HOW TO HIRE · ELECTRICAL

How to hire a partial rewiring electrician in the UK
The checks, the questions and the paperwork.

Replacing circuits is notifiable in England and Wales. The register check, testing what stays, and the certificates you should receive.

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THE 60-SECOND VERSION

Hiring a partial rewiring electrician in five steps

  1. Find out which circuits need itAn EICR or a test of the existing wiring tells you which circuits to replace — and which can stay.
  2. Look them up firstThe Registered Competent Person Electrical register covers England and Wales; check the name there before agreeing the partial rewire.
  3. Ask about the consumer unitAn old board may not protect new circuits properly; get the answer before the quote.
  4. Compare written specificationsCircuits, points and making good listed, so the quotes match.
  5. Get the certificate and the compliance certificateOne from the electrician on the day, one from the scheme afterwards.

BEFORE YOU BOOK

Check before you book

Registered Competent Person Electrical

In England and Wales, the partial rewire installs new circuits, which is notifiable work; so is a replacement consumer unit and anything near a bath or shower, and in Wales anything in a kitchen. So the partial rewire is either self-certified under the Building Regulations by an electrician on a government-authorised competent person scheme, such as NICEIC or NAPIT, or notified to building control before it starts, and you pay for that inspection.

Type the business name into the register's search before the partial rewire is booked. electricalcompetentperson.co.uk →

Electrical Installation Certificate

The new circuits in the partial rewire are tested to BS 7671 and recorded on an Electrical Installation Certificate. Because the partial rewire is notifiable, the scheme also issues a Building Regulations compliance certificate: gov.uk says within 8 weeks in England, and the Welsh Government says the electrician should arrange it within 30 days.

Before you pay for the partial rewire, ask for the certificate with its test results. gov.wales →

Building warrant (Scotland) and Northern Ireland

In Scotland there is no competent person register: the partial rewire must meet building standard 4.5 (BS 7671), and the 2019 Scottish Government research lists rewiring as needing a building warrant in flats and buildings over three storeys. In Northern Ireland, the partial rewire comes under building regulations with no Part P-style notification scheme for home wiring.

In Scotland, ask whether the partial rewire needs a warrant and whether the electrician is an approved certifier of construction. gov.scot →

Insurance and trader status

Before the partial rewire, confirm the public liability insurance and its limit. You have Consumer Rights Act 2015 protection because the provider is a trader; and if the partial rewire is agreed in your home or online, the Consumer Contracts Regulations 2013 usually let you cancel within 14 days, except for made-to-measure goods and the part of the work you asked them to start early.

Before booking the partial rewire, ask to see current insurance and check the Locufy profile for its trader and ID badges.

VAT

VAT on a partial rewire is charged at the standard 20%, and any business turning over more than £90,000 a year in taxable sales has to register, add it to the price and set it out on its own line.

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

“Which circuits are you replacing, and why?”

A good answer: A list based on testing: the kitchen ring because it fails insulation tests, not 'everything looks old'.

“Will you test the circuits that stay?”

A good answer: Yes — a partial rewire should not leave you with a new kitchen on old, faulty wiring elsewhere. Faults found are reported and priced separately.

“Does the consumer unit need replacing?”

A good answer: A reasoned answer. New circuits need proper RCD protection; an old board without it may have to go.

“Who notifies and certifies the work?”

A good answer: The electrician, through a named competent person scheme, with an Electrical Installation Certificate on the day.

“What making good is included?”

A good answer: A clear line: chases filled, or fully replastered and decorated?

“How long will the room be out of use?”

A good answer: A realistic time for the partial rewire, especially for a kitchen or bathroom you use every day.

Getting the quote right

  • The circuits being replaced, by room
  • Whether a new consumer unit is included, by make and type
  • Testing of the remaining circuits and how faults found will be priced
  • Making good stated as included or excluded
  • Who actually attends — the electricians doing the rewire, employed or subcontracted — and the business's VAT number, with VAT at 20% shown as its own line

Walk away if

  • Recommends a full rewire without testing to show why
  • Will connect new circuits to an old board without RCD protection
  • No certificate offered for the new circuits
  • No scheme registration and no plan to notify building control in England or Wales
  • A single price with no list of circuits
LOW
£1,200
TYPICAL
£3,000
HIGH
£4,500

What a partial rewiring electrician costs: £1,200–£4,500 per job

A partial rewire is quoted per job from the list of circuits being replaced; a new consumer unit and making good are the usual extra lines. Partial Rewiring 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

Partial rewiring electricians 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. Test firstThe existing installation is tested to decide which circuits are replaced.
  2. IsolateThe circuits being replaced are isolated; the rest of the house stays live where it is safe.
  3. InstallNew cables, back boxes and accessories for the replaced circuits; the board changed if agreed.
  4. TestNew circuits are tested to BS 7671 before they are energised.
  5. Certify and reportElectrical Installation Certificate for the new work, a note on the remaining circuits, and notification through the scheme.

Ring final circuit
A socket circuit wired in a loop from the board and back.
Radial circuit
A circuit that runs out from the board without returning.
RCD protection
The safety switch cover that new circuits need.
EICR
The inspection of existing wiring that shows which circuits to replace.
Making good
Filling and plastering after cables are buried in walls.
Compliance certificate
The scheme's confirmation that notifiable work meets the Building Regulations.

AFTER

When the job is done

Keep both certificatesThe Electrical Installation Certificate for the new circuits and the compliance certificate from the scheme.
Read the note on the restAny observations about circuits that were not replaced, so you know what is left to do.
Test the roomsEvery new socket, switch and light, and the RCD buttons.
Leave the reviewOnly booked jobs can be reviewed on Locufy, so yours carries weight; if the partial rewire falls short, use the make-it-right step first and the provider is asked to fix it before the review is published.

STEP 1Start with the electrician, in writingSend the electrician a short, dated account of the problem with the partial rewire and the fix you want. Section 49 of the Consumer Rights Act 2015 implies reasonable care and skill into the contract, and section 54 gives you repeat performance or a price reduction when it is missing.
STEP 2Use Locufy's make-it-right stepRate the partial rewire 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 partial rewire falls into that gap; the scheme the electrician belongs to can chase a compliance certificate that never arrived. For a dispute about the partial rewire 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 partial rewire 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 partial rewiring electrician: questions people ask

Yes in England and Wales, because it installs new circuits: a scheme-registered electrician self-certifies it, or building control is notified before work starts.

An Electrical Installation Certificate for the new circuits, and a Building Regulations compliance certificate from the scheme afterwards.

£1,200–£4,500 a job, typically around £3,000. The number of circuits, access under floors and a new consumer unit set the price. The full figures sit in the Partial Rewiring price guide; the postcode search above lists partial rewiring electricians close to you with their prices.

Yes. Ask for the remaining circuits to be tested and any faults reported, so new work is not connected to a fault elsewhere.

Scotland has no competent person register and some rewiring in flats needs a building warrant; Northern Ireland has no Part P-style notification scheme for home wiring.

Let testing decide. If most circuits fail, a full rewire may cost less in the end; if one does, replace that one.

MORE GUIDES

More hiring guides in electrical

How to hire: Full RewiringHow to hire: Consumer Unit / Fuse Board UpgradeHow to hire: Electrical Safety Inspection (EICR)How to hire: ElectricianHow to hire: Electrical Fault FindingHow to hire: Extra SocketsHow to hire: Cooker & Hob WiringHow to hire: Electric Shower InstallationAll 701 hiring guides →

Partial rewiring electricians near you

Partial rewiring electricians in LondonPartial rewiring electricians in ManchesterPartial rewiring electricians in BirminghamPartial rewiring electricians in GlasgowPartial rewiring electricians in BelfastAll partial rewiring electricians on Locufy →

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.scot — Regulation of electricians in Scotland: Scottish building regulations (2019 research report)
  7. gov.uk — building regulations: use a competent person scheme
  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 28 — contracts the cancellation right does not cover
  12. Consumer Contracts Regulations 2013, regulation 36 — services started within the cancellation period
  13. Civil Procedure Rules Part 26 — the small claims track limit (England and Wales)
  14. Scottish Courts and Tribunals — making a claim under simple procedure
  15. nidirect — the small claims process (Northern Ireland)
  16. Buildings and construction (VAT Notice 708) — 2.1 Construction services: work to an existing building is normally standard-rated
  17. GOV.UK — VAT rates
  18. GOV.UK — Register for VAT: when to register