Written by Gary Williams · NAPIT registered · Updated 10 September 2026
What actually drives the price
People assume a rewire is priced by bedrooms. It isn't — it's priced by circuits and access. A three-bed house with a converted loft, a garage supply and a garden office has far more circuits than a three-bed without them, and every circuit is cable, labour and a termination. Access matters just as much: if we can lift floorboards upstairs and run cables through the void, first fix moves fast. If the property has solid floors, chipboard flooring glued down, or lath-and-plaster walls that can't be chased, the same job takes considerably longer.
Full rewire or partial?
A full rewire replaces every cable, accessory and the consumer unit. A partial rewire replaces the circuits that have actually failed and leaves the sound ones — commonly the kitchen and an old immersion circuit go, while the upstairs lighting and downstairs ring test fine. Testing is what tells you which you need, and it's why an EICR before committing to a rewire is money well spent: it either confirms the rewire or saves you most of the cost. We turn down full-rewire enquiries fairly regularly on that basis, particularly on 1950s–70s estate housing where the circuits are usually sound and a board change does the job.
Making-good is the figure people forget
Chasing cables into walls means cutting into plaster, and putting that right is a real cost that quotes handle very differently. Some electricians quote 'electrical only' and leave you with chased walls and a plastering bill. Others include making-good to a plasterable finish. Others include full redecoration. These are wildly different numbers for what looks like the same job, so when you compare quotes, check what each one actually includes before comparing the totals — it's the single most common reason two rewire quotes differ by thousands.
Occupied or empty?
An empty property is quicker and therefore cheaper. If you're living in the house we phase the work so you keep power and heating throughout, which means more visits, more making-safe at the end of each day, and more time overall. It's usually worth it — most people can't move out for a fortnight — but it's an honest reason a quote on an occupied house comes in higher than the same job on an empty one.
Can you spread the cost?
Yes. A phased rewire is a legitimate approach, not a compromise: we do the consumer unit and the worst circuits first, then the remainder later. Each phase is tested and certified as it completes, so you're never left with part of the installation uncertified. For Kent's older housing stock — the Victorian terraces around Chatham, Gillingham and Maidstone especially — this is often how a rewire actually gets done.
How to compare rewire quotes properly
Check five things in each quote: is it a full or partial rewire; is the consumer unit included; what standard of making-good is included; is the certification and Part P notification included; and is the contractor registered with a competent person scheme such as NAPIT or NICEIC. A quote that is cheaper because it excludes making-good, excludes the board, or comes from someone who can't self-certify isn't cheaper — it's incomplete, and the notification alone through building control costs more after the fact than it does bundled in.
What it will cost at your property
We don’t publish blanket prices, because the factors above move the figure too much for a headline number to be honest. What we will do is come and look, then give you a written, itemised quote with nothing hidden in it — free, and with no obligation.