HOW TO HIRE · PLUMBING & HEATING

How to hire a bathroom plumber in the UK
The checks, the questions and the paperwork.

No register applies, but new bathroom plumbing can be notifiable, showers need a registered electrician, and fittings have water rules.

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THE 60-SECOND VERSION

Hiring a bathroom plumber in five steps

  1. Fix the layout firstMoving the toilet means moving the soil pipe — the biggest single cost.
  2. Ask who signs off whatBuilding control for new plumbing in England; a registered electrician for showers and fans.
  3. Check a large bathA bath over 230 litres needs notice to the water supplier first in England and Wales.
  4. Get first and second fix in one quotePipes before tiling, fittings after, and testing at both stages.
  5. Lease? Read itIn a flat, moving a toilet or adding a bathroom may need the freeholder's consent.

BEFORE YOU BOOK

Check before you book

No register applies

No licence or register applies to bathroom plumbers in England, Wales, Scotland or Northern Ireland, so anyone may offer bathroom plumbing. For bathroom plumbing, two legal lines remain: gas work belongs to a Gas Safe registered engineer, and new fittings must meet your nation's water fittings rules.

Ask whether any part of the bathroom plumbing touches gas, and if it does, who on the team is on the Gas Safe Register.

New bathroom plumbing (England)

gov.uk's guidance for England says a bathroom where new plumbing is installed usually needs notifying to building control unless a registered installer does it; replacing a bath, toilet or basin like for like does not. Ask which side of that line the bathroom plumbing falls.

If the bathroom plumbing is notifiable, get the building control reference or the scheme certificate. gov.uk →

Notice to the water supplier

Some installations need the water supplier's consent before work starts under the 1999 Water Supply (Water Fittings) Regulations (England and Wales): a bath holding more than 230 litres, a pump drawing over 12 litres a minute, or an automatic garden watering system. Check whether your the bathroom plumbing includes any of them.

Ask whether the the bathroom plumbing needs notice to the water supplier, and who will give it. legislation.gov.uk →

Electrical work and the Building Regulations

If the bathroom needs a new electrical supply, that is electrical work under the Building Regulations in England and Wales. Work in a bathroom or shower room is notifiable, and so in Wales is work in a kitchen or outdoors: it needs an electrician on a competent person scheme, or building control.

Search the electrician on the Registered Competent Person Electrical register and ask for the certificate for the bathroom wiring. electricalcompetentperson.co.uk →

VAT

Bathroom plumbing is standard-rated at 20%, on first fix, second fix and the pressure test alike. Once a business's taxable turnover goes over £90,000 it must be registered, and the VAT then goes on the quote as its own line.

Ask the bathroom plumber for the VAT number and whether the quoted figure is before or after VAT. gov.uk →

“Does this bathroom plumbing need notifying to building control?”

A good answer: A clear answer for your nation; in England, new plumbing usually does, like-for-like swaps do not.

“Who wires the shower and the extractor fan?”

A good answer: A registered electrician, with a certificate for the bathroom circuit.

“Will the soil pipe have to move?”

A good answer: A plain answer after looking, with the cost shown.

“Does the bath need notice to the water supplier?”

A good answer: Only if it holds over 230 litres in England and Wales; they check the capacity.

“Is first fix, second fix and testing all in the bathroom quote?”

A good answer: Yes, each listed.

“Will my water pressure suit this shower?”

A good answer: A check of the system and boiler before you buy the shower.

“Who tiles and who seals?”

A good answer: A named trade for each, so the gap between plumbing and tiling is covered.

Getting the quote right

  • First fix, second fix and pressure testing listed
  • Soil pipe and waste changes shown
  • Electrical work and its certificate, or excluded
  • Building control notification, if needed, and who pays
  • Suite supplied by you or by the plumber
  • Who actually attends for first and second fix — the plumber who priced it, employed staff or a subcontractor
  • The VAT number, with VAT at 20% on its own line

Walk away if

  • Says no bathroom ever needs notifying
  • Will wire the shower themselves with no certificate
  • No pressure test before the walls are tiled
  • Moves the toilet without looking at the soil stack
  • A large deposit before any work
LOW
£150
TYPICAL
£900
HIGH
£2,200

What a bathroom plumber costs: £150–£2,200 per job

Bathroom plumbing is quoted per job — small swaps by the visit, a full bathroom as first and second fix — with tiling and electrics separate. Bathroom Plumbing price guide →

Guide prices compiled by the Locufy team from published Irish and UK provider price lists and 2026/27 cost guides. Updated 2026.

KNOW WHAT TO LOOK FOR? NOW FIND ONE

Bathroom plumbers near you, with the badges that matter shown

ID checked, trader status and one score from every review — on the card, before you message anyone. Nearest first. No account needed to look.

Or post the job free and let them come to you.

  1. PlanLayout, supply and waste routes, electrics and sign-offs agreed.
  2. First fixSupply and waste pipes run to new positions and pressure-tested.
  3. Walls and floorBoarding, tanking and tiling by the agreed trades.
  4. Second fixToilet, basin, bath or shower connected.
  5. Test and sign offEvery joint tested, notifications made, certificates handed over.

First fix
Pipework run before walls and floors are closed.
Second fix
Fitting the sanitaryware after tiling.
Soil stack
The main vertical waste pipe the toilet connects to.
Tanking
Waterproofing behind tiles in a wet area.
Notifiable work
Work that must be certified by a scheme or notified to building control.
Thermostatic valve
A shower valve that holds the water at a set temperature.

AFTER

When the job is done

Keep the certificatesBuilding control sign-off for new plumbing, and the electrical certificate for the shower.
Test every outletTaps, shower, flush, and look under the bath and basin for drips.
Seal and waitLeave the sealant to cure before the first shower.
Leave the reviewReviews on Locufy are tied to a booking, so yours about the bathroom plumbing carries weight. If something is not right, the make-it-right step gives the bathroom plumber the first chance to fix it before it is published.

STEP 1Tell the bathroom plumber, in writingStart with an email to the bathroom plumber: the problem, photos and what would put it right. A trader's bathroom plumbing is covered by section 49 of the Consumer Rights Act 2015, and the remedies — doing it again, or a price reduction — follow from sections 55 and 56.
STEP 2Use the make-it-right stepRate the bathroom plumbing below four stars and you are asked whether the bathroom plumber should see the complaint first; we keep it moving until it is answered, then you review.
STEP 3Building control, water rules, Trading StandardsNotifiable work done without notification is a matter for council building control. A fitting that breaks the water rules can be required to be put right by the water supplier. For a dispute, Citizens Advice (0808 223 1133), Advice Direct Scotland (0808 800 9060) or Consumerline (0300 123 6262).
STEP 4Small claims, if money is owedA claim against the bathroom plumber that will not settle can go to court without a lawyer — the small claims track for up to £10,000 in England and Wales, simple procedure for up to £5,000 in Scotland, and the small claims court for up to £5,000 in Northern Ireland.

Hiring a bathroom plumber: questions people ask

No register applies to plumbers. In England, new bathroom plumbing usually has to be notified to building control unless a registered installer does it.

Yes. New electrical work in a bathroom is notifiable in England and Wales; a scheme electrician certifies it.

In England and Wales a bath holding over 230 litres needs notice to the water supplier before it is fitted.

£150–£2,200 per job, with £900 typical for first and second fix on a straightforward bathroom. What pushes it up or down is in the bathroom plumbing price guide; search above by town for plumbers in your area.

Usually, if the soil pipe can follow; it is the biggest single cost. In a flat, check the lease first.

An hour or two for a valve, two to five days for a full bathroom.

MORE GUIDES

More hiring guides in plumbing & heating

How to hire: Shower InstallationHow to hire: Toilet Repair & InstallationHow to hire: Tap & Mixer InstallationHow to hire: Kitchen PlumbingHow to hire: PlumberHow to hire: Underfloor HeatingHow to hire: Pipework InstallationHow to hire: Leak RepairAll 701 hiring guides →

Bathroom plumbers near you

Bathroom plumbers in LondonBathroom plumbers in ManchesterBathroom plumbers in BirminghamBathroom plumbers in GlasgowBathroom plumbers in BelfastAll bathroom plumbers on Locufy →Do it yourself: replacing a basin waste and bottle trap →

Sources — checked October 2026

  1. Water Supply (Water Fittings) Regulations 1999, regulation 5 — notice to the water undertaker
  2. Water Supply (Water Fittings) Regulations 1999, regulation 6 — contractor's certificate
  3. Water Supply (Water Fittings) (Scotland) Byelaws Extension Order 2024
  4. Water Supply (Water Fittings) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2009
  5. Gas Safety (Installation and Use) Regulations 1998, regulation 3
  6. gov.uk — building work, replacements and repairs to your home (England)
  7. Registered Competent Person Electrical register
  8. gov.uk — Approved Document P: electrical safety in dwellings (England)
  9. Consumer Rights Act 2015, section 49 — reasonable care and skill
  10. Citizens Advice — more help with a consumer issue (England)
  11. Buildings and construction (VAT Notice 708) — 2.1 Construction services: work to an existing building is normally standard-rated
  12. GOV.UK — VAT rates
  13. GOV.UK — Register for VAT: when to register