UK cost guide · September 2026
How much does it cost to renovate a house in 2026?
A full mid-range renovation (rewire, new heating, kitchen, bathroom, plastering and decoration) costs about £960 to £1,400 per m² including VAT in an average UK area outside London. For a typical 3-bed house of about 90 m² that is £86,500 to £130,000, or about £117,000 to £175,000 in London. A basic refurbishment costs less; premium work can reach £2,400 per m².
Work out your whole-house renovation cost
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Already have a builder’s price? Check where your quote sits against this range. Still deciding what to do first? Read where to start a home renovation.
Whole-house renovation prices in 2026
Ranges are for a typical home outside London, including VAT, before fees and contingency. Use the calculator for your size, region and finish.
| Type | Basic | Mid-range | Premium |
|---|---|---|---|
| Full renovation (rewire, heating, kitchen, bathroom, plaster) (90 m²) | £59,500 to £86,500 | £86,500 to £130,000 | £130,000 to £216,000 |
| Floor area | Basic | Mid-range | Premium |
|---|---|---|---|
| 60 m² | £39,500 to £57,500 | £57,500 to £86,500 | £86,500 to £144,000 |
| 90 m² | £59,500 to £86,500 | £86,500 to £130,000 | £130,000 to £216,000 |
| 130 m² | £86,000 to £125,000 | £125,000 to £187,000 | £187,000 to £312,000 |
Whole-house renovation costs by region
Labour costs vary across the UK far more than materials. Whole-house renovation prices in London run about 35% above the UK average outside London, and in Northern Ireland about 18% below it.
| Region | Mid-range cost | Per m² |
|---|---|---|
| UK average (outside London) | £86,500 to £130,000 | £960 to £1,400 |
| London | £117,000 to £175,000 | £1,300 to £1,900 |
| South East | £99,500 to £149,000 | £1,100 to £1,700 |
| East of England | £92,500 to £139,000 | £1,000 to £1,500 |
| South West | £90,000 to £135,000 | £1,000 to £1,500 |
| West Midlands | £84,000 to £126,000 | £930 to £1,400 |
| East Midlands | £82,000 to £123,000 | £910 to £1,400 |
| Scotland | £82,000 to £123,000 | £910 to £1,400 |
| North West | £80,500 to £121,000 | £890 to £1,300 |
| Yorkshire and the Humber | £79,500 to £119,000 | £880 to £1,300 |
| Wales | £78,000 to £117,000 | £860 to £1,300 |
| North East | £76,000 to £114,000 | £840 to £1,300 |
| Northern Ireland | £71,000 to £106,000 | £790 to £1,200 |
Which region is my town in? Brighton, Oxford and Southampton are in the South East; Cambridge and Norwich in the East of England; Bristol, Bath and Exeter in the South West; Birmingham and Coventry in the West Midlands; Nottingham and Leicester in the East Midlands; Glasgow and Edinburgh in Scotland; Manchester and Liverpool in the North West; Leeds, Sheffield and Hull in Yorkshire and the Humber; Cardiff and Swansea in Wales; Newcastle and Sunderland in the North East; and Belfast in Northern Ireland. Somewhere else? Type your postcode into the calculator above and it says which region’s prices it uses.
Want it for your area? See local prices and council building control fees for 92 council areas in England and Wales (not every council yet).
Four scopes for the same 90 m² house
“Renovation” covers anything from a repaint to stripping a house back to its walls, so a single figure can mislead. These are four scopes for the same illustrative three-bedroom semi-detached house of about 90 m². Two are priced with the same rates as the calculator; the other two depend too much on the house's condition to price fairly without seeing it.
| Scope | What it covers | Building work |
|---|---|---|
| Cosmetic refresh | Decoration, flooring, small repairs. Not modelled: it varies too much with condition to give a fair range. | Get at least three quotes |
| Services and finishes | Rewire, new heating, new kitchen and bathroom, replastering, joinery (doors, skirting and stairs), flooring and decoration. | £86,500 to £130,000 |
| Services, finishes and envelope | As above, plus a new pitched roof (£10,500 to £14,000) and replacement windows (£5,500 to £7,500). | £102,000 to £151,000 |
| Structural repair | Underpinning, rot, major damp or rebuilding walls. Not modelled: it needs a structural survey first. | Survey first |
Each figure is rounded on its own, so a row can differ from its parts by a few hundred pounds. Professional fees and a contingency come on top: hold at least 15%, more for an older house, since the condition behind walls and under floors is the main reason renovation budgets overrun. A basic finish brings the services and finishes scope to £59,500 to £86,500, and a premium one to £130,000 to £216,000.
Avoid double-counting
The full renovation figure already includes the rewire, heating, kitchen and bathroom. Adding separate estimates for those on top would count them twice. Priced one by one at mid-range for a three-bedroom house in an average UK area, those four jobs come to £23,000 to £35,500 on their own (a rewire, a combi boiler swap, a kitchen and a bathroom); the rest of the full figure covers the wider heating work, plastering, joinery, flooring, decoration and the general work around them.
Already in the full figure
- Rewire and consumer unit (fuse board)
- New heating system or boiler
- New kitchen and bathroom
- Replastering, joinery, flooring and decoration
Add separately if you need them
- A new roof and replacement windows
- An extension or loft conversion
- Structural repairs, after a survey
- Professional fees and your contingency
Doing it in phases? List each phase in the free renovation budget spreadsheet, which keeps quoted work, unknowns and contingency apart. The Estiquote app prices individual projects such as kitchens, bathrooms and extensions; whole-house renovation is priced on this website only.
What's included in these prices
Included
- Rewiring and a new consumer unit (fuse board)
- New heating system or boiler
- New kitchen and bathroom
- Replastering and making good
- Joinery (doors, skirting and stairs), flooring and decoration
Not included
- Extensions and loft conversions
- Structural repairs such as underpinning
- Roof replacement and windows
- Professional fees
What drives the cost
- Condition. Damp, rot and old wiring hidden behind walls are the main reasons renovation budgets overrun.
- Age. Period properties need more making good and specialist trades.
- Living in. Staying in the house during works slows everything down and adds cost.
- Scope creep. Decide early what is essential and what can wait.
Planning, regulations and VAT
Most internal renovation needs no planning permission, but listed buildings and conservation areas have extra rules. Rewiring, new heating and structural work must meet building regulations. In England and Wales a rewire should come with an Electrical Installation Certificate, and a building regulations compliance certificate once the electrician has notified the work; a new boiler comes with a Gas Safe certificate and a carbon monoxide alarm. Renovating a home that has been empty for at least two years can qualify for a 5% VAT rate (VAT Notice 708).
Checklist: what to ask builders to confirm
Print this or save it as a PDF, one copy for each quote. Mark each line included, separate or not confirmed as quotes come in. An empty amount means unknown, not free.
| Item | What to confirm | Included? Amount? |
|---|---|---|
| Survey | Structural, damp and electrical condition. | |
| Order of works | Structure, first fix, plastering, second fix, finishes. | |
| Big-ticket items | Kitchen, bathroom, heating and electrics. | |
| Certificates | Electrical Installation Certificate, building regulations compliance certificates and the Gas Safe certificate. | |
| Contingency | Hold at least 15%, more for older houses. |
Questions people ask
How much does it cost to renovate a 3-bed house?
About £86,500 to £130,000 including VAT for a full mid-range renovation of a 90 m² house.
Can I pay less VAT on a renovation?
If the home has been empty for two years or more, qualifying work can be charged at 5% VAT instead of 20%.
Should I add kitchen and bathroom costs to a renovation estimate?
Not to the full renovation figure: it already includes a new kitchen, bathroom, rewire and heating. Add separate estimates only for work it leaves out, such as a new roof, windows, an extension or structural repairs.
What does a full house renovation not include?
Our full renovation figure leaves out extensions and loft conversions, structural repairs such as underpinning, roof replacement, new windows, professional fees and your contingency.
Sources and method
Our ranges combine published 2026 UK cost guides, industry data and our own survey of council fees. We check them every quarter. They are budget ranges, not quotes: always get at least three detailed written quotes. Read how Estiquote estimates work, or download the full cost data.