OSTARANICE · CÔTE D’AZUR
04 00 00 00 00Write to us
Two windows on an old façade: the louvred shutters on the left are closed, those on the right open onto a dark room.

NICE · MÉTROPOLE · CÔTE D’AZUR

You are far away.We are at the door.

Clearing an inherited property, cleaning after a death, hoarded homes, flats that have stayed shut for years. We only act on written instruction. Nothing leaves the property before you have seen it photographed, and whoever instructs us receives a report at the end of every working day, wherever in the world they happen to be.

  • Nothing is removed without your written agreement
  • Documents, photographs and personal effects are set aside and returned to you
  • We answer in English, French and Italian

Tell us about the property

A few lines are enough. We will call you back to understand the rest.

Your details are used only to call you back. Nothing is passed to a third party. If you are outside France, tell us a time that suits you: we call at your hour, not ours.

WE ACT ON INSTRUCTION FROM

  • Notaires — the French notaries who settle estates
  • Court-appointed deputies, guardians and family carers
  • Building managers and residence syndics
  • Heirs and families

FR · EN · IT

FROM WHEREVER YOU ARE

You do not need to be there.

Most of the people who call us live several hundred miles from the property, often in another country. Coming here is not a condition. We work on a written instruction, we photograph and record each day of work, and you decide at every stage without setting foot in the flat.

If you would rather be present, of course you can be. But it should not be the thing that holds everything up for months.

If you are an owner or heir outside France

  1. DAY 1

    Opening and inventory

    The property photographed as we found it, papers and personal effects identified first.

    The façade of an old building seen at an angle, rows of worn wooden louvred shutters, most of them closed.

  2. DAY 2

    Sorting, with you on the line

    You confirm by phone or email what is kept and what goes.

    Closed and labelled moving boxes stacked on a wooden floor in a bright room, with nobody present.

  3. DAY 3

    Removal

    Licensed disposal, with waste transfer notes issued in your name or the notaire’s.

    A completely emptied room in a period flat, a tall glazing-bar window, worn parquet and a broad shaft of light across the floor.

  4. DAY 4

    Handover

    Full photographic report, certificate, and the personal effects returned to you.

    A completely empty, cleaned living room, pale walls, parquet, a line of open doors through to the hallway.

An illustration of how a job is reported. Real timings depend on the volume and the state of the property.

WHY PEOPLE CALL US

Four situations, one way of working

  • A death, often found late

    When someone lived alone, they may not be found for some time, and the state of the home can be hard to face. We handle full decontamination and then put the property back in order. There is nothing for you to prepare, and nothing you have to see.

  • An estate to settle

    The flat has to be emptied before it can be sold or handed back. We produce a photographic inventory before anything is removed, and we deal directly with the notaire handling the estate if that is easier for you.

    Read more

  • A property shut for years

    Closed shutters, a leak nobody noticed, mould along the north-facing walls, an infestation that has had time to settle. This is not an emergency, it is a condition — and it is treated in order, starting with drying the structure out.

    Read more

  • Someone under legal protection

    Under a French curatelle or tutelle, it is the court-appointed deputy who instructs us. The aim is very often to keep the person in their own home, which changes the whole approach to sorting.

    Read more

OUR WORK

What we take on

  • A completely emptied room in a period flat, a tall glazing-bar window, worn parquet and a broad shaft of light across the floor.

    Clearing an inherited property

    The property emptied completely, sorted with you, disposed of through licensed channels. Nothing goes out of the door before your written agreement.

    You receive: a photographic inventory and waste transfer notes

  • The corner of an empty room: window light draws pale quadrilaterals across a grey wall and the floor.

    Cleaning after a death

    Decontamination, treatment of porous surfaces, odour removal by ozone or fogging depending on the size of the property.

    You receive: a decontamination certificate

  • Closed and labelled moving boxes stacked on a wooden floor in a bright room, with nobody present.

    Hoarding and compulsive accumulation

    Gradual clearing, done with respect for the person when they are still living there, then disinfection and repair.

    You receive: a photographic report at each stage

  • The façade of an old building seen at an angle, rows of worn wooden louvred shutters, most of them closed.

    Properties closed for a long time

    Opening up, measuring the damp, controlled drying before any surface treatment, then bringing the flat back into use.

    You receive: moisture readings taken over the drying period

  • A close view of old plaster, pale tide marks and fine crazing left by damp, with no dramatic decay.

    After a leak or an infestation

    Water extraction, fungicidal treatment, disinfection alongside pest treatment where that is needed.

    You receive: a file you can send straight to the insurer

  • A completely empty, cleaned living room, pale walls, parquet, a line of open doors through to the hallway.

    Preparing a property for sale or letting

    Full clean, floors and bathrooms treated, the property ready to be viewed.

    You receive: a photographic record of the finished work

Three recent jobs

Illustrative cases, reconstructed from real work. Nothing that could identify a person or an address is published.

  • A narrow paved lane in an old Provençal village, tall façades on both sides, no vehicles and nobody about.

    VIEUX-NICE

    Fourth floor, a lane no van can enter

    Nothing on wheels can reach the door. Everything was carried sixty metres to the nearest square, on a parking slot booked with the city, and the removal was spread over two days so the lane stayed passable during the busy hours.

    4 days · Instructed by the heir

  • A completely emptied room in a period flat, a tall glazing-bar window, worn parquet and a broad shaft of light across the floor.

    CIMIEZ

    An estate, with the heir in London

    A complete photographic inventory was sent before anything was moved, followed by a written report every evening. Papers and jewellery were set aside and shipped by insured courier. The notaire received the disposal notes directly.

    6 days · Instructed by the notaire

  • A close view of old plaster, pale tide marks and fine crazing left by damp, with no dramatic decay.

    NICE OUEST

    A flat closed for six years

    A leak that had never been reported, mould across the north-facing partitions. Eight days of controlled drying with moisture readings before any fungicide was applied, then full repair so the flat could go on the market.

    12 days · Instructed by the residence manager for the owner

What actually happens

  1. 01

    The first call

    No questionnaire. You describe the situation, we tell you what is possible and how long it takes. Fifteen minutes is usually enough.

  2. 02

    The written instruction

    We tell you which documents to gather for your situation: sole heir, joint heirs, notaire, court-appointed deputy. Nothing starts before that is in place.

  3. 03

    The visit and the quote

    On site, without you if you prefer. Photographs the same day, a fixed quote itemised line by line, valid for thirty days.

  4. 04

    The work and the handover

    A report every evening. At the end: the full record, the certificate, the disposal notes, and your family’s personal effects back in your hands.

The documents usually needed

  • Sole heir — death certificate, proof of identity, the notaire’s certificate of inheritance
  • Joint heirs (indivision) — written agreement from every one of them
  • Instructed by a notaire — a letter setting out the scope of the work
  • Legal protection order — the court decision and a letter from the deputy

This is a guide, not a rule. We follow whatever your notaire or your deputy considers necessary.

Where we work

Nice and the whole of the Côte d’Azur. Every area has its own obstacle: a lane no vehicle can enter, a hill road of tight hairpins, a residence where access depends on the building manager. We know which one you are dealing with before we arrive.

Nice

Côte d’Azur

A narrow road of tight hairpins along a dry hillside, low Mediterranean scrub, no vehicle in sight.

Questions we are often asked

OUR UNDERTAKINGS

What we will not do

  • We never approach anyone unasked

    Not by telephone, not at the door, not through anyone acting on our behalf. If someone turns up at a relative’s home saying they are from us, they are not.

  • We buy nothing

    A company that clears a property cannot also buy what it removes. We make no offers for contents and we give no valuations. For that, speak to a licensed auctioneer.

  • We remove nothing without written instruction

    Not on a phone call, not on someone’s word. Where a property is jointly inherited, every heir must agree. That protects you as much as it protects us.

  • We throw away no personal effects by default

    Papers, photographs, letters, jewellery, ornaments: everything is set aside, listed and returned. You decide, never us.

WRITE TO US

Tell us only what matters.

Three pieces of information are enough to start. The rest is visible on site, and the visit commits you to nothing.

Your details are used only to call you back. Nothing is passed to a third party. If you are outside France, tell us a time that suits you: we call at your hour, not ours.

OR DIRECTLY

04 00 00 00 00contact@ostara-nice.fr

[À_RENSEIGNER], 06000 Nice

HoursMonday to Saturday, 8am – 7pm (Paris time). Sundays only for situations that cannot wait.

We answer in English, French and Italian.

If you are calling from abroad, give us a time that works for you: we call at your hour, not ours.