House rewire cost UK: what to budget in 2026

Typical full-rewire prices in 2026: a 1-bed flat £3,000 to £4,800, a 2-bed house £4,000 to £5,500, a 3-bed house £4,500 to £8,000 (most quotes land around £6,000 to £6,500), and a 4-bed house £6,500 to £12,000. London and the South East run 20 to 30% above the national average; bungalows price lower than houses of the same bedroom count because access is easier.

If the wiring itself is sound and only the board is old, a consumer unit replacement costs £350 to £800 for a standard dual-RCD board, or £800 to £1,200 for a full RCBO board where each circuit gets its own protection — worth it in rentals, because one faulty appliance no longer takes out half the house. A partial rewire — say the kitchen (£1,000 to £2,500) or bathroom (£600 to £1,500) — is the middle option where one area was extended or refitted long after the rest.

What moves a quote beyond size: whether the property is occupied or empty, solid walls (more chasing) versus stud, how many socket and lighting points you want beyond replacing what's there, and loft and floor access. Quotes normally exclude making good — re-plastering the chases and redecorating are on top, so ask each electrician to state it either way.

Age and insulation type are the tells. Electrical Safety First's guidance is that a property more than 30 years old with its original wiring is likely to need updating at least in part, and that dated rubber, fabric or lead-insulated cabling (versus modern grey or white PVC) is the visual giveaway — black rubber or fabric flex usually means the installation is 40 or more years old. Circuits that trip frequently, a fuse box with rewirable fuses and no RCD, and scorching around sockets all point the same way.

The diagnosis, though, isn't a sales visit — it's an EICR. A periodic inspection by a qualified electrician tells you whether the installation is safe and what actually needs doing, coded C1 to C3. An old installation can pass; a 1970s house that was partially rewired may only need the kitchen circuits and a new board. An EICR scattered with C1s and C2s on original wiring is the honest trigger for a full rewire — our guide to EICR codes explains what each one means.

For landlords the stakes are statutory: rented property in England needs a satisfactory EICR at least every five years, C1 and C2 defects must be fixed within 28 days, and councils can now fine up to £40,000 per breach. Costs for the inspection itself are in our EICR cost guide.

Working days, with the property empty: a 1-bed flat takes roughly 2 to 4 days, a 3-bed house 4 to 7 days, a 4-bed 7 to 10. The work comes in two phases: first fix (cables in, walls chased — the noisy, dusty phase) and second fix (sockets, switches and the new consumer unit going live).

It can be done with tenants in place, room by room with temporary power, but expect it to cost more, take longer, and test everyone's patience: areas lose power for stretches, and kitchens and bathrooms go offline at key stages. The void between tenancies is by far the best window — which is why a rewire decision is worth making at EICR time, not when the next tenancy has already started. If you must rewire occupied, agree the room-by-room sequence in writing with both the electrician and the tenant first.

A full rewire is notifiable work under Part P of the Building Regulations — so is installing any new circuit or replacing the consumer unit. In practice that means using an electrician registered with a competent person scheme (NICEIC, NAPIT and similar), who self-certifies the work to building control and works to BS 7671, the wiring regulations. If your electrician isn't scheme-registered, building control must be notified before work starts — at extra cost, which is why scheme registration is the first thing to check on any rewire quote.

When the job's done you should receive an Electrical Installation Certificate (EIC) covering the whole installation, plus the building-regulations compliance certificate. The EIC matters doubly for landlords: government guidance confirms that after a complete rewire the EIC stands in for the EICR, with no further inspection required for five years. No EIC, no proof — don't make the final payment without it.

FixQuotes sends rewire jobs to scheme-registered local electricians and returns three quotes for the same job — same room count, same spec, same making-good position — free for landlords and letting agents. Start at our EICR and electrical quotes page.