HOW TO HIRE · ELECTRICAL

How to hire an extractor fan installer in the UK
The checks, the questions and the paperwork.

An extractor fan in a bathroom is often notifiable. When it is, the register check, the ducting questions, and what to be handed.

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THE 60-SECOND VERSION

Hiring an extractor fan installer in five steps

  1. Say which room and where it ventsBathroom, shower room or kitchen, and the nearest outside wall or roof.
  2. Look them up firstThe Registered Competent Person Electrical register covers England and Wales; check the name there before agreeing the extractor fan.
  3. Choose the controlsHumidity sensor, overrun timer or linked to the light.
  4. Ask about the holeCoring solid brick needs the right kit; who makes good outside?
  5. Get the certificateA Minor Works Certificate, and notification where the work is near a bath or shower.

BEFORE YOU BOOK

Check before you book

Registered Competent Person Electrical

In England and Wales, wiring an extractor fan near a bath or shower is notifiable, and in Wales so is work in a kitchen; a fan on an existing circuit elsewhere is not. For the notifiable parts of the extractor fan, an electrician registered with a government-authorised scheme (NICEIC or NAPIT, say) signs off compliance with the Building Regulations; without one, building control must be notified before work starts and inspects for a fee. For the extractor fan, a trader should hold public liability insurance; check the insurer and the cover. Trader status matters: it brings the Consumer Rights Act 2015 into play, and under the Consumer Contracts Regulations 2013 an off-premises or online booking usually has 14 days' cancellation, with any work you asked to start early charged for and personalised goods outside the right.

Look up the business name on the register; it takes a minute and should come before the extractor fan. Ask for proof of insurance for the extractor fan; the trader and ID-checked badges are on the Locufy profile. electricalcompetentperson.co.uk →

Electrical Installation Certificate

When the extractor fan is wired from an existing circuit it is tested to BS 7671 and recorded on a Minor Works Certificate. Notifiable work such as the extractor fan can bring a compliance certificate from the scheme, which gov.uk expects within 8 weeks in England and the Welsh Government within 30 days in Wales.

Get the certificate and its schedule of results on the day the extractor fan is completed. gov.wales →

Mechanical ventilation

gov.uk lists mechanical ventilation in homes among the work a competent person scheme installer can self-certify in England; the schemes covering it include NAPIT and Certsure (NICEIC).

For an inline or whole-room system, ask whether the extractor fan is notifiable as ventilation work and who certifies it. gov.uk →

Building warrant (Scotland) and Northern Ireland

Scotland has no competent person register for electricians: the extractor fan must meet building standard 4.5, which means wiring to BS 7671, and some work, such as rewiring a flat, needs a building warrant that the owner applies for. For the extractor fan in Northern Ireland, the building regulations contain no Part P-style notification scheme for domestic wiring.

In Scotland, check with the electrician or the council whether the extractor fan needs a warrant, and whether the electrician can certify it as an approved certifier. gov.scot →

VAT

Fitting an extractor fan is standard-rated, so VAT is 20%; a firm with taxable turnover over £90,000 must be VAT-registered, charge that 20% and show it as a separate line on the quote and invoice.

Ask for the VAT number, and look for VAT as its own line on the fan quote. gov.uk →

“Where will the extractor fan vent to?”

A good answer: A short route to outside through a wall or roof, not into the loft space.

“Wall fan or inline fan in the loft?”

A good answer: Which suits the room, with the duct length and the price of each.

“Which control: humidity, timer or light switch?”

A good answer: A recommendation for the room; a humidity sensor or overrun timer clears steam after you leave.

“Is the extractor fan within the shower zones?”

A good answer: If so, a fan rated for the zone, a suitable supply, and the work notified in England and Wales.

“How will you make the hole through the wall?”

A good answer: Core-drilled, sleeved and sealed, with a cowl or grille outside.

“Will I get a certificate?”

A good answer: A Minor Works Certificate with test results for the new connection.

Getting the quote right

  • Fan type, model and control named
  • Wall coring or duct run and its length
  • Wiring from the lighting circuit or a fused spur
  • Making good inside and outside
  • Who actually attends — the electrician and anyone coring the wall, employed or subcontracted — and the business's VAT number, with VAT at 20% shown as its own line
  • Certification included

Walk away if

  • Ducts the extractor fan into the loft rather than outside
  • Standard fan in a shower zone
  • No isolator or way to service the fan
  • No certificate for the wiring
  • Won't say whether bathroom work is notifiable
LOW
£150
TYPICAL
£300
HIGH
£500

What an extractor fan installer costs: £150–£500 per fan

Extractor fans are priced per fan; a wall fan on an outside wall is cheapest, and inline fans, long ducts, coring solid walls and sensors add to it. Extractor Fan Installation 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

Extractor fan installers 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. Plan the routeFan position and vent route agreed, clear of zones where possible.
  2. IsolateThe circuit is switched off and proved dead.
  3. Core and ductThe wall is cored or the duct run through the loft to a roof or wall outlet.
  4. Wire and testThe fan connected with its isolator and tested to BS 7671.
  5. CertifyMinor Works Certificate handed over; notifiable work notified through the scheme.

Overrun timer
Keeps the fan running for a set time after the light goes off.
Humidity sensor
Starts the fan when moisture rises.
Inline fan
A fan mounted in the duct, often in the loft, rather than on the wall.
Coring
Drilling a round hole through a wall.
Fused spur
A switched, fused outlet feeding a fixed appliance.
Shower zones
The areas around a bath or shower where the wiring rules restrict equipment.

AFTER

When the job is done

Keep the certificate and the fan manualFor servicing, filter cleaning and warranty.
Check it clears steamRun a shower and watch the fan run on after you switch off.
Look outsideThe grille or cowl sealed, and the vent clear of windows.
Review the jobOnly booked jobs can be reviewed on Locufy, so yours carries weight; if the extractor fan falls short, use the make-it-right step first and the provider is asked to fix it before the review is published.

STEP 1Complain to the electrician firstEmail or message so there is a record, setting out the defect in the extractor fan and what you expect. A trader owes reasonable care and skill under the Consumer Rights Act 2015; the remedies it sets are a second attempt, then a price reduction.
STEP 2Use Locufy's make-it-right stepRate the extractor fan under four stars and you are asked whether to send it to the provider first; we follow it through. Then the review goes up.
STEP 3Unsafe or uncertified workBuilding control at your council handles notifiable electrical work in England and Wales that was left uncertified, so tell them if the extractor fan falls into that gap; the scheme the electrician belongs to can chase a compliance certificate that never arrived. For a dispute about the extractor fan with the trader, Trading Standards is reached through the Citizens Advice consumer helpline on 0808 223 1133 in England and Wales, Advice Direct Scotland on 0808 800 9060, or Consumerline on 0300 123 6262 in Northern Ireland.
STEP 4Money still in disputeIf the extractor fan is still not settled, you can claim without a solicitor: the small claims track takes claims up to £10,000 in England and Wales, simple procedure up to £5,000 in Scotland, and the small claims court up to £5,000 in Northern Ireland.

Hiring an extractor fan installer: questions people ask

If it is wired near a bath or shower, or in Wales in a kitchen, it is notifiable and must be self-certified by a scheme electrician or notified to building control.

A Minor Works Certificate for connecting the fan to an existing circuit, with test results.

£150–£500 a fan, typically around £300. A wall fan on an outside wall is cheapest; inline fans with long ducts cost more. The full figures sit in the Extractor Fan Installation price guide; the postcode search above lists extractor fan installers close to you with their prices.

The fan may be undersized, ducted too far, or switching off with the light; a humidity sensor or overrun timer helps.

No; it should vent outside, or the moisture just moves to the loft.

Often a cooker hood does the job; a wall fan needs the same care with wiring, and in Wales kitchen work is notifiable.

MORE GUIDES

More hiring guides in electrical

How to hire: Ventilation InstallationHow to hire: Electric Shower InstallationHow to hire: ElectricianHow to hire: Downlight InstallationHow to hire: Lighting InstallationHow to hire: Socket & Switch InstallationHow to hire: Smoke & Heat Alarm InstallationHow to hire: Partial RewiringAll 701 hiring guides →

Extractor fan installers near you

Extractor fan installers in LondonExtractor fan installers in ManchesterExtractor fan installers in BirminghamExtractor fan installers in GlasgowExtractor fan installers in BelfastAll extractor fan installers on Locufy →Do it yourself: replacing an extractor fan like for like →

Sources — checked October 2026

  1. gov.uk — Approved Document P: electrical safety in dwellings (England)
  2. Registered Competent Person Electrical register
  3. gov.uk — building work, replacements and repairs to your home (England)
  4. gov.wales — building regulations: electrics
  5. gov.scot — Building Standards Technical Handbook 2022 (domestic), standard 4.5 electrical safety
  6. gov.uk — competent person schemes: current schemes and the work they cover
  7. Consumer Rights Act 2015, section 49 — reasonable care and skill
  8. Consumer Rights Act 2015, section 54 — what you can ask for when a service falls short
  9. Consumer Contracts Regulations 2013, regulation 30 — the 14-day cancellation period
  10. Consumer Contracts Regulations 2013, regulation 28 — contracts the cancellation right does not cover
  11. Consumer Contracts Regulations 2013, regulation 36 — services started within the cancellation period
  12. Civil Procedure Rules Part 26 — the small claims track limit (England and Wales)
  13. Scottish Courts and Tribunals — making a claim under simple procedure
  14. nidirect — the small claims process (Northern Ireland)
  15. Buildings and construction (VAT Notice 708) — 2.1 Construction services: work to an existing building is normally standard-rated
  16. GOV.UK — VAT rates
  17. GOV.UK — Register for VAT: when to register