NOTE Nº 0513 · REV B

Renovate Kitchen Cost: 2026 UK Price Guide

Kitchen renovation costs in the UK range from £5,000 to £35,000+. This 2026 guide covers units, worktops, appliances, fitting labour, and what drives the price.

By The Renovation Notes Team · 7 min read · Published 2 August 2026 · updated within the last month · Sources checked 10 September 2026

Interior of modern light white kitchen furnished with white cupboards and appliances with wooden floor and tiled wall

In short

A budget kitchen renovation costs £5,000–£10,000; mid-range £10,000–£20,000; high-end £20,000–£50,000+. Labour alone typically runs £2,500–£6,000 for a standard kitchen fit-out, with plumbing and electrics additional.

A kitchen renovation is the most common major home improvement project in the UK, and it consistently delivers the best return on investment of any single room refurbishment, both in terms of daily quality of life and resale value. The challenge is that costs vary enormously, from under £5,000 for a straightforward budget rip-and-replace to over £50,000 for a bespoke fitted kitchen with premium appliances.

In 2026, most homeowners spend between £8,000 and £20,000 for a full kitchen renovation on a standard semi-detached or terraced house. Here is how to understand and control those costs.

What Is Included in a Kitchen Renovation?

A full renovation typically covers:

Removal and disposal of the existing kitchen
Supply and installation of new units (base, wall, and tall)
Worktops, laminate, solid wood, quartz, granite, or Dekton
Splashback, tiles, glass, or composite
Sink and taps
Integrated or freestanding appliances (oven, hob, extractor, dishwasher, fridge-freezer)
Plumbing work (moving or reconnecting supply and waste)
Electrical work (new circuits, sockets, under-cabinet lighting, extractor wiring)
Flooring
Plastering or decorating where needed
Any structural work (removing a wall, creating an island, changing the layout)

Not all renovations include every element. A kitchen refurbishment might mean new units and worktops only, with existing plumbing and appliances retained in position. A full remodel, especially one involving a layout change or structural opening, will hit the higher end of the cost range.

2026 Kitchen Renovation Cost Breakdown

Category	Budget	Mid-range	High-end
Units (supply, ex-worktops)	£1,500–£3,500	£3,500–£8,000	£8,000–£30,000+
Worktops	£300–£800	£800–£2,500	£2,500–£10,000+
Appliances	£800–£2,000	£2,000–£5,000	£5,000–£15,000+
Fitting labour	£1,500–£2,500	£2,500–£4,000	£3,500–£6,000
Plumbing	£400–£800	£600–£1,500	£1,000–£3,000
Electrics	£400–£900	£700–£1,500	£1,000–£2,500
Flooring	£400–£900	£700–£2,000	£1,500–£5,000
Splashback / tiling	£200–£600	£500–£1,500	£1,000–£4,000
Structural work (if required)	-	£1,500–£5,000	£3,000–£15,000
Total (typical range)	£5,000–£9,000	£10,000–£20,000	£22,000–£55,000+

Labour Rates in 2026

Kitchen fitters charge either a day rate or a fixed price per kitchen. Day rates in 2026:

Kitchen fitter: £200–£320/day
Plumber: £250–£380/day (London and South East: £300–£450)
Electrician: £250–£380/day
Tiler: £200–£320/day

A straightforward kitchen with no layout changes typically takes a fitter 3–5 days. Add a day or two for tiling, a day for an electrician, and half a day to a full day for a plumber. Trades often overlap on large projects, compressing the programme.

What Drives Kitchen Renovation Costs?

Layout changes are the biggest price variable. Keeping appliances and the sink in the same position is always cheaper. Moving the sink to a new location requires extending or rerouting waste and supply runs; moving the oven or hob may require a new electrical circuit or gas pipe extension.

Unit quality spans an enormous range. Rigid-built (carcase and drawer box) units from quality suppliers such as Howdens, Wren, or IKEA’s higher-end lines are more durable than flat-pack knock-downs. Bespoke hand-painted units from a specialist cabinetmaker carry premium prices but can match unusual room dimensions perfectly.

Worktop material makes a significant difference. Laminate is cheapest at £50–£150/linear metre installed; solid oak or walnut is £150–£300/lm; quartz composites (Silestone, Caesarstone) £250–£450/lm; natural granite £200–£450/lm; Dekton or Neolith ultra-compact surfaces £350–£650/lm.

Appliance specification can swing the total by thousands. A basic fan oven and gas hob cost under £500 combined; a range cooker with induction or dual-fuel hob from AEG or Smeg costs £1,500–£4,000; a Falcon or Viking range sits above £5,000.

Room size matters less than layout complexity. A compact galley kitchen with a tricky corner unit and a ceiling to extract through may cost more to fit than a larger open-plan kitchen with straightforward runs.

Budget Kitchen Renovation Tips

Keep the same layout, the biggest saving is avoiding new pipe runs and cable routes.
Reface rather than replace, replacing doors and drawer fronts only on existing carcases costs 30–60% of a full replacement if the boxes are structurally sound.
Mix supplier tiers, budget-level carcases with premium doors is a common money-saving strategy.
Supply appliances yourself, many fitters will fit customer-supplied appliances at no surcharge; buying direct saves retailer margin.
Get three quotes, kitchen fitting is competitive. Quotes can vary by 30–50% for the same scope.

Planning and Building Regulations

Most kitchen renovations do not require planning permission. Exceptions:

Listed buildings, alteration that would affect the building’s character as one of special architectural or historic interest requires listed building consent, and in a historic room a kitchen replacement usually will.¹
Structural walls, removing or creating openings in load-bearing walls requires a structural engineer’s design and Building Regulations approval (Part A, Structure).² A steel beam in a residential kitchen opening costs £1,500–£5,000 supply and installation, plus £300–£600 for Building Control fees and engineer’s fee.
Electrics, all electrical work in a home must satisfy Part P of the Building Regulations, but only some of it has to be notified. A kitchen has not counted as a “special location” in England since 2013, so adding a socket to an existing circuit is not notifiable; a new circuit or a replacement consumer unit is.³ Notifiable work must be self-certified by an electrician registered with a competent person scheme (NICEIC or NAPIT), certified by a registered third party, or notified to a building control body before it starts.
Gas, any new gas pipework or appliance connection must be carried out by an engineer who belongs to a class of persons approved by the Health and Safety Executive, which in practice means Gas Safe registered. This is a legal requirement, not a recommendation.⁴
Ventilation, kitchens require extract ventilation under Approved Document F. An intermittent extract fan has to move 30 l/s where a cooker hood vents to the outside, or 60 l/s where there is no hood or it recirculates.⁵ A replacement extractor in the same position is straightforward; a new extract route through an external wall requires a core drill and vent cowl.

How Long Does a Kitchen Renovation Take?

Scope	Typical duration
Like-for-like replacement, small kitchen	3–5 days
Full renovation, mid-size kitchen	7–14 days
Full renovation with layout change	2–4 weeks
Structural work included (wall removal)	3–6 weeks

Lead times for units can add 2–12 weeks depending on the supplier and specification. Order before your tradespeople are booked to avoid scheduling gaps.

The rules in this note are those that apply in England. Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland have their own building standards and permitted development rights.

References (5)

Figures in this note were checked against the sources below on 10 September 2026. Superscript numbers in the text point to them. Every source the site cites, by topic.

1technicalvery strongThe National Archives (legislation.gov.uk), legislation.RN-XN22L9The provision that decides when listed building consent is actually needed, and the answer to the common overstatement that any alteration to a listed building requires consent. Section 7(1): 'no person shall execute or cause to be executed any works for the demolition of a listed building or for its alteration or extension in any manner which would affect its character as a building of special architectural or historic interest, unless the works are authorised under section 8.' The trigger is therefore effect on character as a building of special architectural or historic interest, not alteration as such, so work with no effect on that character falls outside the restriction. Section 7(2) makes subsection (1) subject to section 33(1) of the Planning Act 2008, which excludes the requirement for other consents where development consent is required. Authorisation itself comes from section 8.
2technicalvery strongMinistry of Housing, Communities and Local Government (GOV.UK).RN-Z6AXUWThe full Approved Document A PDF, which carries the deemed-to-satisfy tables a domestic project is checked against. Section 2E covers foundations of plain concrete: paragraph 2E3 gives the recommended minimum widths of strip foundations in Table 10, keyed to ground type and total load of loadbearing walling per linear metre. Table 10 sets, for rock (not inferior to sandstone, limestone or firm chalk, requiring at least a pneumatic or mechanically operated pick to excavate), a width equal to the width of the wall at every load. For medium dense gravel or sand (requires a pick to excavate, a 50mm square wooden peg hard to drive beyond 150mm) and for stiff clay or stiff sandy clay (can be indented slightly by the thumb), the minimum widths are 250mm at 20 kN per linear metre, 300mm at 30, 400mm at 40, 500mm at 50, 600mm at 60 and 650mm at 70. Firm clay and firm sandy clay (thumb makes an impression easily) start at 300mm. The document also covers minimum depth of strip foundations, wall thickness rules for residential buildings up to three storeys (paragraph 2C10 covers internal loadbearing walls in brickwork or blockwork), buttressing, lateral support by floors and at roof level, interruption of lateral support, wall cladding in Section 3, and Section 5 on reducing sensitivity to disproportionate collapse with the building consequence classes.
3technicalvery strongMinistry of Housing, Communities and Local Government.RN-JYJ3I5The document that decides what electrical work a homeowner may legally do themselves, and the exact list of notifiable jobs. Regulation 12(6A), reproduced at paragraph 2.5, makes only three things notifiable: the installation of a new circuit, the replacement of a consumer unit, and any addition or alteration to existing circuits in a special location. Regulation 12(9) defines special location as, in a room containing a bath or shower, the zone extending vertically from finished floor level to 2.25 metres (or the shower head position if higher) and horizontally 600mm from the edge of the bath tub or shower tray. Paragraph 2.7 states that all other electrical installation work is not notifiable, namely additions and alterations to existing installations outside special locations, and replacements, repairs and maintenance anywhere. Paragraph 2.8 gives worked examples: a built-in cooker is not notifiable unless a new cooker circuit is needed, and connecting an electric gate or garage door to an existing isolator is not notifiable but running a new circuit from the consumer unit to that isolator is. Paragraph 2.2 confirms Part P reaches outdoor work including fixed garden lighting, pond pumps and outbuildings such as sheds, detached garages and domestic greenhouses. Notifiable work must be certified by self-certification by a registered competent person, third-party certification, or a building control body (paragraph 3.1), with the compliance certificate issued within 30 days (paragraph 3.4). Note that Approved Document P is a source of guidance rather than a ban: non-notifiable work still has to comply with BS 7671.
4technicalvery strongThe National Archives (legislation.gov.uk), legislation.RN-UFY1XPRegulation 3(1) makes it unlawful for any person to carry out work in relation to a gas fitting or gas storage vessel unless he is competent to do so, and 3(2) places the duty to ensure that on the employer, on every other employer or self-employed person with any control over the work, and on anyone who required the work to be done at a place of work under their control. Regulation 3(3) goes further: no employer may let an employee, and no self-employed person may themselves, carry out work on a gas fitting or service pipework unless that employer or self-employed person is a member of a class of persons approved by the Health and Safety Executive, which in practice is registration with the Gas Safe Register. Regulation 3(4) exempts only replacing a hose or regulator on a portable or mobile space heater and replacing the hose connecting a re-fillable cylinder to installation pipework. Regulation 3(7) makes it an offence to falsely pretend to be a member of an approved class. This is the legal basis for saying a boiler must be fitted by a Gas Safe registered engineer.
5technicalvery strongMinistry of Housing, Communities and Local Government.RN-QD1SFFTable 1.1 sets minimum intermittent extract rates: kitchen with a cooker hood extracting outside 30 l/s, kitchen without one 60 l/s, utility room 30 l/s, bathroom 15 l/s, sanitary accommodation 6 l/s. Extract terminals and fans other than cooker hoods should be as high as practicable and no more than 400mm below the ceiling; a cooker hood should sit between 650mm and 750mm above the hob if the manufacturer gives no figure. Table 1.7 requires background ventilators of at least 8000mm2 equivalent area in habitable rooms and kitchens for a dwelling, 10,000mm2 for a single-storey dwelling. Background ventilators should be at least 1700mm above floor level and at least 500mm from a fan in the same room. On replacement windows, paragraph 3.14 says new windows must carry background ventilators no smaller than the originals, and paragraph 3.15 gives the fallback minimums where the old size is unknown: 8000mm2 habitable rooms, 8000mm2 kitchen, 4000mm2 bathroom. Paragraph 3.32 confirms that replacing an extractor fan or cooker hood on existing cabling is not notifiable.