HOW TO HIRE · TRADES & CONSTRUCTION

How to hire a kitchen fitter in the UK
The checks, the questions and the paperwork.

No register applies to kitchen fitters, but kitchen electrics and any gas work are regulated. The checks, the questions and the paperwork.

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THE 60-SECOND VERSION

Hiring a kitchen fitter in five steps

  1. Fix the planA kitchen plan with every unit, appliance and service position.
  2. Name the tradesWho does electrics, plumbing and any gas connection.
  3. Gas? Gas Safe engineerA gas hob or cooker is connected only by a Gas Safe registered engineer.
  4. Check delivery against the planCount units and check for damage before fitting starts.
  5. Collect certificatesElectrical certificate and any Gas Safe paperwork.

BEFORE YOU BOOK

Check before you book

No register applies

No licence or register applies to kitchen fitters in England, Wales, Scotland or Northern Ireland; the kitchen fit is regulated through the electrical and gas work inside it.

Before work starts, ask who will apply for any approval the kitchen fit needs. gov.uk →

Kitchen electrics

A new circuit, such as one for a cooker, is notifiable in England and Wales, and the Welsh Government adds new electrical work in a kitchen; an electrician on the Registered Competent Person Electrical register self-certifies it, or building control is notified.

Ask who will do the electrics in the kitchen fit and check them on the register. electricalcompetentperson.co.uk →

Gas Safe Register

Connecting or moving a gas hob, cooker or pipe during the kitchen fit may only be done for pay by a Gas Safe registered engineer, in all four nations, under the 1998 gas safety Regulations and Northern Ireland's 2004 equivalent.

Ask for the engineer's Gas Safe licence number and check the card covers cookers. legislation.gov.uk →

Insurance and trader status

Public liability cover protects you if the kitchen fit damages your home or someone is hurt; ask for the insurer and limit. Dealing with a trader gives you the Consumer Rights Act 2015, and booking the kitchen fit at home or online normally gives 14 days to cancel under the Consumer Contracts Regulations 2013 — minus the value of anything you asked to be done in that time, and excluding goods made to order for you.

Get a copy of the insurance before the kitchen fit starts, and check the profile for the ID-checked and trader badges.

VAT

Fitting a kitchen 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 fitting quote. gov.uk →

“Who does the electrics, plumbing and gas for the kitchen fit?”

A good answer: Named trades, with the electrician on the register and any gas work by a Gas Safe engineer.

“How will you deal with uneven walls and floors?”

A good answer: Units levelled and scribed, worktops fitted tight to the wall.

“Who templates and fits the worktops?”

A good answer: For stone or quartz, a specialist templates after the units are in.

“Who checks the delivery?”

A good answer: The kitchen fitter counts units and checks for damage before starting.

“What is included — removal, tiling, plastering, decorating?”

A good answer: A clear list of what is and is not in the kitchen fit.

“How long will we be without a kitchen?”

A good answer: A programme with the days without water or cooking.

Getting the quote right

  • Fitting price per unit or for the whole kitchen
  • Electrics, plumbing and gas, and who does each
  • Worktop fitting and any templating
  • Removal of the old kitchen and disposal
  • Who actually attends — the fitter and each trade for gas, plumbing and electrics, employed or subcontracted — and the business's VAT number, with VAT at 20% shown as its own line
  • The programme

Walk away if

  • Connects a gas hob without a Gas Safe registered engineer
  • New kitchen circuit with no certificate
  • No plan or list of units
  • Large deposit for a bespoke kitchen with no written terms
  • Won't say who does the electrics
LOW
£6,000
TYPICAL
£12,000
HIGH
£25,000

What a kitchen fitter costs: £6,000–£25,000 per kitchen

Kitchens are priced per kitchen; the unit range and worktop material drive most of it, followed by size and whether the sink, hob or walls move. Kitchen Fitter 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

Kitchen fitters 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. Survey and planMeasurements and service positions confirmed.
  2. Strip outOld kitchen removed; services isolated.
  3. First fixPipework, electrics and any gas run to the plan.
  4. FitUnits, worktops, sink and appliances fitted.
  5. Connect and testServices connected by the right trades, tested and certified.

Scribing
Cutting a panel to fit an uneven wall.
Templating
Measuring for a stone worktop after units are fitted.
Plinth
The board under the base units.
Upstand
A strip along the wall above the worktop.
Cooker circuit
A dedicated circuit for an electric cooker.
Gas Safe Register
The legal register for anyone paid to do gas work.

AFTER

When the job is done

Collect the certificatesElectrical certificate, any compliance certificate, and Gas Safe paperwork for a gas hob or cooker.
Test everythingEvery door, drawer, tap, appliance and socket.
Keep warrantiesUnits, worktops and appliances.
Review the jobOnly booked jobs can be reviewed on Locufy, so yours carries weight; if the kitchen fit falls short, use the make-it-right step first and the provider is asked to fix it before the review is published.

STEP 1Put it to the fitter in writingDescribe the fault with the kitchen fit, with photos, and say what would put it right. The Consumer Rights Act 2015 expects a trader to use reasonable care and skill; where that fell short you may require the work to be done again, or a lower price.
STEP 2Use Locufy's make-it-right stepRate the kitchen fit 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 3Unapproved or dangerous workIf the kitchen fit needed approval and did not get it, the council deals with it: building control in England, Wales and Northern Ireland, or the building standards service in Scotland, where the owner answers for a missing warrant. For a dispute about the kitchen fit 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 kitchen fit 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 a kitchen fitter: questions people ask

No licence applies to the fitting itself. A new circuit is notifiable in England and Wales, new kitchen electrics are notifiable in Wales, and gas work needs a Gas Safe registered engineer.

An electrical certificate for any electrical work, a compliance certificate where it was notifiable, and Gas Safe paperwork for any gas connection.

£6,000–£25,000 a kitchen, typically around £12,000. The unit range and worktop drive most of it, then size and moving services. Our Kitchen Fitter price guide explains what moves the figure, and the search above shows kitchen fitters working near your postcode.

A kitchen made to your specification is usually outside the 14-day cancellation right under regulation 28 of the Consumer Contracts Regulations 2013; read the terms first.

Only if they are on the Gas Safe Register for that work.

Whoever supplied them; check on delivery and report damage before fitting.

MORE GUIDES

More hiring guides in trades & construction

How to hire: Fitted Wardrobe InstallerHow to hire: Carpenter & JoinerHow to hire: TilerHow to hire: PlastererHow to hire: BuilderHow to hire: Flooring InstallerHow to hire: Bathroom FitterHow to hire: Interior DesignerAll 701 hiring guides →

Kitchen fitters near you

Kitchen fitters in LondonKitchen fitters in ManchesterKitchen fitters in BirminghamKitchen fitters in GlasgowKitchen fitters in BelfastAll kitchen fitters on Locufy →

Sources — checked October 2026

  1. Registered Competent Person Electrical register
  2. gov.wales — building regulations: electrics
  3. gov.uk — building work, replacements and repairs to your home (England)
  4. Gas Safety (Installation and Use) Regulations 1998, regulation 3
  5. Gas Safety (Installation and Use) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2004, regulation 3
  6. HSE — Gas Safe Register: the scheme, its coverage and the ID card
  7. Consumer Contracts Regulations 2013, regulation 28 — contracts the cancellation right does not cover
  8. Consumer Rights Act 2015, section 49 — reasonable care and skill
  9. Consumer Rights Act 2015, section 54 — what you can ask for when a service falls short
  10. Consumer Contracts Regulations 2013, regulation 30 — the 14-day cancellation period
  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