How Much Does a Bathroom Renovation Cost in London? (2026)

Last updated: 22 June 2026

A full bathroom renovation in London costs about £8,000 to £12,000 all-in in 2026 for a standard mid-range job, once labour, fittings, tiling and waste removal are counted [1][3]. The labour on its own, which is where most of the variation between quotes sits, is usually £3,000 to £6,000 [2][3]. A simple like-for-like refresh that keeps the existing layout can start nearer £5,500 to £8,000, while a wet room, a moved soil pipe or a premium fit-out runs £15,000 to £25,000 or more [1][3]. London labour sits roughly 20 to 35 per cent above the UK average, so the same bathroom costs noticeably more here than it would in much of the country [2][3].

A bathroom is the most trade-dense room in the house. A single renovation can involve a plumber, an electrician, a tiler, a plasterer and a decorator, plus building regulations for the electrics and, where any gas is touched, a Gas Safe registered engineer. That is why quotes vary so widely, and why the Federation of Master Builders warns that homeowners routinely underestimate the cost of a new bathroom, with many budgeting under £10,000 for work that frequently costs more [4]. This guide tiers the 2026 prices by scope, breaks down what each trade and each fitting adds, sets out the rules you cannot skip, and shows what a fair, itemised quote should contain, so you can judge a quote line by line.

A London bathroom renovation at a glance

The figure most homeowners want is the all-in cost: labour, fittings and materials for a realistically scoped job, including strip-out and waste removal. On that basis, by scope [1][3]:

Renovation scope (all-in: labour, fittings and materials)	London estimate (2026)
Like-for-like refresh, same layout, new suite and tiles	£5,500 to £8,000
Standard full renovation, new layout, mid-range fittings	£8,000 to £12,000
Higher-spec full renovation, quality fittings, retiled throughout	£12,000 to £16,000
Wet room or premium fit-out, moved soil pipe, tanking, bespoke fittings	£15,000 to £25,000+

The single biggest source of confusion when comparing prices is the split between labour and materials. The fittings are the part you choose and control; the labour is the part that depends on the condition of the room and the complexity of the work. As a rough guide for a standard London renovation [2][3]:

Part of the job	London estimate (2026)
Labour, all trades, standard renovation	£3,000 to £6,000
Bathroom fitter or plumber day rate	£300 to £450
Electrician day rate	£300 to £450
Tiler day rate	£200 to £350
Plasterer day rate	£350 to £450

Prices vary from borough to borough and job to job, so treat every figure here as a starting point rather than a fixed price. A central London flat with no parking, restricted access and a moved soil pipe will sit well above a like-for-like swap in a suburban house, even with identical fittings.

What a fair bathroom renovation quote should include

Because a bathroom touches several trades, the most useful thing you can do is make every quote break out the same line items, so you are comparing like with like rather than one lump sum against another. A fair, itemised quote should set out:

• Strip-out and waste removal. Removing the old suite, tiles and flooring, plus disposal by skip or trade waste van. A 4 to 6 yard skip in London runs roughly £175 to £400, and a permit is needed if it stands on a public road, so confirm whether this is included or extra.
• Labour, by trade and stage. First-fix plumbing and electrics, waterproofing, tiling, plastering, then second-fix to fit the suite, taps, shower and extractor. A quote that names the trades and stages is easier to trust than a single labour figure.
• Materials and fittings, by item. Bath, basin, toilet, shower and valve, enclosure or screen, taps and brassware, tiles with a wastage allowance, flooring, adhesive, grout and sealant. The spec, not just the price, should be stated.
• Waterproofing and tanking. The most commonly missed cost. Any shower or wet zone must be tanked before tiling [10]. If a quote for a wet area has no tanking line, ask how it will be waterproofed before you accept it.
• Testing and certification. The electrician should issue a Building Regulations compliance certificate for the electrical work [5][7]. This belongs in the price, not as a later add-on.
• VAT. Most bathroom work is charged at the standard 20 per cent rate [11]. Confirm whether each quote includes it, because a VAT-registered firm and a sole trader below the threshold can look very different on paper for the same work.
• Making good and decoration. Plastering and painting the disturbed surfaces, and any ceiling below if pipework is routed through it.

Two red flags are worth naming. A single lump sum with no breakdown makes it impossible to see what is missing, and a request for more than 25 per cent of the total upfront runs against consumer guidance; Which? advises never paying more than a quarter in advance and keeping the final instalment until the work is accepted [2].

What drives the cost: the four trades

Most of the labour bill comes down to how many trades the job needs and for how long. A like-for-like refresh might keep the plumber and tiler busy for a few days with a brief electrical visit; a full reconfiguration pulls in all four and runs for two to three weeks.

• Plumber or bathroom fitter. The lead trade on most jobs, handling the suite, taps, shower and waste. London day rates run about £300 to £450, against £200 to £350 nationally [2][3]. Moving the waste or soil pipe is the single change that most reliably pushes plumbing time and cost up.
• Electrician. New lighting, the extractor fan, a shaver socket and any circuit changes are all electrical work in a bathroom, which is a regulated "special location" (see the rules below). London rates are similar to the plumber at roughly £300 to £450 a day [2].
• Tiler. Walls and floors, plus the waterproofing of the wet zone. A medium bathroom typically costs around £2,000 to £3,500 to tile all-in, with labour quoted per square metre; our dedicated guide to the cost to tile a bathroom in London breaks the per-m² rates down in full.
• Plasterer and decorator. Making good after first fix and finishing the surfaces. Plasterers in London rarely work below about £350 to £450 a day [3], and new plaster needs time to dry before it can be painted, which affects the schedule more than the budget.

Materials and fittings: where the budget goes

After labour, the fittings are the part you control. The same bathroom can be specced as a budget refresh or a designer fit-out, and the gap is large. Typical 2026 supply prices look like this [3]:

Item	Budget	Mid-range	Premium
Bath, acrylic to freestanding	£80 to £200	£400 to £800	£1,250 to £3,000+
Basin	from £50	£150 to £300	£600+ (vanity unit)
Toilet	£50 to £100	£200 to £400	£600+ (wall-hung)
Shower valve and fittings	from £50	£200 to £350	£550+
Enclosure or screen	£100 to £300	£400 to £500	£800+ (frameless walk-in)
Taps and brassware	from £30	£100 to £200	£550 to £1,100+
Wall and floor tiles, supply per m²	£5 to £20	£35 to £80	£100 to £160+
Waterproofing or tanking	£30 to £80 (DIY kit)	£150 to £400 (system)	-
Extractor fan, unit and fitting	£75 to £130	£110 to £190	£240 to £400

A useful budgeting rule is that fittings and materials and labour each take a meaningful share of a mid-range job, so doubling your fittings spend does not double the project, but it does move you up a tier. If the budget is tight, the most visible savings come from the tiles and the brassware rather than from cutting corners on waterproofing or certification, which are the parts that cost the most to put right later.

The biggest cost variables

Four things separate a job at the bottom of a tier from one at the top:

• Moving the soil pipe or changing the layout. Keeping the suite where it is keeps the plumbing cheap. Relocating the toilet, bath or basin means new waste runs, often builder's work, and several extra days on site.
• A wet room. Converting to a fully tanked wet room with a graded floor and a level drain is more involved than a standard bathroom, both in waterproofing and in floor build-up, and it sits at the top of the tiers above.
• London access and logistics. Flats with no parking, narrow stairs, lift bookings, congestion and low-emission charges and restricted delivery windows all add cost that has nothing to do with the bathroom itself.
• The age of the property. In Victorian and Edwardian homes, stripping out can reveal old pipework, uneven walls or tiles bonded to original plaster, any of which can turn a tidy refit into a bigger repair. A good tradesperson flags this risk before starting rather than presenting it as a mid-job surprise.

The rules you cannot skip: regulations and safety

A bathroom is a wet, electrically sensitive room, so several requirements are not optional. They protect you, and they are a fair test of whether a tradesperson is working properly. None of the notifiable work below is suitable as a do-it-yourself job; use a registered or competent professional.

Electrical work: Part P and bathroom zones

A bathroom is a "special location" under the Building Regulations because of the proximity of water and electricity [6]. Electrical work here, such as new circuits, lighting, the extractor fan or a shaver socket, is notifiable under Part P and must either be notified to building control in advance or self-certified by a contractor registered with a competent person scheme such as NICEIC or NAPIT [5][7]. As NAPIT puts it, "notifiable work includes any electrical work in a bathroom or shower room" [7]. The room is divided into zones (0, 1 and 2) that dictate what equipment can go where and what protection ratings it must carry [6]. On completion, your electrician should issue a Building Regulations compliance certificate, which you will want for insurance and when you come to sell. Using a registered electrician means the certification is handled for you, with no separate building-control fee.

Gas work: Gas Safe is the law

If your renovation touches anything gas, for example moving a gas pipe or working on a boiler that feeds a heated towel rail, it must be done by a Gas Safe registered engineer. The Health and Safety Executive is unambiguous: "It is illegal for someone who is not Gas Safe registered to fit a gas appliance or do other gas work" [8]. Most modern heated towel rails are electric and fall under the electrical rules instead, but anything connected to the wet central-heating or gas system is Gas Safe territory. You can check an engineer's registration on the Gas Safe Register before they start.

Ventilation: Part F

Bathrooms need adequate extraction to manage moisture, and Part F of the Building Regulations sets the standard. An intermittent extractor fan must achieve at least 15 litres per second, and this applies even to bathrooms with an opening window when the work forms part of a renovation [9]. A fan fitted in a wet zone must also meet the electrical protection rating for that zone [6].

Waterproofing: tanking

Tile adhesive and grout are water-resistant, not waterproof, so wet areas must be tanked before tiling. The British Standard for tiling, BS 5385, requires a waterproofing system in domestic wet areas such as shower enclosures and wet rooms, and the Tile Association advises having tiles fixed professionally in these areas [10]. Skipping the tanking is the most expensive false economy in a bathroom: water reaches the substrate through the grout over time and can damage the wall, the floor and the rooms beyond.

VAT

Most domestic bathroom work is charged at the standard VAT rate of 20 per cent [11]. There are narrow exceptions: qualifying adaptations for a disabled person in their own home can be zero-rated, and certain mobility aids for people aged 60 or over are reduced-rated, both under specific HMRC conditions [11]. General improvements and redecoration do not qualify, even where they are disability-related, so treat any zero-rating claim with care and check the current gov.uk guidance.

How long does a bathroom renovation take?

Plan for weeks rather than days once you include ordering and drying time. The on-site work for a standard family bathroom is typically 7 to 15 working days, assuming the materials are on site and the trades are booked back to back [3]:

Project type	On-site working days
Like-for-like refresh, no layout change	5 to 7 days
Standard full renovation, new layout	7 to 15 days
Wet room conversion	10 to 15 days
Complex job with a moved soil pipe	15 to 25+ days

Several things stretch the programme: tanking needs time to cure before tiling, tile adhesive and grout need to set, new plaster needs to dry before it is painted, and bespoke or imported items can add weeks of lead time before work even begins. The trades must also run in the right order, from strip-out and first fix through waterproofing and tiling to second fix and decoration, so the total from first planning to a finished room is more often 6 to 12 weeks than a single fortnight.

How to get an accurate quote

1. Get at least three written quotes for the same scope, so you can compare like with like.
2. Ask for an itemised breakdown using the fair-quote checklist above: strip-out and waste, labour by trade, fittings by item, tanking, testing and certification, VAT, and making good.
3. Agree who supplies the fittings, and build in a tile wastage allowance of about 10 per cent, or 15 to 20 per cent for herringbone, chevron or natural stone.
4. Confirm the regulatory cover: a registered electrician for the Part P work and its certificate [5][7], and a Gas Safe engineer for anything gas [8].
5. Watch the payment terms. Stage payments to milestones, and do not pay more than 25 per cent upfront, keeping the final instalment until the work is accepted [2].

If a quoted price differs sharply from an estimate, know the difference: a quote is a fixed-price promise, while an estimate is a best guess. As Citizens Advice puts it, "quotes are fixed-price promises", and a trader cannot charge more than a quote unless they told you about extra work and you agreed to it [12].

Finding a trusted bathroom team in London

A bathroom rewards a careful team and punishes a rushed one. The fittings are what you see, but the waterproofing, the certified electrics and the correctly sequenced trades are what make the room last. The cheapest quote that omits tanking or certification is rarely the cheapest job once it has to be put right.

Find a trusted local tradesperson near you on Loacally to compare plumbers, tilers, electricians and decorators working in your borough. Every application to join the platform is reviewed by hand, with identity checked, a phone call made, and insurance and certifications confirmed, and the service is free for customers. For the checks worth making before you book anyone, see our guide on how to find a trusted tradesperson in London. And for the jobs inside a bathroom refit, our guides on the cost to tile a bathroom and the cost to replace a bathroom tap, along with the rest of our costs and pricing guides, cover the wider list.

Frequently asked questions

How much does a bathroom renovation cost in London in 2026? A standard mid-range renovation costs about £8,000 to £12,000 all-in, covering labour, fittings, tiling and waste removal [1][3]. The labour alone is usually £3,000 to £6,000 [2][3]. A like-for-like refresh can start nearer £5,500 to £8,000, while a wet room or premium fit-out with a moved soil pipe runs £15,000 to £25,000 or more.

How long does a bathroom renovation take? On-site work is typically 7 to 15 working days for a standard renovation, 5 to 7 for a like-for-like refresh, and 15 to 25 or more where the soil pipe is moved [3]. Tanking, grout and plaster all need drying time, and bespoke items add lead time, so the full programme is usually 6 to 12 weeks.

Do I need an electrician, and does Part P apply to my bathroom? Yes. A bathroom is a regulated special location, so new lighting, the extractor, a shaver socket or any circuit change is notifiable under Part P [6]. Use a contractor registered with a competent person scheme such as NICEIC or NAPIT; they self-certify the work and issue the compliance certificate [5][7]. This is not a do-it-yourself job.

Do I need a Gas Safe engineer for a bathroom renovation? Only if the work touches gas, such as moving a gas pipe or working on a boiler that feeds a wet heated towel rail. That work must be done by a Gas Safe registered engineer, because the HSE confirms it is illegal for an unregistered person to do gas work [8]. Most modern towel rails are electric and fall under the electrical rules instead.

Is a wet room more expensive than a standard bathroom? Generally yes. A wet room needs the whole floor and lower walls tanked, a graded floor falling to a level drain, and a stronger floor build-up, which adds both materials and time. That places most wet room conversions in the higher tiers, commonly £15,000 and above in London depending on size and finish [1][3].

Do I need planning permission or building regulations for a new bathroom? Planning permission is not normally required for an internal bathroom renovation unless the property is listed [13]. Building regulations do apply to the plumbing and electrical work; using competent-person-registered trades for the electrics removes the need to notify building control separately [5][7].

Sources

1. Which? - How much does a new bathroom cost? - https://www.which.co.uk/reviews/bathrooms/article/planning-a-bathroom/how-much-does-a-new-bathroom-cost-aplYp0C4swPo - last updated 1 January 2026.
2. Which? - How much do plumbers cost? (London and South East premium; deposit guidance) - https://www.which.co.uk/reviews/finding-a-tradesperson/article/how-much-do-plumbers-cost-awJxi6S98hqB - last updated 1 May 2026.
3. Homebuilding & Renovating - Bathroom cost guide (day rates, materials, timelines) - https://www.homebuilding.co.uk/advice/bathroom-cost-guide - last updated 9 April 2025.
4. Federation of Master Builders - Bathroom renovation costs: a cost breakdown - https://www.fmb.org.uk/resource/bathroom-renovation-costs-a-cost-breakdown.html - checked June 2026.
5. gov.uk - Building Regulations approval: when you need approval - https://www.gov.uk/building-regulations-approval/when-you-need-approval - checked June 2026.
6. The Institution of Engineering and Technology (IET) - Part P, England and Wales (bathroom special location and zones) - https://electrical.theiet.org/bs-7671/building-regulations/part-p-england-and-wales/ - checked June 2026.
7. NAPIT - Competent Person Scheme (notifiable electrical work in bathrooms) - https://www.napit.org.uk/schemes/competent-person-scheme.aspx - checked June 2026.
8. Health and Safety Executive - Domestic gas: frequently asked questions - https://www.hse.gov.uk/gas/domestic/faqs.htm - last updated 16 March 2023.
9. gov.uk - Ventilation: Approved Document F (2021 edition) - https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/ventilation-approved-document-f - last updated 15 June 2022.
10. The Tile Association - Tiling guide and relevant standards (BS 5385, waterproofing in wet areas) - https://www.tiles.org.uk/tiling-guide/ - checked June 2026.
11. gov.uk - VAT relief on certain building work if you have a disability - https://www.gov.uk/guidance/vat-relief-on-certain-building-work-if-you-have-a-disability - checked June 2026.
12. Citizens Advice - Problem with building work, decorating or home improvements - https://www.citizensadvice.org.uk/consumer/getting-home-improvements-done/problem-with-home-improvements/ - checked June 2026.
13. Planning Portal - Planning permission: kitchens and bathrooms - https://www.planningportal.co.uk/permission/common-projects/kitchens-and-bathrooms/planning-permission/ - checked June 2026.