How much does a house rewire cost in the UK? (2026)
Verified UK house rewire costs in 2026 by bedroom count, plus consumer unit replacement, electrician day rates, EICR fees, and what is typically missing from rewire quotes.
A full house rewire in the UK in 2026 costs between £2,500 for a 1-bed flat and £12,000 for a 5-bed detached, with the typical 3-bed house landing at £4,000–£8,000. The figures below come from cross-referencing Checkatrade, MyJobQuote, and Homebuilding & Renovating.
Quick answer
House rewire cost in the UK 2026 by property size: 1-bed flat £2,500–£4,200, 2-bed £3,000–£5,000, 3-bed £4,000–£8,000, 4-bed £4,500–£9,500, 5-bed £6,500–£12,000. Consumer unit replacement on its own: £400–£800. Electrician day rate: £200–£400. London and the South-East run 20–30% above these national figures.
How to read this guide#
Two kinds of figures appear below:
- Headline price ranges (rewire cost by bedroom count, consumer unit replacement, electrician day rate, EICR): cross-referenced against multiple UK cost-guide publishers.
- Practical guidance (what is included in a quote, when to do partial vs full, age-of-property impact, regional variation, kitchen-rewire red flags): drawn from standard UK electrical installation practice.
Headline ranges (verified)#
Full rewire by property size#
| Property | Range |
|---|---|
| 1-bedroom flat | £2,500 – £4,200 |
| 2-bedroom flat or house | £3,000 – £5,000 |
| 3-bedroom house | £4,000 – £8,000 |
| 4-bedroom house | £4,500 – £9,500 |
| 5-bedroom or large detached | £6,500 – £12,000 |
These figures cover a complete rewire to current 18th edition standard: new cabling throughout, sockets and switches, lighting circuits, consumer unit replacement, and Part P notification. London and the South-East run roughly 20–30% above these national rates.
Component costs#
| Item | Range |
|---|---|
| Consumer unit replacement (RCBO) | £400 – £800 |
| Electrician day rate (national) | £200 – £400 |
| EICR for a 3-bedroom property | £100 – £320 |
The EICR (Electrical Installation Condition Report) range is wide because sources differ on scope: £100–£150 typically covers a basic visual and sample test; £180–£320 covers full periodic inspection of every circuit.
Practical guidance (industry standard)#
What a typical rewire quote covers#
A full rewire quote should include:
- Removal of existing wiring, accessories, and old consumer unit
- New cabling to all circuits (lighting, sockets, cooker, shower, immersion, outbuildings as required)
- New sockets, switches, and lighting points to the agreed plan
- New 18th edition consumer unit with RCBO protection
- Main earth and bonding inspected and upgraded if needed
- Smoke and heat alarms interlinked (mandatory in Scotland; best practice elsewhere)
- Part P notification through the electrician's competent person scheme
- Electrical Installation Certificate (EIC) on completion
It often does not cover:
- Making good plaster, brickwork, or floor where chases have been cut
- Decoration after the first fix (you will normally need a decorator)
- Integrated lighting beyond standard pendants and switches; downlights, LED strips, and feature lighting are usually extras
- Data, TV, satellite, and audio cabling
- Smart-home wiring (Hue hubs, Lutron, KNX) beyond the standard switch
- Outdoor sockets, garden lighting, EV chargers
- Removing or replacing old back boxes if the new ones do not align
When you compare rewire quotes, the easy mistake is comparing a £6,500 quote that includes a consumer unit upgrade and bonding works against a £5,500 quote that excludes them. Read the inclusions list line by line.
Why older properties cost more#
The rewire base cost rises sharply with property age:
- Pre-1970 wiring (rubber-insulated, sometimes lead-sheathed): full rewire is the only safe option. The existing wiring is brittle and unsafe to extend.
- 1960s–1970s aluminium wiring: also generally unsafe to extend; full rewire recommended.
- Solid masonry walls (Victorian, Edwardian, pre-war stock): cabling must be chased into solid brick rather than fished through plasterboard, adding labour time and disturbance.
- Suspended timber floors with original boards: lifting and replacing boards without damage takes care; original Victorian pine often splits when prised.
- Picture rails, dado rails, deep cornices: these need to be worked around or removed and replaced. Each room with feature joinery adds visible time.
A modern 3-bed semi might rewire in 4–5 days. The same-size Victorian terrace with original floors and decorative plasterwork can take 7–10 days. The cost difference reflects that.
Partial rewire vs full#
A partial rewire targets specific circuits (kitchen and bathroom only, or upstairs only). It is appropriate when:
- The rest of the property has been rewired in the last 15 years
- The condition report (EICR) confirms the unaffected circuits are sound
- You can clearly delineate which circuits are which
A partial rewire of kitchen and bathroom typically costs £1,400–£2,800 in 2026, depending on size and complexity. It is not appropriate when the existing wiring is pre-1970, when the existing consumer unit is at the end of its life anyway (you will pay twice if you replace it later), or when an EICR has flagged multiple circuits. In those cases the incremental cost of going to a full rewire is small relative to the peace of mind.
Regional variation#
UK electrician rates vary materially by region. The London and South-East premium is the most consistently documented at 20–30% above national. Other regional adjustments below come from standard quantity-surveying practice and apply to the labour portion (materials are nationally priced):
- Inner London: ~25–35% above national
- Outer London / M25: ~15–25% above
- South-East (Brighton, Cambridge, Oxford, Guildford): ~10–15% above
- Midlands and East: close to national
- North of England, Wales: ~5–10% below
- Northern Ireland, rural Scotland: ~10–15% below
For a 3-bed rewire, this means the same job at £6,500 nationally lands around £8,000–£8,500 in inner London and £5,800–£6,200 in the North.
Red flags in rewire quotes specifically#
Beyond the standard quote red flags (covered separately), some are electrical-specific:
No NICEIC, NAPIT, or ELECSA registration number. All notifiable electrical work must be done by a registered electrician under a Competent Person Scheme. The number should be on the quote and verifiable on the relevant body's public register. A quote with no number means either the electrician is not registered (illegal for notifiable work) or they are hoping you will not check.
No mention of Part P notification. Most rewire work is notifiable under Part P of the Building Regulations. A registered electrician notifies on your behalf as part of their scheme membership. A quote that does not mention notification is missing it; without notification, your buildings insurance and your future buyer's solicitor may have problems.
No Electrical Installation Certificate on completion. The EIC is the formal record of the work and is required when selling the property. A rewire without an EIC is incomplete; fixing this after the fact (by hiring a different electrician to inspect and certify) costs hundreds of pounds extra.
Quoting day rates with no estimate of days. "£300 per day, ten days or so" is a recipe for overrun. Insist on a fixed price for the full scope, with day rates only for explicit unknowns called out separately.
No allowance for plaster making good. Chases need to be filled before decoration. Some rewire quotes skip this and leave the homeowner to find a plasterer; others include it. Either is fine, but the quote must be explicit about which.
Suspiciously low quote. A 3-bed rewire under £3,500 in 2026 is either skipping scope (no consumer unit upgrade, no bonding, no certification) or being done by an unregistered electrician. The "saving" comes back as a problem at sale time.
Sequence of work in a typical rewire#
- Survey and quote. The electrician inspects the existing installation and produces a fixed-price quote against an agreed scope.
- First fix. Cabling is run, back boxes are fitted, lighting points are installed, the consumer unit is changed. Walls and floors are open during this stage.
- Plaster making good. Chases are filled by a plasterer (sometimes the electrician's regular plasterer, sometimes a separate trade).
- Second fix. Sockets, switches, lighting accessories, and thermostats are fitted into the prepared back boxes.
- Testing and certification. The full installation is tested and the Electrical Installation Certificate issued.
- Building Control notification. The electrician submits the notification through their Competent Person Scheme; a Building Regulations Compliance Certificate arrives in the post within a few weeks.
Skipping any of stages 2–6 is a serious shortcut. Quotes that do not explicitly mention testing and certification at the end are the most common version of this skip.
Comparing your rewire quote#
The quote checker on this site analyses each line item against current UK electrical rates, flags missing scope (consumer unit, bonding, certification, Part P notification), and runs a Companies House check on the contractor. For a £6,500 rewire, the £14 cost is a small fraction of the decision; the information returned closes the gap between "this looks roughly right" and "every line is accounted for".
Got a quote you want checked?
Paste any UK contractor quote and CheckTheQuote compares every line item against current market rates, flags missing scope, and runs a Companies House check on the contractor. First project free.
Frequently asked questions
- How much does it cost to rewire a 3-bedroom house in the UK in 2026?
- Between £4,000 and £8,000 in 2026, confirmed across Checkatrade, MyJobQuote, and Homebuilding & Renovating. £6,500 is the typical mid-point for a fully-occupied 3-bed semi. Older properties (Victorian terraces, anything pre-1930) sit at the upper end because solid brick walls and timber floors take longer to chase and lift. London and the South-East run roughly 20–30% above national.
- How long does a full house rewire take?
- A 1-bed flat takes 2–3 days. A 3-bed house takes 4–7 days. A 4-bed or 5-bed detached takes 7–15 days, depending on circuit count and access. Older properties with timber floors and solid walls add 25–50% to the duration of a comparable modern home.
- Do I need to move out during a rewire?
- Not always, but it is much faster (and cheaper in labour) if you do. A rewire involves lifting floorboards, chasing walls, and shutting off power circuit by circuit. Living in the property during the work means the electrician is working around furniture and avoiding sleep hours, which can add 30–50% to the duration. For larger jobs, vacating saves both money and stress.
- How much is a consumer unit replacement on its own?
- Between £400 and £800 for a like-for-like swap to an 18th edition consumer unit with RCBO protection (Homebuilding & Renovating, MyJobQuote). Add £150–£300 if your main earth or bonding needs upgrading at the same time, which is common in older properties.
- What is included in a typical rewire quote?
- A complete rewire should include: new cabling throughout, fresh sockets and switches, new lighting circuits, replacement consumer unit, Part P notification, and an Electrical Installation Certificate on completion. Often missing or charged separately: making good plaster after chasing, decoration after first-fix, integrated lighting (downlights, LED strips), data and TV cabling, smart-home wiring, and outdoor circuits.
- Is a partial rewire ever a good idea?
- Sometimes. If only specific areas are problematic (a kitchen and bathroom in a property otherwise wired in 2010+), a partial rewire of just those circuits is reasonable and saves money. But if the existing wiring is rubber-insulated (pre-1970) or aluminium (1960s–1970s), a full rewire is usually the right call: partial leaves you with mismatched standards across one consumer unit, and a future buyer or insurer may flag it.