HOW TO HIRE · PLUMBING & HEATING

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

No register applies, but a gas hob needs a Gas Safe engineer and appliance connections must meet the water rules. Who does what, and the checks.

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THE 60-SECOND VERSION

Hiring a kitchen plumber in five steps

  1. List every connectionSink, dishwasher, washing machine, fridge water feed, boiling-water tap.
  2. Separate the gasA gas hob or cooker is connected by a Gas Safe registered engineer.
  3. Time the visitsFirst fix before units, second fix after worktops are in.
  4. Ask about valvesAn isolation valve on every appliance and a check valve where the rules need one.
  5. Get it testedEvery joint checked with the water on before the plinths go back.

BEFORE YOU BOOK

Check before you book

No register applies

No licence or register applies to kitchen plumbers in England, Wales, Scotland or Northern Ireland, so anyone may offer kitchen plumbing. For kitchen 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 kitchen plumbing touches gas, and if it does, who on the team is on the Gas Safe Register.

Gas Safe Register for anything on gas

Plumbers need no register, but gas does: under the 1998 Gas Safety (Installation and Use) Regulations, and Northern Ireland's 2004 Regulations, only a Gas Safe registered engineer may be paid to work on a gas appliance or pipework. If the kitchen plumbing reaches a gas boiler, hob or supply, that part is theirs.

Check the engineer's licence by text to 85080, or on 0800 408 5500, before the gas part of the kitchen plumbing starts. gassaferegister.co.uk →

Water fittings rules

In England and Wales the 1999 Water Supply (Water Fittings) Regulations govern the pipes and fittings used for the kitchen plumbing; an approved contractor must give the person who commissioned the work a certificate saying whether the fittings comply. For the kitchen plumbing in Scotland the rules are Scottish Water's byelaws, and in Northern Ireland the 2009 Regulations.

Ask whether the plumber is an approved contractor and will give you the certificate for the the kitchen plumbing. legislation.gov.uk →

Public liability insurance, including water damage

No law requires a plumber to be insured for the kitchen plumbing, but one leaking joint can ruin a ceiling. The Consumer Rights Act 2015 gives you the right to the kitchen plumbing done with reasonable care and skill — insurance is what makes a claim against the plumber worth something.

Ask the plumber for the insurer's name and whether the policy covers water damage.

VAT

Kitchen plumbing is standard-rated at 20%, from the sink waste to the appliance feeds. Over the £90,000 registration threshold a trader must charge it and show it separately; under it there is no VAT and no VAT number.

Ask the kitchen plumber for a VAT number, and whether the price per connection is plus VAT. gov.uk →

“Will you connect the gas hob in the kitchen, or is that a Gas Safe engineer?”

A good answer: A plain answer; if they connect it, a licence number and boilers or cookers on the card.

“Which kitchen appliances need a check valve or backflow protection?”

A good answer: They name them, because the water fittings rules expect it.

“Can the kitchen sink waste reach the drain with the right fall?”

A good answer: A look at the route; a long or uphill run changes the plan.

“When do you need the kitchen units and worktops in?”

A good answer: A clear sequence: first fix now, second fix after worktops.

“Does a boiling-water tap need its own electrics?”

A good answer: Yes for most; the electrical side is quoted or referred.

“Is testing and an isolation valve on each appliance in the kitchen plumbing price?”

A good answer: Yes, both listed.

Getting the quote right

  • Each connection listed — sink, appliances, water feeds
  • Isolation and check valves included
  • Waste runs described
  • Gas connection by a Gas Safe engineer, or excluded
  • Who actually attends — the plumber, and the Gas Safe engineer for any gas hob, employed or subcontracted
  • The VAT number, with VAT at 20% on its own line

Walk away if

  • Offers to connect a gas hob with no Gas Safe card
  • No isolation valves on appliances
  • Second fix done before the worktops are fixed
  • No leak test
LOW
£100
TYPICAL
£275
HIGH
£750

What a kitchen plumber costs: £100–£750 per job

Kitchen plumbing is priced per job by the connections needed; gas, electrics and units are separate. Kitchen 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

Kitchen 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. IsolateWater off and old fittings disconnected.
  2. First fixSupplies and wastes run to the new positions.
  3. Units inUnits and worktops fitted by the kitchen fitter.
  4. Second fixSink, taps and appliances connected with valves.
  5. TestWater on, every joint and appliance checked.

Check valve
A valve that stops water flowing back into the supply.
Backflow
Dirty water being drawn back into the drinking supply.
Isolation valve
A valve to cut the water to one appliance.
Waste trap
The U-bend under a sink that holds water to block drain smells.
Fall
The slope a waste pipe needs to drain.
Second fix
Final connections after units and worktops are in.

AFTER

When the job is done

Run every applianceA wash cycle on the dishwasher and washing machine, with a look under each.
Keep the gas recordIf a gas hob went in, the Gas Safe engineer's record.
Check the wasteFill and drain the sink and watch for drips under it.
Leave the reviewReviews on Locufy are tied to a booking, so yours about the kitchen plumbing carries weight. If something is not right, the make-it-right step gives the kitchen plumber the first chance to fix it before it is published.

STEP 1Tell the kitchen plumber, in writingStart with an email to the kitchen plumber: the problem, photos and what would put it right. A trader's kitchen 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 stepA score under four stars opens the make-it-right step: you choose whether the kitchen plumber gets the chance to put the kitchen plumbing right first, and we chase it to an end before you publish.
STEP 3Trading Standards, through the helplinesA kitchen plumber who will not engage can be reported through the consumer helplines, which pass cases to Trading Standards — Citizens Advice (0808 223 1133) in England and Wales, Advice Direct Scotland (0808 800 9060), Consumerline (0300 123 6262) in Northern Ireland.
STEP 4Small claims, if money is owedA claim against the kitchen 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 kitchen plumber: questions people ask

No register applies to plumbers. A gas hob or cooker must be connected by a Gas Safe registered engineer.

Only if they are on the Gas Safe Register for cookers or hobs; otherwise it is illegal for them to do it.

An approved contractor's certificate for new water fittings if they are in a scheme, and the gas engineer's record for a gas hob.

£100–£750 per job, about £275 typical for a new sink and taps. What pushes it up or down is in the kitchen plumbing price guide; search above by town for plumbers in your area.

The water fittings rules expect protection against backflow; the plumber should fit the right valves.

One to four hours for most kitchen plumbing jobs.

MORE GUIDES

More hiring guides in plumbing & heating

How to hire: Tap & Mixer InstallationHow to hire: Bathroom PlumbingHow to hire: PlumberHow to hire: Pipework InstallationHow to hire: Water Softener InstallationHow to hire: Leak RepairHow to hire: Drain UnblockingHow to hire: Gas EngineerAll 701 hiring guides →

Kitchen plumbers near you

Kitchen plumbers in LondonKitchen plumbers in ManchesterKitchen plumbers in BirminghamKitchen plumbers in GlasgowKitchen plumbers in BelfastAll kitchen plumbers on Locufy →Do it yourself: plumbing in a washing machine or dishwasher →

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. Water Supply (Water Fittings) Regulations 1999, Schedule 2 — requirements for water fittings
  7. Gas Safety (Installation and Use) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2004, regulation 3
  8. Gas Safe Register
  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