How much does hot tub removal cost in Los Angeles?

HomeGuide puts hot tub removal cost at $200 to $600 total, with a national average of $400. Angi’s guide, updated September 30, 2026, puts it at $150 to $800 on average. Angi lists in-ground units higher, at $400 to $1,100 to remove. Both are national figures from published cost guides.

Your tub and the path out of your yard set the real number. An estimator comes out and prices it in person, and that visit is free. Our hot tub removal page shows how the work runs on the day. We cut the tub apart where it sits and haul it off in our own trucks the same day.

What does hot tub removal cost by type?

Angi breaks the price out by the kind of tub. A spa or a jacuzzi prices the same way as a hot tub of the same type.

Both guides put the national average at $400. Treat either range as a planning band, and let a look at your tub set the quote.

What drives the price of hot tub removal?

Size and weight come first. Angi notes that hot tubs can weigh 1,000 pounds or more. A bigger tub means more cutting and more weight to carry.

Access is next. HomeGuide says many companies charge $100 to $130 extra for stairs alone. Angi lists stair transport at $100 to $125 per hour. A tub on a second story deck or down a hillside path takes longer to bring out.

HomeGuide says tubs installed in concrete cost more to remove. Saws or jackhammers have to break up the concrete first. That is extra labor before the tub itself moves.

Labor is often billed by the hour. HomeGuide puts hot tub movers at $100 to $200 per hour. Angi lists the same rate for labor and says removal may take several hours.

Then ask about disposal. HomeGuide says some companies include it in the estimate and others charge for it separately. With us, the removal and the haul off are one job, in our own trucks.

How long does hot tub removal take?

HomeGuide says removal typically takes 1 to 2 hours for a small hot tub. Larger units take 3 to 4 hours, by the same guide. Stairs or a tub set in concrete can stretch that.

Draining happens before the crew arrives, so it sits outside those hours. In Santa Monica, some drain routes need 24-hour advance written notice, so start that step early.

What has to happen before the crew arrives?

Power comes first. If the tub is hardwired, a licensed electrician disconnects and caps the circuit before work starts. That is electrical work, a separate trade, and our crew never does it.

Then the water comes out. HomeGuide says to drain all the water before the pickup to avoid extra labor charges. Where that water can go depends on your city.

Clear the path last. Move patio furniture out of the way and open the gate. Once the circuit is capped and the tub is empty, our crew takes over. We cut the tub apart where it sits and carry it out in pieces.

Where can you drain a hot tub in the Los Angeles area?

Each city sets its own drain rules, so check yours before you pull the plug. Santa Monica and Long Beach are separate cities, and both publish theirs.

Santa Monica publishes pool and water feature discharge rules, revised in June 2015. They send hot tub and spa water first to permeable ground on the property, or to the on-property sanitary sewer. The storm drain is approved only when those first two options are shown infeasible or unsafe.

Draining to the sewer or the storm drain in Santa Monica needs the City’s approval. It also needs 24-hour advance written notice to the City’s Water Resources Protection Program. That water has to be dechlorinated or debrominated first. Saltwater spa water, filter backwash and water with algaecides or other chemicals go to the sanitary sewer only.

Long Beach’s stormwater brochure covers water from swimming pools, jacuzzis, fish ponds and fountains. That water should only be drained, with a permit, into the sanitary sewer. After dechlorinating, an owner may be able to get that permit. The hose then runs to a utility sink or a sewer pipe cleanout.

What is left after the hot tub comes out?

Usually a concrete pad. HomeGuide puts removing a 10 by 10 foot concrete slab at $300 to $800 on average. The price depends on the reinforcement inside.

If you want the pad gone too, that is concrete removal. An estimator can price the tub and the pad on one visit. Clean concrete goes to certified recycling facilities, where it is crushed for base rock. Our concrete removal cost guide has more published ranges.

The ground under the pad may need leveling. HomeGuide puts yard leveling or regrading at $0.40 to $2.00 per square foot. We handle rough grading after a removal. Planting or paving on top is work for another trade.

What about in-ground spas and spas attached to a pool?

Spa removal cost runs higher when the spa sits in the ground. Angi puts in-ground units at $400 to $1,100 to remove. The shell gets broken out with jackhammers or a hydraulic breaker, the way a pool shell does.

A spa that shares a pool’s plumbing comes out with the pool. That is pool demolition, and one estimate covers both. Our pool removal cost guide has the published pool figures.

Do you need a permit to remove a hot tub?

Angi says a permit may be required to remove your hot tub in some places. Where one applies, Angi puts permit costs at $50 to $500 nationally. Rules differ by city, so an estimator checks what applies to your property before work starts.

Draining is a separate question. In Long Beach, draining into the sanitary sewer takes a permit, per the City’s brochure.

How can you pay less for hot tub removal?

If the tub still works, sell it or give it away. A buyer who hauls it off saves you the removal.

Drain it yourself before the day. HomeGuide says a drained tub avoids extra labor charges. Clear the path to the gate too, since carrying time is labor time.

Cutting a tub apart yourself is another matter. Angi says hot tubs can weigh 1,000 pounds or more. A hardwired tub carries live power until an electrician caps it. Then every piece still needs a place to go.

Do you need a dumpster for hot tub removal?

HomeGuide puts renting a dumpster at $280 to $500 per week. We do not rent dumpsters, and you never have to. The tub leaves cut up in our own trucks the same day.

The load is sorted before it goes. The metal frame, pump and heater go to metal recycling. The shell goes to a licensed transfer station.

Every tub prices differently, so an estimator looks before we quote. That visit is free. Call (310) 546-4855 or send us the details through the form on this site.

Southwest Hauling was founded in 1994 and is licensed and insured, CA License 792182. Our crews work across the Westside and South Bay.