What a whole-house rewire usually costs in the UK

People price a rewire when a buyer’s survey flags old wiring, when a consumer unit keeps tripping, or when a kitchen and bathroom renovation would otherwise splice into cloth-insulated cable. The first decision is full versus partial. A kitchen circuit and a new board is not a whole-house price, and a whole-house price that omits making-good is not the bill you will actually pay.

This page is the pounds briefing. For the legal test of whether the work must be notified, read Part P. For a same-day fault, stay on an electrical list. One London card, Sky Electrical Ltd, publishes a whole-house rewire band of £5,000–£20,000. That is that firm’s public range, not a national tariff.

Published UK bands

Checkatrade’s house-rewiring guide (costs last updated February 2025, still cited as a 2026 price page) puts a 3-bed house at an average of £6,225, with a stated range of about £4,450–£8,000. A 1-bed flat sits near £3,900; a 5-bed house near £10,000. Those figures are plus VAT on the table Checkatrade prints.

MyJobQuote’s 2026 rewire guide puts the average house rewire around £5,500, a 3-bed house around £6,500, and an overall range of about £2,500–£11,000 depending on size. Its calculator page, updated 15 July 2026, repeats that London and the South East often sit 10–25% above a national midpoint.

The two guides do not match line for line. That is expected. Use the overlap — a typical three-bed in the mid-thousands — as a sense-check, not as a bid this site can honour.

London against Manchester, Leeds and Glasgow

London parking, congestion and occupied Victorian terraces sit at the top of both guides. Lath-and-plaster, floorboards that have already been lifted badly, and a listed façade all add time. Open electrical work in London when that is the city.

Manchester and Leeds often come in nearer the national midpoint if the house is empty and the walls are plasterboard. An occupied terrace with original floors still costs more than the empty-house line in any city. Glasgow tenement closes and Edinburgh listed flats change access and consent more than they change the copper price. Cardiff, Leicester and Nottingham follow the mid-size-city pattern: labour is not London, but a Saturday in an occupied house still is not a vacant midweek job.

What moves the price

1. Occupied versus empty. Furniture, carpets and people in the rooms add days.
2. Wall and floor type. Solid walls and parquet are slower than plasterboard and chipboard.
3. Specification. Extra sockets, data, smoke alarms to current layout, and outdoor circuits are extras if they were not in the first scope.
4. The consumer unit. A metal dual-RCD or RCBO board is often inside a full rewire; confirm it.
5. Making-good. Chasing walls and lifting floors is electrical work. Skimming and decorating usually is not.

Compare a lump sum with the hourly-rate tool only after you know the day count. A cheap day rate with an open-ended making-good line is not cheaper.

Certificates are part of the job

A rewire in England and Wales is notifiable electrical work. A person registered with a competent person scheme can self-certify. Otherwise the work needs a building-control route. Ask what certificate you will hold at the end — an Electrical Installation Certificate, and the building-regulations compliance notice if they are in a scheme. Scotland does not use Part P; it still expects a certificate that a conveyancer can read.

What to have on the call

Have the number of bedrooms, whether the house will be empty, and whether a buyer or a building-control officer has already named the wiring as a defect. Ask for a written split: labour, materials, consumer unit, testing, making-good and VAT. Ask how many days they expect to be in the house.

This site does not email the electrician. Open electrical work in London, Manchester or Leeds and use the number on the card.

Questions before you treat this as a bill