Think London is Britain's most expensive place to renovate a bathroom? Think again

New research from UK bathroom retailer Wholesale Domestic has found that the region with the cheapest bathroom fitter day rates in the UK is not the most affordable place to renovate, once local salaries are taken into account.

The study compared average bathroom fitter day rates across 12 major UK regions against average yearly salaries, calculating the cost of a standard 15-day bathroom installation as a percentage of average local earnings in each area.

The most affordable region on a salary-adjusted basis was found to be the East of England, where an £3,450 installation equates to just 10.12 per cent of the average £34,104 yearly salary.

At the opposite end, London homeowners pay the highest cash price for a bathroom installation of anywhere in the UK, at an average of £4,275 for the same 15-day job. Yet because average salaries in the capital are also the highest in the country at £39,778, this represents just 10.75 per cent of average earnings, surprisingly making London the third most affordable region overall.

Bathroom installation affordability index, by region:

Brian Toward, CEO of Wholesale Domestic, said the findings should change the way homeowners think about renovation budgets: “This finding really matters because it reframes the whole cost-of-living conversation. It isn't just the traditionally expensive cities that are feeling the squeeze. It is actually the regions where local wages haven't kept pace with even mid-range installation costs that are finding renovations the hardest to afford.”

The research also highlights a continuing 'postcode lottery' in bathroom fitter day rates, driven largely by a longstanding shortage of skilled tradespeople. The UK Trade Skills Index estimates that almost a million new recruits will be needed by 2032 to close the gap.

Toward said: “The trade shortage is one of the biggest factors driving prices up right now. If you live in an area where demand outweighs the supply of qualified plumbers and fitters, tradespeople can essentially command a premium that catches a lot of people off guard when they start budgeting for their new bathroom. We also have to look at the post-Brexit changes to the labour market, which removed a significant pipeline of EU skilled tradespeople who had previously helped us meet that heavy demand.”