Portable toilet hire: what sets the price, how many toilets a site needs and how often they are serviced
Headcore
In short
In South Africa, mobile toilet hire has no single fixed day rate, says one Western Cape hire company's 2026 cost guide: each quote depends on unit type, number of units, servicing frequency, delivery distance, site access and hire period. Construction Regulation 30(1)(b) requires at least one toilet for each sex and for every 30 workers on a construction site.
What sets the price of portable toilet hire?
According to one Western Cape hire company's July 2026 cost guide, mobile toilet hire has "no single fixed price": each booking is priced on its own requirements.[6]
The same guide names what moves the price: the type of unit (basic chemical units are the most cost-effective, flushing units and toilet trailers cost more), the hire period, the number of units, how often they are serviced, transport distance and site access, and extras such as hand-wash stations, lighting for night use and accessible units.[6]
Short hires for events and weekend functions are priced differently from long hires on construction sites, and a longer hire can need more service visits, which can add to the total.[6]
Toilet paper and soap are a legal cost, not an extra: at any workplace the employer must make toilet paper available and provide toilet soap or a similar cleansing agent, both free of charge (Facilities Regulations, 2004, regulation 2(3)), so ask whether each service visit restocks them.[3][6]
The guide advises giving suppliers the number of users, the hire period, the unit type, any extras and the site access details up front, so that they can quote accurately.[6]
How many toilets per worker on a construction site?
In South Africa, a contractor must provide "at least one sanitary facility for each sex and for every 30 workers" at or within reasonable access of every construction site, and the facilities must be "clean, hygienic and maintained" (Construction Regulations, 2014, regulation 30(1)(b)).[1]
Regulation 30(1) also requires shower facilities (after consultation with the employees or their representatives, or at least one for every 15 persons), changing facilities for each sex and sheltered eating areas, in addition to the construction-site provisions of the Facilities Regulations, 2004.[1]
The regulations define a contractor as "an employer who performs construction work" and a principal contractor as an employer appointed by the client to perform construction work (regulation 1), so regulation 30 binds every employer doing construction work on the site, the principal contractor included.[1]
Construction work covers building, alteration, renovation, repair, demolition and dismantling of a building or similar structure, and civil work on roads, railways, dams, sewers and water reticulation, earthworks, excavation and piling (regulation 1).[1]
Breaching regulation 30 is an offence: a fine or imprisonment of up to 12 months, and for a continuing offence an additional fine of up to R200 or one day's imprisonment for each day it continues, with the additional imprisonment capped at 90 days (regulation 33).[1]
The draft Construction Regulations that the Department of Employment and Labour published for comment on 12 March 2025 keep the same wording in their regulation 30(1)(b).[2]
How many toilets for 20, 50 or 100 workers?
Regulation 30(1)(b) asks for "at least one sanitary facility for each sex and for every 30 workers" but does not say how to split the count between men and women or how to round it. This table assumes both sexes are on site, applies one per 30 workers to each sex separately, rounds up, and counts each toilet cabin as one sanitary facility; the splits by sex are examples.[1]
| Workers on site | Men and women | Toilets for men | Toilets for women | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 20 | 15 men, 5 women | 1 | 1 | 2 |
| 30 | 25 men, 5 women | 1 | 1 | 2 |
| 50 | 40 men, 10 women | 2 | 1 | 3 |
| 60 | 50 men, 10 women | 2 | 1 | 3 |
| 100 | 80 men, 20 women | 3 | 1 | 4 |
| 100 | 60 men, 40 women | 2 | 2 | 4 |
| 150 | 120 men, 30 women | 4 | 1 | 5 |
| 200 | 160 men, 40 women | 6 | 2 | 8 |
Sources:[1]
What must a site toilet provide under the Facilities Regulations?
Under regulation 2(3) of the Facilities Regulations, 2004, every employer must make toilet paper available free of charge, fit a seat to every water closet pan designed to have one, supply at washbasins a towel for each employee's sole use, disposable paper towels, hot air blowers or clean portions of continuous cloth towel, and provide toilet soap or a similar cleansing agent free of charge.[3]
Regulation 2(5) requires a conspicuous sign outside the entrance showing the gender of the persons the room is for, ventilation, and the screen walls, partitions or doors needed for privacy.[3]
Regulation 9 requires the employer to keep every facility "in a clean, hygienic, safe, whole and leak-free condition, and in a good state of repair"; breaching regulations 2(1), 2(3), 2(5) or 9 is an offence under regulation 10, with an additional fine of R200 for each day a continuing offence goes on.[3]
The Facilities Regulations apply to every employer at every workplace, and regulation 2(1) requires sanitary facilities "in accordance with Parts F, P and Q of the application of the National Building Regulations", the SABS 0400 code of practice the regulations name. So the one-per-30 count of the Construction Regulations is a construction-site rule; for a factory, yard or plant that is not a construction site, the number of fixtures comes from that building code.[3][1]
How often should a mobile toilet be serviced?
In practice, once or twice a week: one Pretoria toilet manufacturer says a chemical toilet may need emptying that often, depending on how many people use it, and advises using a licensed hauling company to take the waste to a sewage treatment facility.[7]
Neither the Construction Regulations nor the Facilities Regulations set a servicing interval for a mobile toilet: the Construction Regulations require site facilities to be "clean, hygienic and maintained" (regulation 30(1)) and the Facilities Regulations require them to stay clean, hygienic, safe, whole and leak-free (regulation 9), so the number of users sets the schedule.[1][3]
The holding tanks are small: the Pretoria manufacturer lists a 240-litre tank for its compact site toilet, and a national hire company lists 250 litres of waste capacity for its two-toilet trailer for mining and construction, which also carries 100 litres of fresh water for hand washing.[8][9]
In practice, a service visit covers waste removal, cleaning and restocking of toilet paper and sanitiser, and high-traffic sites need more frequent visits, according to the Western Cape hire company's cost guide.[6]
Between visits the employer still has to keep the units clean and leak-free under regulation 9, so agree in writing who cleans and restocks them on the days the service truck does not come.[3]
Which type of mobile toilet does a site need?
For a construction site, the hire companies cited below recommend a basic chemical toilet, the most cost-effective unit, or a two-toilet trailer, and one also recommends flushing units; they list wheelchair-accessible units and toilet trailers for events. The table sets out what each unit is and where its maker or hirer recommends it.[9][6][8]
| Unit | What it is | Recommended for |
|---|---|---|
| Basic chemical toilet | Single cabin over a holding tank (240 litres on one local model), lockable door; a hand basin and urinal can be fitted | Construction sites; the most cost-effective unit |
| Flushing unit | Portable toilet with a flush mechanism, often with a hand basin and soap and paper towel dispensers | Events where comfort matters; also offered for construction |
| Two-toilet trailer | Two toilets in one trailer unit, hand-wash station with 100 litres of fresh water, 250 litres of waste capacity | Mining and construction |
| Wheelchair-accessible unit | Spacious non-flush cabin with toilet roll holder, soap and paper towel dispensers | Events |
| Toilet trailer | Trailer with basins, mirrors, lighting and upgraded interiors | Events; a higher price point than standard units |
| Hand-wash station | Hand-washing unit hired alongside the toilets | Any hire, as an add-on |
Where does the waste from a mobile toilet go?
In Cape Town, mobile toilet waste goes by road to a wastewater treatment works: the City of Cape Town names "mobile businesses such as portable toilet suppliers" among those whose effluent "must be transported to a designated municipal wastewater treatment works for disposal".[4]
In Cape Town, effluent delivered by road is accepted only at the Borcherds Quarry Wastewater Treatment Works near Cape Town International Airport, and the supplier must be registered as a waste generator or transporter and apply to dispose of wastewater there.[4]
The City's Wastewater and Industrial Effluent By-law, 2013 bars disposing of wastewater where no municipal sewer is available unless an authorised official has approved the method of transport and the waste goes to a facility the City has approved; that facility must give written proof of acceptance, and the waste generator must keep it for at least one year (section 7).[5]
Section 8 of the by-law adds that no one may deliver waste by road to a City treatment or disposal facility without the written permission of an authorised official.[5]
What to put in your request
- Number of workers on site by sex, and the hire start and end dates, so the order meets at least one toilet for each sex and for every 30 workers (Construction Regulations, regulation 30(1)(b)).[1]
- Unit type (basic chemical, flushing, two-toilet trailer or wheelchair-accessible), and whether units need a hand basin, a urinal or lighting for night shifts.[9][6]
- Service visits per week, each covering emptying, cleaning and restocking of toilet paper, soap and paper towels.[6][3]
- Site address, where the units must stand, and how the delivery and service vehicle reaches them.[6]
- A gender sign outside the entrance of each unit, and doors that give privacy (Facilities Regulations, regulation 2(5)).[3]
- Price per unit per week or month, stating the service visits included, delivery and collection, and the charge for an extra visit.[6]
- Name of the treatment works that takes the waste, with the supplier to pass on its written proof of acceptance (in Cape Town the waste generator keeps it for at least a year).[5][4]
- Who cleans and restocks the units between service visits; the employer must keep them clean, hygienic and leak-free at all times (Facilities Regulations, regulation 9).[3]
Questions buyers ask
How many toilets per 100 people on a construction site?
Regulation 30(1)(b) of the Construction Regulations, 2014 requires at least one sanitary facility for each sex and for every 30 workers, without saying how to split or round the count. Counting each sex separately and rounding up, 80 men and 20 women need three toilets and one: four in all. For a workplace that is not a construction site, the Facilities Regulations point to Parts F, P and Q of the SABS 0400 building code instead.[1][3]
Do women need their own toilets on a construction site?
Yes. Regulation 30(1)(b) of the Construction Regulations, 2014 requires at least one sanitary facility "for each sex", and regulation 2(5) of the Facilities Regulations, 2004 requires a conspicuous sign outside each entrance showing the gender it is for, plus screens, partitions or doors for privacy.[1][3]
Can a small crew use the toilets next door instead of hiring units?
Under the Facilities Regulations, 2004, only with fewer than 11 people on one premises: regulation 2(2) then allows a written arrangement to use closets and washbasins on adjoining premises that are freely and readily accessible and meet the regulations and SABS 0400 for the number of users and their condition. On a construction site, regulation 30 of the Construction Regulations, 2014 applies as well.[3][1]
What happens if a construction site has no toilets?
Failing to provide them breaches regulation 30 of the Construction Regulations, 2014, which regulation 33 makes an offence: a fine or imprisonment of up to 12 months, plus an additional fine of up to R200 or one day's imprisonment for each day a continuing offence goes on, with the additional imprisonment capped at 90 days.[1]
Sources
- Department of Labour (Government Gazette 37305), Construction Regulations, 2014 (GN R84), 7 February 2014.
- Department of Employment and Labour (Government Gazette 52267), Draft Construction Regulations: invitation of public comments (GN 5983), 12 March 2025.
- Department of Labour (Government Gazette 26636), Facilities Regulations, 2004 (GN R924), 3 August 2004.
- City of Cape Town, Apply to discharge industrial effluent, undated, read November 2026.
- City of Cape Town (Province of the Western Cape Provincial Gazette 7227), Wastewater and Industrial Effluent By-law, 2013, 7 February 2014.
- Boland Rental, How Much Does It Cost to Rent a Mobile Toilet?, 20 July 2026.
- Pioneer Plastics, Portable Chemical Toilets, 9 July 2020.
- Pioneer Plastics, MKI Portable Toilet With Bench Tank (product page), undated, read November 2026.
- Sanitech, Portable toilets: portable toilet hire service across South Africa (product range), undated, read November 2026.