HOW TO HIRE · PLUMBING & HEATING

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

No register applies, but the water rules cap a single flush at 6 litres in England and Wales. The checks and the soil pipe question.

  • Search and compare — no account needed
  • Nearest to you first
  • One score from Google, Trustpilot and Locufy reviews

THE 60-SECOND VERSION

Hiring a toilet fitter in five steps

  1. Measure to the soil pipeWall to soil pipe centre, before buying a toilet.
  2. Repair or replace?A flush or fill valve is a small job; a new pan is bigger.
  3. Check the floorRotten boards round an old toilet must be repaired first.
  4. Agree disposalWho takes the old toilet away.
  5. Flush testSeveral flushes and a look for leaks before the fitter goes.

BEFORE YOU BOOK

Check before you book

No register applies

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

Flush volume under the water fittings rules

Schedule 2 of the 1999 Water Supply (Water Fittings) Regulations limits a single WC flush to 6 litres, and on a dual flush the smaller flush to two-thirds of the larger. Scotland and Northern Ireland have their own rules.

Check the toilet you buy is made for the UK water rules, and ask the fitter to confirm. legislation.gov.uk →

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 toilet installation falls.

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

Public liability insurance, including water damage

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

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

VAT

Toilet repair or replacement is standard-rated at 20%, the soil connector, valves and disposal of the old pan included. Registration is compulsory above £90,000 of taxable turnover, and a registered firm has to charge it and itemise it rather than fold it into the price.

Ask the toilet fitter for the VAT number and whether the price is plus VAT. gov.uk →

“Will this toilet line up with my soil pipe?”

A good answer: A measurement before you buy, and a plan if a new connector is needed.

“Is it a repair, or does the whole toilet need replacing?”

A good answer: A diagnosis: many faults are a fill or flush valve.

“How will you fix a wall-hung or back-to-wall toilet?”

A good answer: A frame or boxing, priced and named.

“Is removing the old toilet in the price?”

A good answer: Yes, or a stated charge.

“What if the floor under the toilet is rotten?”

A good answer: A look at it, and a price to repair before fitting.

“Will you seal round the base?”

A good answer: Yes, after it is fixed and level.

Getting the quote right

  • Repair part or new toilet, and who supplies it
  • Soil connector and supply valve
  • Removal and disposal of the old toilet
  • Floor repairs, if needed, priced
  • Who actually attends to fit the toilet — the plumber you booked, employed or subcontracted
  • The VAT number, with VAT at 20% shown separately

Walk away if

  • Fits a toilet without checking the soil pipe position
  • Leaves without flush-testing
  • No isolation valve on the supply
  • Seals over a rocking pan
LOW
£150
TYPICAL
£300
HIGH
£600

What a toilet fitter costs: £150–£600 per job

Toilet repairs are priced as a call-out and part; a new toilet is a fixed fitting price, with the toilet itself extra unless supplied. Toilet Repair & 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

Toilet 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. IsolateWater off and the cistern emptied.
  2. RemoveOld toilet or faulty part removed.
  3. FitNew toilet or part fitted, level and fixed.
  4. ConnectSoil pipe and supply connected with new seals.
  5. TestSeveral flushes, checked for leaks.

Close-coupled
A toilet with the cistern sitting on the pan.
Wall-hung
A toilet fixed to a frame in the wall, off the floor.
Soil pipe
The waste pipe the toilet connects to.
Fill valve
Refills the cistern after a flush.
Flush valve
Releases water into the pan.
Dual flush
Two buttons for a full and a reduced flush.

AFTER

When the job is done

Flush and watchSeveral times over the day; look at the base and the supply.
Check the cistern fills and stopsNo constant trickle into the pan.
Keep the invoicePart or toilet, and the guarantee.
Rate the jobTell the next person how the toilet installation went — time kept, mess left, price held. Under four stars, the toilet fitter is offered the chance to fix it first through make-it-right.

STEP 1Put it in writing to the toilet fitterPut the problem with the toilet installation in a message or email, with photos and the date. The Consumer Rights Act 2015 reads reasonable care and skill into every contract like this one, so you can require the toilet fitter to redo the faulty part within a reasonable time at no cost to you, or give a price reduction.
STEP 2Use the make-it-right stepRate the toilet installation below four stars and you are asked whether the toilet fitter should see the complaint first; we keep it moving until it is answered, then you review.
STEP 3Trading Standards, through the helplinesFor advice about the toilet installation, or to have the complaint passed to Trading Standards, call the Citizens Advice consumer helpline on 0808 223 1133 (England and Wales), Advice Direct Scotland on 0808 800 9060, or Consumerline on 0300 123 6262 in Northern Ireland.
STEP 4Small claims, if money is owedTo get money back for the toilet installation, the small claims limits are £10,000 in England and Wales, £5,000 in Scotland (simple procedure) and £5,000 in Northern Ireland; court fees start at £35 in England and Wales and £23 in Scotland.

Hiring a toilet fitter: questions people ask

No. No register applies; the toilet must meet the water fittings rules.

Not for like-for-like replacement in England; new bathroom plumbing usually does need notifying.

In England and Wales a single WC flush may not exceed 6 litres under the 1999 water fittings rules.

£150–£600 per job, about £300 typical for a close-coupled swap. See the toilet repair and installation price guide for the breakdown, then put your town in the search above to compare plumbers.

Usually; a fill or flush valve is the common fix.

One to two hours for a repair, two to four for a new toilet.

MORE GUIDES

More hiring guides in plumbing & heating

How to hire: Bathroom PlumbingHow to hire: PlumberHow to hire: Leak RepairHow to hire: Tap & Mixer InstallationHow to hire: Shower InstallationHow to hire: Drain UnblockingHow to hire: Emergency PlumberHow to hire: Pipework InstallationAll 701 hiring guides →

Toilet fitters near you

Toilet fitters in LondonToilet fitters in ManchesterToilet fitters in BirminghamToilet fitters in GlasgowToilet fitters in BelfastAll toilet fitters on Locufy →Do it yourself: fixing a running or slow-filling toilet →

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. gov.uk — building work, replacements and repairs to your home (England)
  8. Consumer Rights Act 2015, section 49 — reasonable care and skill
  9. Citizens Advice — more help with a consumer issue (England)
  10. Buildings and construction (VAT Notice 708) — 2.1 Construction services: work to an existing building is normally standard-rated
  11. GOV.UK — VAT rates
  12. GOV.UK — Register for VAT: when to register