Do I Need to Rewire My House to Sell It?

Whenever it comes to selling a house, the aim is simple, sell your house fast, get it sold for more than you bought it, and find a new house at a bargain price. Often, you can find yourself achieving all three but quite frequently, neither of them happens. The reasons may vary. The location, the price, and the condition, each tend to be huge factors in why you cannot complete a sale.

Quite frequently though, it’s down to how you renovated the house over the time you lived there. New kitchens, bathrooms, bedrooms and more can all add value to the home and make it more alluring to prospective buyers. But what about the non-cosmetic things? Do you need to pay attention to them to sell your home? The wiring, for example, is a hidden, yet important part of the house. For sure, new wiring may give those interested in the property some confidence in its safety and compliance, but is the wiring essential and do you need to rewire the house to sell it? Well, no. You do not need to rewire your house to be able to sell it. Surprising as it may sound, electrical safety is not listed as a legal requirement in the transfer of property ownership.

So, whilst you are not required to rewire your house before it sells, it can be worth considering both for its economical as well as safety benefits.

How often should a house be rewired?

Before jumping straight in and booking an electrician, you should first establish whether your home needs rewiring. As we mentioned earlier, it is not a requirement for you to rewire your house to sell it and as it can be an expensive job, it is certainly worth finding out if your house needs it.

In most cases you will not need rewiring to be done, however, should your property be over 30 years old, it could be for the best. This would then bring your wiring up to the more modern and economical standards that are currently in practice.

You may also notice a few indicators that show your wiring is not at its best.

Flickering lights

If your lighting flickers often, it could be a sign that the wiring is not operating properly.

Old fuse box

An old fuse box may emit a burning metal smell or crackling sounds. This is dangerous and is a key sign that all may not be right with your wiring at home.

Damaged cables

If during other refurb work, you have noticed that cables are frayed, split or even sparking, it could be a sign that you need to rewire your home.

Old cables

These days, cables are PVCu coated and typically grey or white. The older cables that are more likely to have become damaged or no longer work will be rubber, lead or fabric insulated.

Electric shocks

If simply turning an item on or off at the wall gives you an electric shock, your wiring is faulty and will need replacing urgently.

Can you sell a house with old wiring?

You can certainly sell a house with old wiring. The fact it is old does not necessarily mean it’s broken.  Likewise, if any of the problems we have previously mentioned are occurring, you can still sell the home, but you may find potential buyers backing off as the extent of the issues becomes realised.

As part of the conveyancing process, you, as the person selling the house, may be asked to provide an Electrical Installation Condition Report, also known as an EICR.

The EICR shows whether the electrical installations within the property are in a condition good enough for continual service. These installations are tested to see if they comply with very specific building regulations that match the current UK standard. If they meet these standards, there is no cause for concern, If they do not, you may be looking at an expensive rewiring job.

It is not a legal requirement for you to provide the EICR, but should you choose not to, buyers may back away from purchasing the property due to concerns over safety and the costs they will have to incur to rewire the property.

It may be that they are still interested and simply ask you to have to issues rectified and a new EICR granted, it could be that they pull out altogether. Ultimately, it’s a risk for both parties.

As the house seller, just be aware that if you do not have an EICR to show when asked, the buyer may pull out altogether, request the work be done, or put in a new offer, less the expected rewiring costs.

How much to rewire a house?

The cost of rewiring a house can alter drastically depending on a few factors. The larger the house, the more expensive it will be, but age should be considered too. A property that is, let’s say, more than 40 years old, is much harder to rewire than a house that is just 5-10 years old.

Location also plays a part, properties in the north of the country tend to cost less to rewire than those in the south. This means that you can expect to spend anything from £2,000 up to £15,000 to rewire a property. Our advice? Get a few quotes from highly rated electricians. This way you can look at costs and how long the job may take to complete before deciding.

How long does it take to rewire a house?

If you are selling your property and want to get it rewired, either due to the EICR report deterring buyers or due to your belief it will help encourage a sale, it is important to work with realistic timescales in mind. Depending on the size of the property you could be looking at the whole job taking anything from 3-20 days. For the average house in the UK, requiring a standard rewiring job, you should expect 3-4 days to be taken up getting the electrics back to 100%.

If you are struggling to sell a house due to concerns over the wiring or any other fixtures and fittings, consider speaking to Gaffsy. We buy any home, regardless of location or condition. What’s more, operating as cash house buyers means that we can get cash into your account within seven days. Contact us today and get your free cash offer.