UK cost guide · September 2026
How much does it cost to rewire a house in 2026?
A full rewire of a 3-bed house to the Standard level costs about £5,400 to £7,200 including VAT in an average UK area outside London, and about £6,900 to £9,200 in London. A 1-bed flat costs £3,300 to £4,200, a 2-bed house £4,200 to £5,300 and a 4-bed house £7,100 to £8,800. Budget about £500 to £2,000 more for replastering and redecorating afterwards, which isn't included.
Work out your house rewire cost
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Already have an electrician’s price? Check where your quote sits against this range. Still deciding what to do first? Read where to start a home renovation.
House rewire 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 level.
| Type | Basic | Standard | Extra circuits |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1-bed flat | £3,100 to £3,400 | £3,300 to £4,200 | £4,200 to £4,800 |
| 2-bed house | £3,900 to £4,400 | £4,200 to £5,300 | £5,300 to £5,800 |
| 3-bed house | £4,600 to £5,500 | £5,400 to £7,200 | £7,200 to £8,000 |
| 4-bed house | £6,100 to £7,200 | £7,100 to £8,800 | £8,800 to £9,500 |
House rewire costs by region
Labour costs vary across the UK far more than materials. House rewire prices in London run about 28% above the UK average outside London, and in Northern Ireland about 14% below it.
| Region | Standard cost |
|---|---|
| UK average (outside London) | £5,400 to £7,200 |
| London | £6,900 to £9,200 |
| South East | £6,000 to £8,000 |
| East of England | £5,700 to £7,600 |
| South West | £5,600 to £7,400 |
| West Midlands | £5,300 to £7,000 |
| East Midlands | £5,200 to £6,900 |
| Scotland | £5,200 to £6,900 |
| North West | £5,100 to £6,800 |
| Yorkshire and the Humber | £5,100 to £6,700 |
| Wales | £5,000 to £6,600 |
| North East | £4,900 to £6,500 |
| Northern Ireland | £4,600 to £6,100 |
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).
Certificates, notification and what to check
Every level is a complete rewire. Earthing and bonding, a new fuse board with RCD protection and surge protection, testing, the Electrical Installation Certificate and notification come with every level, Basic included. Standard adds an RCBO for each circuit and mains-linked smoke and heat alarms. See what each level includes.
In England and Wales, every rewire must come with an Electrical Installation Certificate and building regulations notification. They are part of the job, not extras. Ask who notifies and whether any fee is in the price. A rewire is notifiable work under Part P of the building regulations, which applies in England and Wales (Planning Portal). In Wales, work in kitchens and outdoors is also notifiable, even adding a socket or a light (Welsh Government). An electrician registered with a competent person scheme (a government-approved scheme whose members can sign off their own work) notifies it for you, and you should get a building regulations compliance certificate within 8 weeks of the work finishing (GOV.UK). You can check an electrician on the electrical competent person register, which the Planning Portal points to.
Letting a home in Wales? Rented homes there must have a working smoke alarm on every storey, connected to the mains electricity and linked to the others (Welsh Government). The Standard level includes mains-linked smoke and heat alarms; Basic doesn’t.
In Scotland and Northern Ireland the building rules are different. Ask your electrician which certificate you will get and whether the job needs any approval.
If a quote is below the range, first check it includes everything that comes with every level, listed above. Then check which extras it has: an RCBO for each circuit and mains-linked smoke and heat alarms (wired to the mains and to each other) come with the Standard level, so a quote without them is priced like Basic.
Surge protection and arc fault protection
Surge protection (SPD). Under the wiring regulations (BS 7671) the default is to fit surge protection unless the owner of the installation declares that it isn’t needed and accepts the risk of damage to equipment; the electrician then records that on the certificate (IET). So a quote that includes it is not an upgrade, and every price here includes it.
Arc fault protection (AFDD). An AFDD switches a circuit off when it detects arcing: small sparks from a damaged cable or a loose connection, which can start a fire. The wiring regulations require AFDDs on socket circuits only in some buildings, such as houses in multiple occupation, purpose-built student accommodation and care homes; in other homes they recommend them (BEAMA’s summary of regulation 421.1.7; the current edition is BS 7671:2018+A4:2026, BSI). No price here includes them. They add about £80 to £120 for each circuit protected, including VAT, and you can add them in the calculator. That figure is our estimate from device prices, not a published installed price.
Only part of the work? If the wiring is sound and only the fuse board needs replacing, see consumer unit replacement costs. To find out first whether the house needs a rewire, an electrical safety report (EICR) tells you. Charging an electric car at home? See EV charger installation costs.
Doing both? Rewiring and refitting a bathroom or kitchen at the same time? Book the electrician first, so walls are opened once. New cables go in at first fix (the stage when cables and pipes are run), before plastering and before the room is fitted (see the order of work).
What's included in these prices
Included at each level
- Basic: The sockets, switches and lights you have now, renewed in the same places, and every circuit you have now renewed, including any cooker, electric shower, immersion heater and boiler supply circuits; plus a new consumer unit (fuse board) with RCD protection (safety switches that cut the power if electricity leaks to earth) and surge protection (SPD), earthing and bonding, testing, the Electrical Installation Certificate and building regulations notification in England and Wales.
- Standard: The sockets, switches and lights you have now, renewed in the same places, and every circuit you have now renewed, including any cooker, electric shower, immersion heater and boiler supply circuits; a new consumer unit (fuse board) with RCBO protection on each circuit and surge protection (SPD), mains-linked smoke and heat alarms, earthing and bonding, testing, the Electrical Installation Certificate and building regulations notification in England and Wales.
- Extra circuits: Standard, plus more sockets and new dedicated circuits, such as a cooker or shower circuit where there isn't one, a larger cable for a more powerful shower, outdoor power or a supply for an electric car charger.
Not included
- Replastering and redecorating after the chases (the grooves cut for cables) are filled
- Smart home systems (no level includes them)
- New circuits you don’t have now, such as a cooker or shower circuit where there isn’t one (choose the Extra circuits level). Every level renews the circuits you have, including any cooker, electric shower, immersion heater and boiler supply
- Arc fault protection (AFDD), about £80 to £120 for each circuit (add it in the calculator)
- Moving furniture and lifting floor coverings
What drives the cost
- Size. More rooms mean more circuits and more labour.
- Floors and walls. Under wooden floorboards, the electrician can lift a few boards and run the new cables through the space below. A concrete floor can’t be lifted, so the cables go through the walls and ceilings instead, which takes longer. Solid walls also take longer to cut the grooves for cables into. That is why a firm may ask whether your floors are wooden boards or concrete.
- Level. Extra sockets, outdoor power, EV chargers and smart lighting add cost.
- Living in the house during the work. The electrician has to work room by room around you and your furniture, and keep the power on where you need it, which takes longer and costs more than an empty house.
Planning, regulations and VAT
In England and Wales, rewiring must be done by an electrician registered with a competent person scheme, who notifies the work, or notified to building control. You should receive an Electrical Installation Certificate and a building regulations compliance certificate. See certificates and checks above.
Checklist: what to ask electricians 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? |
|---|---|---|
| Scope | Whole house or part; number of sockets and lights; whether the cooker, shower, immersion heater and boiler supply circuits are renewed. | |
| Earthing and bonding | Main earthing and bonding to the incoming water and gas pipes, at every level. | |
| Consumer unit | A new fuse board with RCD protection and surge protection (SPD) at every level; at the Standard level, an RCBO for each circuit. | |
| Arc fault protection | Whether AFDDs are offered, on which circuits, and the price for each. | |
| Alarms | Mains-linked smoke and heat alarms (the Standard level). | |
| Making good | Who replasters and redecorates. | |
| Certificates | Electrical Installation Certificate and building regulations notification: who notifies, and whether any fee is in the price. |
Questions people ask
How long does a rewire take?
Typically five to ten working days for a 3-bed house, longer if you are living in it.
How do I know if my house needs rewiring?
Old rubber or fabric-covered cables, a fuse box with rewirable fuses or frequent trips are common signs. An Electrical Installation Condition Report (£150 to £250 for a 2 or 3-bed house) will tell you.
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.