The Cost to Rewire a House – Everything You Need to Know

The cost of rewiring a house depends on a multitude of factors, including materials needs, labour and time. You may also be wondering:

  • How often do you need to rewire a house?
  • When does a house require rewiring?
  • How much will it cost?
  • And how do I know if the electrician doing the work is qualified? (this is something we can help with)

At Find a Craftsman, our job is to help you find recommend qualified electricians and compare the costs to rewire a house in the UK to ensure you get the best deal. If you want to compare costs across hundreds of hand-selected and experienced electricians in the UK, take a look at some of our featured electricians, here

Alternatively, we have broken down the associated costs to rewire a house below.

Understanding the Costs Associated with Rewiring a House

As there are a few different ways to rewire a house and different costs associated, the price for rewiring your house can vary. We will be taking into consideration the average costs of partial and full rewires for all house sizes and types. So, whether you’re looking to upgrade your home’s wiring or looking to fix it, this article will be able to help.

First, it’s important to note that older houses will likely have old wiring, and this can pose a risk for both your safety (fires, electrocution) as well as a risk of the systems becoming faulty.  It must also be noted that all new electrical work must comply with Part P of the Building Regulations which restricts DIY electrical work on grounds of safety. However, you are still allowed to carry out some work yourself without notifying Building Control.

What to Know Before Determining the Cost of Rewriting a House

Old and derelict wiring in homes can pose a real risk – faulty wiring is a common source for fires and electrocution. If your home has been using the same wiring for a long time, it may need updating to make sure it is in line with modern safety regulations. This guide lays out the average cost to rewire a house.

How Much Does It Cost to Rewire a House?

The cost of rewiring a house depends on the size of the house and the current electrical system in place. 

However, for a three-bedroom house, you can expect rewiring to cost around £2,5000 to £4,500, and it can take around 6-10 days.

Prices fluctuate depending on house size, complexity and location (prices in central London will be more expensive than somewhere like Manchester or further north). 

Below is a table that looks at the price ranges for different sized properties:

Size of HousePriceEstimated Time Taken
One bedroom£1,900 – £3,0004 – 7 days
Two bedroom£2,200 – £3,4005 – 8 days
Three bedroom£3,100 – £5,600A week to 10 days
Four bedroom£3,750 – £5,500One to two weeks
Five bedroom£4,400 – £6,500+Two weeks or more

Electrical Installation Condition Report Costs

Another factor you will want to address while rewiring your house is the safety of your electrical system. You need to ensure that it is installed professionally and there is no risk of fire or electrocution. As per the building regulations guide, your house has to be tested every ten years if you own your home, and every five years if you’re a landlord letting a property. You should have your property checked by The Electrical Installation Condition Report (EICR), or a relevant, qualified body. This will highlight any defects in your home’s electrical system, including short circuit protection, outdated wiring, and faulty connections.

You can expect the electrician to check and perform the following. 

  • Identify and inspect the fuse board 
  • Inspect a sample of the switches and sockets
  • Inspect other fixtures, such as light fittings
  • They will check the polarity of the installation
  • Ensuring adequate protective devices are in place to ensure safety for the electrician and your family

Below, we will look at how much it would cost to have an electrician rewire flats and houses of different sizes. 

  • Inspection of the consumer unit or fuse board
  • Inspection of a sample of switches, sockets and other fixtures including light fittings
  • Checking the polarity of the installation
  • Testing protective devices to ensure they work to protect you and your family from electric shock.

Below is the average costs for an electrician to carry out an electrical installation condition report for different types of houses:

House/Flat SizeCost
One bedroom flatFrom £120
Two bedroom flatFrom £120 to £150
One or two bedroom small house£180 – £200
Three to four bedroom houseBetween £200 and £250
Five bedroom house From £300 upwards (depending on the size of the house)

An EICR will highlight any defects in your home’s electrical installation including inadequate short circuit protection, outdated wiring, and faulty connections.

Other Factors that Affect the Cost to Rewire a House

We briefly touched on this topic before, but it’s important to highlight other costs associated with rewiring your home so you aren’t surprised with any hidden, additional costs. The cost of rewiring your house will depend on the following:

  • The location of your property (the average London costs are always more expensive than other areas in the UK)
  • Cost of materials (if you’re doing it yourself, which we would only recommend if you are an electrician or have carried this out before)
  • If the home is being lived in or not (electricians are able to work faster in empty properties)
  • The number and the location of the socket outlets 
  • Other extras (if you have UV lighting for greenhouses or security lights etc)

We’ll outline what you will be expected to pay to rewire the following houses:

Cost to Rewire Two bed terraced house

If you’re looking to rewire a two bed house, you will be looking at around £2,300 and £3,800 depending on location, materials required and labour costs. The average cost for a house of this size in the UK is around £2,750 to completely rewire the house. Rewiring the full house could take between five to nine days. You can expect the following to be included in the price:

  • Sourcing and installing a brand new consumer unit
  • Ensuring the new system works through testing and providing a certificate confirming it works
  • Rerouting the wiring from the electricity meter to the consumer unit 
  • Fitting standards socket outlets and switches etc 

Something that’s not included in the price is the plastering and decorating. However, your electrician should be able to provide a quote for this. Alternatively, you can take a look on our website and find the quote for yourself by exploring a variety of experienced UK decorators. 

Cost to Rewire Three-bed semi detached house

For a three bedroom house that requires the removal of previous wiring and fittings as well as rewiring the full house, you can expect to pay within the region of £3,000 to £4,500. This price should include the installation of the new consumer unit, as well as minor plastering working (for when the electrician has to drill holes through the walls for the conduit). Decorating and final touch prices are not included. In most cases, work for a three bedroom house should be finished within a week to 10 days. 

Cost to Rewire Four-bed detached house

As you can imagine, the larger the house, the more expensive the rewiring will cost. On average, a four bed house has around eight to 10 rooms, which means the electrician will take around two weeks to fully rewire the entire house. You can expect to pay within the region of £3,700 to over £5,000 for a complete rewire of the full house. This would include replacing all fixtures and wiring with new replacements. You can also expect a certificate once everything has been completed. 

Additional, but not essential costs you may want to consider

If you don’t require a full rewire but just want a few bits renewed in your home (such as renewing your consumer unit or installing some security lights above your garage etc), you can pay for these jobs separately. We’ve included the average prices for some of the most common, smaller jobs associated with rewiring a house:

JobCost
Replacing a light fitting£30 to £50
Light upgrades (fluorescent to LED)£250 – £400
Replacing the consumer unit£300 – £400
Installing external security lights £75 – £125

Looking to Compare Rewiring Costs? 

Regardless of what rewiring you plan to make on your home, be they big or small, it’s important to shop around and get the best quote possible. That is where our team at The Guild of Master Craftsman can help.

We are dedicated to finding providing reliable, trustworthy and experienced contractors who specialise in rewiring homes at affordable prices. We can also help you compare tradesmen across any trade, from carpenters, builders and plasterers to plumbers and electricians, through to landscape designers, paving contractors, interior designers, bricklayers and flooring professionals.

If you’re looking for an affordable and reliable way to get your home rewired in the UK, explore our website and find your ideal electrician today.