Rewiring Cost in 2026: What a Full or Partial Rewire Costs

Electricians price a rewire by its circuits and its points, meaning every socket, switch and light. Trade2Base counts 6 to 8 circuits in a 1-bed flat, 10 to 14 in a 3-bed terrace or semi and 18 to 24 in a large 5-bed house, which is why the price climbs so steeply with size. Most of the bill is labour: MyJobQuote splits a 3-bed rewire into about £3,000 of labour and £1,050 of materials, and puts electricians' day rates at £200 to £400. Rated People gives an average day rate of £320.

The house type matters as well as the bedrooms. MyJobQuote prices a terrace at £4,000 to £6,500, a semi at £5,000 to £8,500, a detached house at £6,500 to £10,500 and an old house at about £7,500 to £12,500. BestBuilders adds 10 to 20% for homes built before 1960 with lath and plaster walls, and MyJobQuote lists solid brick, stone and concrete walls among the things that raise the price, because cables have to be chased into the wall or run on the surface.

An empty house is quicker to rewire. Trade2Base says labour time rises by 20 to 30% when the home is lived in, and Rated People says electricians work faster in an empty home. Expect to be without power for part of the job: BestBuilders puts it at 3 to 4 days for a 3-bed semi.

Region matters too. Fantastic Services puts London and the South East 15 to 25% above the rest of the UK. BestBuilders puts London 30% above the UK average and the North and Yorkshire 10% below it. Rated People says labour can cost up to 20% more in London and the South East.

Four of these guides come from websites that match homeowners with tradespeople (MyJobQuote, Rated People, BestBuilders and Trade2Base) and one from a home services firm that also sells electrical work (Fantastic Services). They disagree most on what a rewire includes. Rated People's price includes a new consumer unit, filling the holes with plaster and testing; Trade2Base's includes the consumer unit, an EICR on completion and Part P notification; MyJobQuote includes a new consumer unit only if it is agreed beforehand. Decorating is extra in every guide.

A partial rewire makes sense when an inspection finds the rest of the installation sound, or when one room is being gutted anyway, such as a new kitchen. The electrician still has to test and certify the new work and connect it safely to the old. MyJobQuote does not price a whole-house partial rewire and advises a survey first. If faults turn up all over the house, a series of partial jobs can cost close to a full rewire, so ask for both prices.

Adding a circuit or working in a bathroom is notifiable under Part P even on a small job, as the Part P section explains.

The consumer unit is the box where the supply splits into circuits. An old fuse box uses fuses that blow; a modern board uses circuit breakers that switch off, and residual current devices (RCDs) that cut the power when current leaks to earth, which protects against electric shock. On a dual RCD board each RCD protects a group of circuits, so one fault can switch off several at once. An RCBO combines the two on each circuit, so a fault switches off only that circuit. A surge protection device guards against voltage spikes, and an arc fault detection device against the sparking that a damaged cable can cause.

Replacing a consumer unit is notifiable under Part P, so use a registered electrician and keep the certificate. If you plan a heat pump, an EV charger or solar panels, ask for a board with spare ways now, as the section on new loads explains. Rated People notes that a new fuse box is sometimes included in a rewire quote, so check before paying twice.

An EICR is an inspection and test of the fixed wiring: the consumer unit, the circuits, sockets, switches and lights. The inspector codes each fault. In the government's guidance for landlords, C1 means danger present, C2 potentially dangerous, C3 improvement recommended and FI further investigation needed without delay. Any C1 or C2 makes the installation unsatisfactory, and the work has to be put right; a C3 alone does not.

No law makes an owner-occupier get an EICR. Fantastic Services advises one every 10 years, and sooner when buying a home, after major electrical work or if the installation shows its age. It is also the cheapest way to find out whether you need a rewire at all, before you ask for quotes: a few coded faults usually mean repairs, while faults all over the house point to a rewire. If you are buying an older home, our home buyer energy check covers the other costs to look for.

The rules cover any tenant who pays rent and lives in the home as their only or main residence. The guidance lists the exceptions, including lodgers who share with the landlord or the landlord's family, leases of 7 years or more, student halls, hostels and refuges, and care homes. A landlord who does not do the remedial work can have it done by the council, which can then recover the cost.

The rules are for England; Wales and Scotland set their own. Landlords also have to meet the minimum EPC rules, which our landlord EPC guide and landlord EPC calculator cover. A rewire between tenancies, while the property is empty, is usually quicker, as the guides above note.

At the end of a rewire you should get two documents: an electrical installation certificate to BS 7671 from the electrician, and a Building Regulations compliance certificate from the electrician's scheme or from building control. Keep both. A buyer's solicitor may ask for them when you sell. Part P does not stop you doing non-notifiable work yourself, but it still has to be safe, and Approved Document P's own example shows how fine the line is: fitting a built-in cooker is not notifiable unless it needs a new cooker circuit.

These rules are for England. Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland set their own.

Each of these normally gets its own circuit. Running the cable while the floors are up, and choosing a consumer unit with spare ways, saves lifting floors and chasing walls again later. Added afterwards, BestBuilders prices a 7kW EV charger at £800 to £1,400, or £1,300 to £2,200 where the fuse board has to be upgraded too, and an EV sub-board and earth at £200 to £450.

Whether the incoming supply can carry a heat pump, a charger and a hob at once depends on the appliances and the home, so we do not give load figures. Ask the electrician to check the main fuse and the supply as part of the rewire; for a large new load they may need to contact your network operator. To size and price a heat pump for your home, use our heat pump calculator. To see what an electric car would cost to run, use the EV cost calculator, and if you rent or live in a flat, check the EV chargepoint grant. If you are also weighing up how to heat the home, our guide to an electric boiler or a heat pump compares the running costs.

A rewire means chasing channels in walls and lifting floorboards, so plan the decorating for afterwards, not before. Rated People's price includes filling the holes with plaster; most others leave plastering out. Fittings change the price too: MyJobQuote puts standard sockets and fittings for a 3-bed house at about £1,050 in materials and premium finishes at £2,000 or more. In an older home, ask whether an asbestos check is needed before any walls or ceilings are cut; MyJobQuote lists asbestos testing among the costs of rewiring a period property.

Signs worth an inspection include an old fuse box with fuses you rewire by hand, no RCD protection, sockets or switches that are scorched or warm, lights that flicker, and old rubber or fabric covered cable where you can see it, for example in the loft. None of these on its own proves you need a full rewire, which is why the report comes first. A rewire also suits a bigger project: if you are gutting rooms, converting the loft or adding an extension, do the electrics at the same time.

• Give every electrician the same list: the number of sockets, switches and lights in each room, and any new circuits you want, such as a cooker, an EV charger or a heat pump.
• Ask whether the price includes the consumer unit and which type, the EICR or test certificate on completion, Part P notification, and plastering.
• Ask which competent person scheme the electrician belongs to, and check it on the scheme's own register.
• Ask how many days you will be without power, and whether you can stay in the house.
• Ask what happens if they find asbestos or damaged joists, and how extras will be priced.

We do not recommend electricians yet, and no link on this page is paid. When we do, every firm will have to meet our trusted supplier standard. If you are converting the loft at the same time, see our loft conversion cost guide: it is worth planning the two together.

Rewiring, consumer unit and EICR prices: MyJobQuote, How much does it cost to rewire a house in the UK? (updated 3 November 2026); BestBuilders, Rewiring cost UK (updated 31 August 2026, VAT included, from its own regional cost model); Rated People, How much does rewiring cost for an average home? (first published 27 September 2022, costs stated as accurate as of 2026, VAT excluded); Fantastic Services, How much does house rewiring cost? and Fantastic Services, How much does an EICR cost? (2026 prices, VAT included); Trade2Base, Full house rewire costs UK (8 June 2026, written for electricians). All read on 11 November 2026.

Landlord duties from the Electrical safety standards in the private and social rented sectors: guidance (MHCLG, 1 November 2025) and The Electrical Safety Standards in the Private Rented Sector (England) Regulations 2020, as amended in 2025. Notifiable work from Approved Document P: electrical safety, dwellings, 2013 edition, paragraphs 2.5, 2.7, 2.8 and 3.4 to 3.7. Full method on our methodology and data sources pages.