Bathroom renovation cost in the UK (2026 guide)

The cost of refitting a bathroom depends on what has to change behind the tiles, not just on the bath and basin you pick. Which? says it worked with the Building Cost Information Service (BCIS) to produce price ranges for removing an existing bathroom and installing new units, including a bath, basin, WC, vanity unit, fittings, flooring, wall tiling and decoration, for terraced, semi-detached and detached houses (Which?, how much does a new bathroom cost in 2026?, published 1 January 2026, read 12 October 2026). When we read the page, the price table showed "Sign up to reveal", so we do not quote it. We would sooner tell you that than give you a number we cannot stand behind.

This guide covers what pushes a bathroom quote up or down, the rules that apply, and how VAT works, including the zero-rated case for disabled people. If you are planning a kitchen as well, see our kitchen fitting cost guide. For the trade itself, see kitchen and bathroom fitters.

What does it cost to refit a bathroom in 2026?

There is no single UK price, and you should be wary of any page that gives one. Which? puts the size of bathroom in its table at around 3.5 square metres, 4 square metres and 6.5 square metres, so size is one driver. The page lists others: location, the age and condition of the property, how easy the plumbing is to reach, how long the job takes, the quality of the fittings, and whether tilers or electricians are needed.

What the public part of the page does say is about value. William Holden of Holdens Chartered Surveyors, quoted in the Which? article, says you could boost your property value by 2 to 5% with a new bathroom, and are more likely to add value (around 3 to 7%) with an extra bathroom, en suite or downstairs loo. The page gives no date or basis for that estimate. It is one surveyor's view, not a market statistic, and we would not plan a budget around it. It does suggest a bathroom is worth doing properly rather than cheaply twice.

For a real figure, get three written quotes for the same specification. Citizens Advice advises written quotes from at least three traders (Citizens Advice, before you get building work done, read 12 October 2026).

What drives the price of a new bathroom?

The suite and fittings

A basic bath, basin and toilet from a DIY store is cheap, and a designer range is not. Wall-hung toilets and basins need a frame and a strengthened wall, which adds labour. Walk-in showers need a tray or a formed floor, a screen and a waste. Heated towel rails, mirrors with lights, and brassware chosen for looks all change the total. Decide early whether you buy the suite or the fitter does, because that decides who is responsible if something arrives cracked.

Tiling and waterproofing

Tiling is slow, skilled work, and the cost depends on the size of tile, the pattern, and how true the walls and floor are. Large format tiles need flat surfaces, so preparation can cost more than the tile. In a shower or wet room, the waterproofing beneath the tile is what keeps water out of your ceiling below. Ask what system is used, who guarantees it, and whether the price includes tanking the walls and floor.

Plumbing, drainage and the room's layout

Keeping the toilet, bath and basin where they are keeps the price down. Moving the toilet in particular means a new soil pipe run, and that can mean cutting into floors and boxing in pipes. Changing a bath for a walk-in shower can also mean new floor falls. Any quote that does not say where the waste pipes are going is incomplete.

Electrics

A bathroom has lighting, an extractor fan, perhaps a shaver socket, a heated towel rail and mirror lights. The Planning Portal says that in England the special locations for electrical work are the spaces around baths and showers, and that notifiable jobs include a new consumer unit, a complete new circuit and some alterations to circuits in special locations. It recommends using an installer registered with a competent person scheme, who can certify their own work (Planning Portal, electrics, read 12 October 2026). If the installer is not registered, the work must be inspected, approved and certificated by building control or, in England only, a registered third-party certifier. The rule is usually called Part P. Ask who is doing the electrics, which scheme they belong to and whether you get a certificate.

Ventilation (Part F)

The Planning Portal says that any new bathroom should have extract ventilation, and that if you refurbish a bathroom, existing extract ventilation must be kept or replaced. If there is none, you do not have to add one, although you can. It also gives equivalent areas for trickle ventilation, including 4,000 mm² for a bathroom with or without a WC, and says purge ventilation means an opening window of at least one tenth of the room's floor area at a 15 to 30 degree angle, or one twentieth if it opens beyond 30 degrees (Planning Portal, ventilation, read 12 October 2026). It points to Approved Document F for what the installed system must meet. Ask where the duct ends, because a fan has to vent outside to do its job.

Building regulations in general

The Planning Portal says work to refit a bathroom with new units and fittings does not generally need building regulations approval in England, though drainage or electrical work that forms part of the refit may. A bathroom in a room that had none is likely to need approval, to ensure adequate ventilation and drainage and to meet requirements for structural stability, electrical and fire safety (Planning Portal, kitchens and bathrooms, read 12 October 2026). That is the English position. Wales has devolved building regulations and Scotland uses building warrants, so check with your council before you assume. For the wider picture, read our guide to building regulations for home improvements.

Strip-out, waste and making good

Removing the old suite, tiles and flooring and taking it away is a cost. Some quotes include skips and tip runs, and some do not. Plastering, flooring and decorating after the tiling are other lines that vanish from cheap quotes. Ask for waste disposal to be shown as its own line, because these extras add up.

Wet rooms and accessible bathrooms

A wet room is a shower with no raised tray, with the floor and walls waterproofed as a whole. It costs more than a standard shower because the floor needs to be built to fall to a drain, and the waterproofing has to be right. Ask the fitter whether the floor needs strengthening, and have that priced as its own line.

Approved Document M covers access in buildings. GOV.UK lists Volume 1 for dwellings, in the 2015 edition with 2016 amendments, with category 1 (visitable), 2 (accessible and adaptable) and 3 (wheelchair user) dwellings, and says categories 2 and 3 apply only where required by planning permission (GOV.UK, Approved Document M, read 12 October 2026). Those higher categories are tied to planning permission, so they are not something this page can tell you applies to a refit of your own bathroom; ask your council. If you are adapting a home for a disabled person, speak to your council about whether you can get a grant or an occupational therapist's assessment before you design anything.

VAT on a bathroom refit

GOV.UK says the standard rate of VAT is 20% (GOV.UK, VAT rates, read 12 October 2026). A VAT-registered fitter will normally charge that on an ordinary bathroom refit, and a firm that is not registered will not. Ask whether each quote includes it.

There is one case where GOV.UK describes a lower rate for bathroom work. HMRC's VAT Notice 701/7 says you can zero-rate the services of providing, extending or adapting a bathroom, washroom or lavatory. It defines a bathroom as including a shower or wet room. This applies only where the work is necessary to suit the condition of a disabled person, and for a disabled person the building must be their private residence (HMRC, VAT Notice 701/7, page showing an update of 31 December 2020, read 12 October 2026). The same notice says the supplier should get a written declaration from the customer confirming they are entitled to relief. GOV.UK's general VAT page lists installing a bathroom or lavatory for disabled people in their own home as 0% (GOV.UK, rates of VAT on different goods and services, last updated 10 July 2026, read 12 October 2026).

Do not assume your job qualifies. A refit because the bathroom is dated is a general improvement, and that is charged at the standard rate. If you think the relief applies, tell the fitter before they quote, and read the notice and the eligibility declaration together.

How to compare bathroom quotes

1. Ask for the same specification from each firm, including the size and layout of the room, the suite, the tiles and the fittings.
2. Check whether the price includes the suite, tiles, plumbing, electrics, waterproofing, plastering, flooring, decoration and waste removal.
3. Ask who does the electrics, which competent person scheme they are in, and whether you get a certificate.
4. Ask what guarantee covers the waterproofing and the workmanship, and who stands behind it.
5. Agree stage payments. Citizens Advice advises against paying everything up front and against a deposit of more than 25%.

Keep a contingency sum aside, because opening up walls and floors often turns up work nobody could price in advance. For finding and vetting a firm, see how to hire a builder.

When you are ready to talk to someone local, search for a bathroom fitter near you. The directory is still being filled town by town, so check insurance and any scheme membership on the scheme's own site before you pay a deposit.