputation for poor welfare provision costs work.

Welfare unit versus improvised arrangements

Some contractors improvise welfare provision: a portable toilet plus a gazebo with a camping stove, a garden table in a corner of the site, and a plastic storage box for coats. This approach costs less than a welfare unit and satisfies nobody — not the workers, not the principal contractor, not HSE, and not the client.

The total cost of the improvised arrangement is not dramatically different from a welfare unit when you account for the portable toilet hire, the gazebo, the stove, the furniture, and the time spent setting up and maintaining it. The outcome, however, is incomparably worse.

Strategies to manage the cost

Hire for longer periods

The weekly rate drops on extended hires. If you know the project will run for twelve weeks, booking a continuous twelve-week hire gives you a better rate than three sequential four-week hires.

Share between trades

On multi-contractor sites, one welfare unit can serve all the trades working on the site. The cost can be shared between contractors or absorbed by the principal contractor. Either way, the per-contractor cost is modest.

Use mains power where available

Generator hire adds fifty to one hundred pounds per week. If mains power is available — or can be made available through a temporary connection — the saving over the hire duration is significant.

Plan ahead

Emergency welfare unit hire at short notice costs more than planned bookings. If you know you need a , book it at the same time as you plan the rest of the site setup. A few weeks' notice gives us the best availability and the best pricing.

Getting a quote

Call Chelford Mobile Services on 07534 362 251 for a firm quote based on your specific requirements. Tell us the site location, the team size, the expected duration, and whether you have mains power. We will give you a clear, all-inclusive price with no hidden extras.

We supply welfare units to construction sites across Cheshire, Shropshire, Staffordshire, and Greater Manchester.