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Replacing a consumer unit in London costs £500 to £900 for most homes: about £350 to £600 for a one or two-bed flat with a standard dual-RCD board, £650 to £1,200 for a full RCBO board in a two or three-bed house, and £850 to £1,500 for a large or period house with 16 to 20 circuits.
| Job | London low | London typical | London high | UK typical | What moves the price |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 to 2 bed flat, dual-RCD board (6 to 8 ways) | £350 | £600 | £800 | £450 | Fewest circuits; 4 to 6 hours |
| 2 to 3 bed home, full RCBO board with surge protection (10 to 12 ways) | £650 | £950 | £1,200 | £560 | Every circuit on its own RCBO; the board most London firms fit in 2026 |
| Large or period house (16 to 20 ways) | £850 | £1,200 | £1,500 | £730 | More circuits, usually bonding and earthing work too |
| Add-on: earthing and bonding upgrade | £100 | £200 | £300 | Water and gas bonding missing or undersized, common in older flats | |
| Add-on: moving the board | £150 | £250 | £400 | £2,000 or more only if the incoming mains has to move | |
| Add-on: surge or arc-fault device | £80 | £120 | £200 | Per device; often bundled into the RCBO price |
The consumer unit is the box of switches that feeds every circuit in the home. It gets replaced for three reasons: it still has rewireable fuses or no RCD protection, an EICR has coded it C2, or you are adding something the old board cannot take, such as an EV charger, an electric shower or a new kitchen.
The job takes four to eight hours and the power is off for three to six of them. The electrician tests every circuit before connecting it to the new board, which is where surprises come from: a fault found on a circuit is repaired separately, usually £100 to £300 per circuit, and a pre-1960s home with rubber or cloth cables may need a partial rewire before a new board can be certified.
A new or replacement consumer unit is notifiable under Part P, so use a registered electrician who self-certifies. You should leave with two documents: an Electrical Installation Certificate and a Building Regulations compliance certificate. London labour runs 15 to 25 per cent above the UK average, which is most of the gap in the table.
Prices last checked: September 2026. Based on the published 2026 price pages of four London electrical firms and MyJobQuote's 2026 guide. PROS AI does not yet have enough completed consumer unit jobs in London to publish its own averages.
Most jobs land between £500 and £900. A small flat with a standard dual-RCD board starts around £350 to £600; a full RCBO board for a two or three-bed house is £650 to £1,200; a large or period house with 16 to 20 circuits runs £850 to £1,500. Firms that publish fixed London prices charge £595 plus VAT to £950 for a typical home.
A dual-RCD board splits the circuits into two groups, so one fault trips half the house; the board itself costs about £120. An RCBO board gives every circuit its own device, so a fault trips only that circuit; the board is about £250 plus £8 to £18 per RCBO. Most London electricians now quote RCBO with surge protection as standard, and the price difference is £150 to £350 on the job.
Yes, two. The electrician issues an Electrical Installation Certificate for the work, and because a consumer unit replacement is notifiable under Part P, a registered electrician also notifies building control and you receive a compliance certificate. Without them you will pay for testing when you sell.
Three to six hours, inside a four to eight hour job. Plan for no fridge, no wifi and no lights for an afternoon; a single day is normal, two days only where faults are found.
Often, in older London flats. Both need a dedicated high-current circuit with RCD protection, and a board with rewireable fuses, no RCD or no spare way cannot take one. Electricians quote the board upgrade as an add-on of £450 to £1,200 on those jobs.
Written by Shay Hazan, PROS AI.
£450 - £1,300per job
A guide range for this kind of job, based on London market rates. It is not a quote - the quotes your pros give you are the real answer, and they are free.
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