How Much Does an Electrician Cost in Hull

Published July 2026 | How much does an electrician cost in the UK

Landlord Obligations Under Current Regulations

If you own a rental property in Hull, the law is clear: you are responsible for ensuring the electrical installation is safe and in proper working order. This is not optional, and it is not something you can pass on to your tenants through a clause in the tenancy agreement.

Since 1 July 2020, all landlords in England have been legally required to have an Electrical Installation Condition Report (EICR) carried out every five years by a qualified electrician. The report must be done by a registered professional, and a copy must be provided to tenants within 28 days of completion. If a local authority requests one, landlords must hand it over within seven days. Failure to comply can result in a fine of up to £30,000.

The cost of an EICR in Hull typically falls between £150 and £300 for a standard two or three-bedroom house. Larger properties, or those with more complex wiring, will push this higher. Our engineers at Voltrade commonly see landlords across East Yorkshire underestimating this cost and then being caught off guard when the report flags remedial work that also needs paying for within a tight 28-day window.

Beyond the EICR, landlords are responsible for:

• Replacing or repairing faulty consumer units (fuse boxes)
• Fixing damaged wiring or broken sockets not caused by tenant misuse
• Ensuring any electrical appliances provided with the property are safe
• Arranging emergency electrical repairs when there is a risk to safety

A consumer unit replacement in Hull typically costs between £400 and £800, depending on the size of the board and whether additional circuit protection is needed. This is one of the most common jobs our engineers carry out in older rental stock across East Yorkshire, particularly in pre-1970s terraced houses where the original wiring has long since reached the end of its serviceable life.

What Tenants Are Expected to Handle

Tenants are not entirely off the hook. While landlords must maintain the electrical installation itself, there are some costs that reasonably fall to the person living in the property.

Tenants are generally expected to cover:

• Replacing light bulbs, including standard LED downlights where the bulb is a separately replaceable unit
• Paying for damage they have caused, such as pulling a socket off the wall or overloading circuits with high-wattage appliances
• The cost of any electrical work requested purely for their own convenience, such as adding extra sockets in a specific room

What tenants are not responsible for is the ongoing maintenance of fixed electrical installations. If a socket stops working through normal use, that is the landlord's problem. If a tenant drives a nail through a cable while putting up a shelf without permission, the picture shifts considerably.

The cost of replacing a single damaged socket in Hull is typically £80 to £150, including parts and labour. If a landlord deducts this from a deposit, they will need solid evidence that the damage was caused by the tenant and not by general wear and tear. That distinction matters enormously, and it is where a large proportion of tenancy disputes end up.

Grey Areas - Where Disputes Happen

The most common source of landlord-tenant disputes around electrical costs is not the big, obvious jobs. It is the small, ambiguous ones where the cause of the fault is not immediately clear to either party.

Take a circuit breaker that keeps tripping. Is that a faulty breaker (landlord's responsibility) or a tenant consistently running too many high-draw appliances on a single circuit (arguably the tenant's issue)? The answer depends on a proper investigation. The Voltrade GoFIX diagnostic tool can help identify whether the fault lies in the installation itself or in how the property is being used, giving both parties an objective starting point before anyone starts arguing about who picks up the bill.

Other commonly disputed areas include:

Integrated LED light fittings

The landlord provides the fitting; the tenant replaces the bulb. But what about integrated LED fittings where there is no separate bulb to swap out? In most cases, if the fitting itself fails through no fault of the tenant, that falls to the landlord to replace. The fitting came with the property - it is part of the installation.

Outdoor sockets and garden lighting

If these were installed by the tenant without permission, any fault that arises from them is the tenant's liability. If they came with the property when the tenancy started, the landlord is responsible for keeping them safe and in working order.

Damage caused by tenant appliances

If a tenant's own appliance causes a surge that damages fixed wiring, the cost of repairing that wiring can potentially be charged back to the tenant. However, you will need clear evidence - ideally from a qualified electrician's written report - to make that case hold up at a deposit dispute tribunal.

Our engineers see these situations regularly in Hull rental properties. The advice is consistent: get a proper diagnosis before assuming who is at fault. An honest assessment of where the problem started saves both landlord and tenant time, money, and the stress of a formal dispute.

How to Report This Issue (Tenant Perspective)

If you are a tenant dealing with an electrical fault in your Hull rental property, the way you handle the reporting process matters as much as the report itself. Here is how to do it properly.

1. Report it in writing. Do not rely on a verbal conversation. Send an email or a message through your tenancy platform so you have a dated, timestamped record. Describe the fault clearly: where it is, when it started, what you have observed.
2. Give a reasonable deadline. For non-urgent faults, 14 days is commonly considered reasonable. For anything involving exposed wiring, a complete loss of power to large parts of the property, burning smells, or any visible risk of fire or electrocution, the expectation is immediate action - same day.
3. Do not attempt repairs yourself. It is illegal in the UK to carry out notifiable electrical work without being a registered electrician. Do not touch the consumer unit, rewire sockets, or attempt to modify any circuits. If something goes wrong as a result, liability shifts to you.
4. Contact your local council if the landlord fails to respond. Rental properties in East Yorkshire fall under the Housing Act 2004, and the local authority has the power to compel landlords to carry out necessary electrical repairs. Hull City Council's housing enforcement team can be contacted directly if your landlord is ignoring a legitimate safety concern.
5. Keep records of everything. Screenshots of messages, emails, photos of the fault, dates of any verbal conversations you have followed up in writing. If this ends up at a deposit dispute or a housing tribunal, the person with the better paper trail almost always has the stronger position.

For tenants who are unsure whether a fault is dangerous or merely inconvenient, the Voltrade GoFIX tool lets you describe your symptoms and get an initial read on severity before deciding how urgently to escalate with your landlord.

Getting It Fixed Quickly in Hull Rental Properties

Speed matters with electrical faults. A dead socket is inconvenient. A sparking outlet or a total loss of power across a property is urgent. In Hull and across East Yorkshire, the typical lead time for a non-emergency electrician is two to five working days. For emergency call-outs, most reputable firms aim for same-day or next-day attendance.

Here is what you can reasonably expect to pay for common electrical jobs in Hull in 2026:

• Electrician hourly rate: typically £45 to £65 per hour
• Standard call-out charge: £50 to £80
• Emergency call-out (out of hours): £100 to £180
• Socket repair or replacement: £80 to £150 per socket
• New socket installation: £100 to £180
• Light fitting installation: £60 to £120 per fitting
• Consumer unit replacement: £400 to £800
• EICR for a three-bedroom property: £150 to £300
• Full house rewire: typically £3,000 to £7,000 depending on property size and condition

Hull sits slightly below the national average for electrical labour rates, but the gap is not dramatic. You should still expect to pay professional rates for qualified work. Anyone quoting substantially below the figures above is worth questioning - in particular, ask whether they are registered with NICEIC or NAPIT before any work starts.

For landlords managing a portfolio, using a single trusted electrical contractor across multiple properties is often the most cost-effective arrangement. Consistent relationships tend to mean faster response times and better pricing on routine work like EICRs. For any job over £200, getting at least two quotes is good practice regardless.

Documentation You Should Keep

Whether you are a landlord or a tenant, the right paperwork protects you when things go wrong. Most landlord-tenant electrical disputes that end up at formal resolution come down to who has the better documentation.

For landlords

Retain your current EICR and all remediation certificates from any follow-up work. Keep copies of every invoice for electrical work carried out during a tenancy. If an electrician issues an Electrical Installation Certificate for any new work, hold onto that too. These documents collectively demonstrate that the property was safe and maintained to the required standard throughout the tenancy - which is exactly what you need to show if a deposit dispute arises or if a local authority comes knocking.

For tenants

Keep copies of all written communications about electrical faults. Your landlord is legally required to give you a copy of the EICR within 28 days of it being completed - save it. You are also entitled to request the current EICR at any point during the tenancy, so if you have concerns about the property's wiring and no one has provided the report, ask for it formally and in writing.

The practical advice our engineers give to both parties is the same: create a folder, physical or digital, with everything in one place from day one. If a dispute arises months or years later, that folder is what determines the outcome. This is especially true in Hull's private rental market, where deposit disputes are not uncommon and the evidence standard at adjudication is higher than many people expect.

Landlord and Tenant Questions

Who pays for an EICR in a rented property in Hull?

The landlord pays for the EICR. It is a legal requirement under the Electrical Safety Standards in the Private Rented Sector (England) Regulations 2020, and the cost falls entirely to the property owner. In Hull, this typically costs between £150 and £300 for a standard house. The landlord must provide a copy of the completed report to tenants within 28 days and to any local authority that requests one within seven days.

Can a landlord charge a tenant for electrical repairs?

Only if the tenant caused the damage. General wear and tear to electrical installations is the landlord's responsibility and cannot be passed on. However, if a tenant has clearly caused damage - breaking a socket, damaging wiring through their own actions, or installing electrical items without permission - the landlord can seek to recover reasonable repair costs. This is typically done through the deposit dispute process at the end of the tenancy, and evidence is essential.

What should I do if there is no power in my rented property?

First, check whether your neighbours also have no power, which would indicate a wider supply issue rather than a fault in your property. If it is isolated to your home, check the consumer unit to see whether a circuit breaker has tripped. If you cannot restore power by resetting a tripped switch, contact your landlord or letting agent immediately. For after-hours emergencies, most Hull letting agencies operate an emergency maintenance line. Do not attempt to investigate the consumer unit beyond resetting a tripped switch.

How long does a landlord have to fix electrical faults?

For hazards identified in an EICR, landlords must carry out remedial work within 28 days of receiving the report, or sooner if the report specifies a shorter timeframe. For faults that arise during a tenancy, there is no fixed statutory deadline for non-urgent repairs, though 14 days is commonly applied as a reasonable standard. Any fault presenting a genuine risk to safety - exposed wiring, burning smells, or loss of power to the whole property - should be treated as an emergency requiring same-day action.

How do I find a registered electrician in Hull for a rental property?

Look for electricians registered with NICEIC or NAPIT. Both are government-approved competent person schemes, and only registered members can issue the legally valid electrical certificates landlords need to comply with the 2020 regulations. Avoid using unregistered tradespeople for any notifiable electrical work in a rental property. You can search both the NICEIC and NAPIT registers online using your Hull postcode to find verified local electricians working across East Yorkshire.