A landlord’s board — also called a landlord’s supply, a landlord’s distribution board or a “split supply” — is what a London house needs once it has been divided into flats or bedsits that share one incoming electricity supply: a main switch-fuse at the cut-out, a small distribution board that feeds each flat through its own sub-main cable, and then a consumer unit inside each flat. Done properly it also gives each flat its own meter so tenants pay their own supplier directly. This page sets out what the work involves, what it costs in North and East London in 2026, which parts of the bill go to UK Power Networks and the energy supplier rather than to the electrician, and when a cheaper sub-meter arrangement is good enough. All F & A Electrical prices below are labour-only, NICEIC certified, with the Building Regulations notification included. Minimum charge £108 (£90 + VAT); 9.32/10 from 242 reviews.
What a landlord’s board actually is
Every domestic supply enters the building through the network operator’s cut-out (the sealed main fuse, 60 A, 80 A or 100 A) and the meter. In a single house the meter tails go straight to one consumer unit. Once the house is two or more separate dwellings, that arrangement fails in three ways: one household’s fault trips everyone, one bill has to be shared by hand, and the installation cannot be inspected and certified flat by flat. The fix is to put a landlord’s board between the meter position and the flats. In a typical two- or three-flat conversion it is a 100 A switch-fuse or a small 3- to 6-way distribution board with a switch-fuse per outgoing way, each way feeding a sub-main — a 16 mm² or 25 mm² cable, usually SWA or double-insulated tails in trunking — that runs to the flat’s own consumer unit. The landlord’s board also normally carries the communal circuits: hall and stair lighting, the door entry system, the fire alarm panel and any communal boiler. Where each flat is to have its own meter, the sub-mains instead run from a bank of meters in a communal cupboard, one meter per flat plus one for the landlord’s communal supply.
The three situations we meet in London
The first, and by far the most common across Hackney, Haringey, Newham, Islington and Waltham Forest, is the Victorian house converted into two or three flats in the 1970s or 1980s — one supply in the hall, a landlord’s board of sorts already in the hall cupboard, but built in ordinary twin-and-earth with no RCD protection, no separate isolation for each flat and no meters, so the rent includes “electricity” and the landlord is guessing at the split. The second is the shop with flats above along a high street — Green Street, Barking Road, Kingsland Road, Green Lanes, Hoe Street — where the shop and one or two flats share the shop’s supply and the shop pays the bill. The third is the licensed HMO of five or more bedsits, where the council’s licence conditions, the fire alarm, emergency lighting and a communal kitchen all sit on one supply, and the landlord needs either one properly designed board with RCBO protection per bedsit or, for self-contained units, a full split.
Costs in 2026 — what you pay us, and what you pay others
The number people search for is a single figure and there is not one, because the bill has three parts. The electrical work is ours and is fixed-price. The network connection work — a bigger cut-out, extra services, the meter points (MPANs) — belongs to UK Power Networks, the operator for all of London, and is quoted and paid to them. The meters themselves are fitted by whichever energy supplier each tenant signs up with, normally at no charge. Our part first:
| Electrical work (labour-only) | Typical price | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Landlord’s board — 100 A switch-fuse or 3–6 way distribution board with switch-fuse per way, at the meter position | from £450 | Includes communal circuits re-connected and labelled |
| Each sub-main — 16 mm² / 25 mm² SWA or tails in trunking, up to 15 m, terminated both ends | from £350 per flat | Longer runs, or runs through more than one fire compartment, priced on survey |
| Consumer unit in each flat — RCBO board, up to 10 ways | from £550 per flat | Same price as our standard fuse board replacement |
| Communal-areas circuits — hall and stair lighting, door entry, emergency lights, alarm panel on their own RCBO ways | from £180 | Usually done with the landlord’s board |
| MID-approved sub-meter per flat (the no-DNO option, see below) | from £108 per meter | Landlord bills at cost; no UK Power Networks involvement |
| EICR for each flat after the split, plus one for the communal installation | from £140 per flat, from £108 communal | See EICRs for converted flats and communal areas |
| Complete two-flat split — board, two sub-mains, two consumer units, communal circuits | from £2,230 | Add £800 per additional flat (sub-main + consumer unit) |
Materials — the board, cable, consumer units, glands and trunking — are supplied at trade cost on top; for a two-flat split expect roughly £350–£600 depending on cable lengths and board choice. Then the parts that are not ours:
| Third-party cost | Who | What to expect (2026, from jobs we have managed) |
|---|---|---|
| New MPAN and meter point for each additional flat on the existing service (a “multiple occupancy” split) | UK Power Networks | Application fee plus a site visit; commonly a few hundred pounds per additional point, 6–10 weeks lead time |
| Cut-out upgrade to 100 A, or a new service cable from the street where the existing one cannot carry the combined load | UK Power Networks | Quoted after their survey; new services in London are usually four figures and take 8–12 weeks with a road-opening notice |
| Electricity meter for each new MPAN | Tenant’s chosen supplier | Normally free of charge once the MPAN exists; smart meter by default |
| Building Regulations Part P notification | Us, through NICEIC | Included in our price — the certificate reaches you and the council automatically |
Do you have to split the supply at all?
No law says a converted house must have a meter per flat. What the law does say is that a landlord who resells electricity to tenants may not charge more than they paid — Ofgem’s maximum resale price rule — and, under the private rented sector electrical safety regulations, that each let dwelling must have a satisfactory EICR. Both are far easier to satisfy with a proper landlord’s board than with a single consumer unit in the hall feeding every room. So the real choice is between two designs:
| Landlord’s board + sub-meters | Full split with UK Power Networks meters | |
|---|---|---|
| Each flat isolated and separately certified | Yes | Yes |
| Tenants choose and pay their own supplier | No — landlord bills at cost | Yes |
| Third-party involvement | None | UK Power Networks + suppliers, 6–12 weeks |
| Typical total for two flats (labour + materials) | from about £2,600 | from about £2,600 to us, plus the UK Power Networks charge |
| Best for | HMOs, bills-included lets, student houses, short lets | Self-contained flats on ASTs, anything you may later sell as leaseholds |
| Mortgage / sale implications | Lenders may still treat the property as a single dwelling | Separate meters support separate leasehold titles and valuations |
How the job runs
We start with a maximum-demand survey: the cut-out size, the state of the existing tails, the cooker, shower and heating loads in each flat, and whether the combined load fits the existing service with diversity applied. In most two-flat Victorian conversions a 100 A single-phase service is enough; add electric showers in every flat, or an EV charger, and the sums change, and that is the point at which we tell you a UK Power Networks upgrade is needed before quoting. Next comes the route for the sub-mains — the cheapest run is straight up the hall in trunking; the tidy one is chased in or behind boxing, and fire-stopping is needed wherever a cable passes between flats. Then the board and consumer units go in on one day per flat, with power off to each flat for two to four hours rather than the whole house all day. If UK Power Networks meters are part of the job, we build the meter cupboard and the sub-mains to their specification first, they fit the isolators and create the MPANs on their visit, the suppliers fit the meters, and we make the final connections and test. We issue an Electrical Installation Certificate for the new work and an EICR for each flat, which is what the council’s licensing team and the tenant’s letting agent will ask for.
Where this comes up most
Newham’s borough-wide selective licensing, Hackney’s and Waltham Forest’s schemes and Haringey’s additional HMO licensing all ask for a satisfactory EICR per let unit, which is difficult to produce when three flats hang off one unlabelled board. We do this work across Plaistow, East Ham and Forest Gate — the classic shop-with-flats-above high streets — and in the converted terraces of Stoke Newington, Tottenham, Walthamstow, Finsbury Park and Leyton. Three-phase shop supplies with flats above are covered on our three-phase page; a single flat that just needs its own board is a standard consumer unit upgrade; an HMO that will stay on one supply is covered by the HMO compliance guide.
Frequently asked questions
How much does it cost to split an electricity supply into two flats in London?
Our labour for a complete two-flat split — landlord’s board, two sub-mains, two RCBO consumer units and the communal circuits — is from £2,230, with materials at trade cost (roughly £350–£600). If each flat is to have its own supplier meter, add UK Power Networks’ charge for the extra meter point, which they quote after a survey.
What is the difference between a landlord’s board and a sub-meter?
The landlord’s board is the switchgear that divides the supply and isolates each flat; it is needed in every design. A sub-meter is a private meter on each flat’s sub-main so the landlord can bill tenants accurately at cost, without involving the network operator. A full split replaces the sub-meters with supplier meters so each tenant has their own account.
Can I fit sub-meters and charge tenants for electricity?
Yes, provided you charge no more than the unit rate and standing charge you pay — the maximum resale price set by Ofgem — and the meter is MID-approved. We fit MID-approved sub-meters from £108 each on an existing landlord’s board.
How long does UK Power Networks take to add a meter point?
Six to ten weeks for an additional MPAN on an existing service is typical in our experience; a new service cable from the street runs eight to twelve weeks because a road or footway notice is needed. We build our side first so their visit is a single appointment.
Does the landlord’s board need its own EICR?
Yes. The communal installation — landlord’s board, sub-mains, hall and stair lighting, door entry — is inspected as its own installation, from £108, and each flat has its own EICR from £140. Councils ask for the flat reports for licensing; the communal report is what the freeholder or management company needs. Who is responsible for which part is explained separately.
Can the flats share one RCD?
They should not. A shared upstream RCD means a fault in one flat cuts power to all of them and makes the fault impossible to isolate. Each flat gets its own RCBO consumer unit and each sub-main its own switch-fuse at the landlord’s board, so any flat can be isolated without affecting another.
Landlord’s boards, sub-mains and full supply splits across North and East London, quoted in writing after a survey and with the UK Power Networks steps managed for you. NICEIC registered, 9.32/10 from 242 reviews. See all areas we cover, or call 07407 627542 or 07500 721453.