How Much Does It Cost to Fix a Leaking Tap? (2026)
A leaking tap is the cheapest plumbing fault to fix and among the most expensive to ignore — a one-drip-per-second tap wastes roughly 5,500 litres a year, billed twice on a metered supply as both water and sewerage. Here's what the fix actually costs in 2026 and how to know whether you're facing a washer, a cartridge or a replacement conversation.
Repair costs by tap type
Traditional compression taps (separate hot and cold, rubber washers) are the cheapest fix: a re-washer and seat check typically lands £65–£95 including parts. Ceramic disc taps — most modern mixers and quarter-turn taps — fail at the cartridge instead; expect £70–£120 including a standard cartridge, with designer and obscure brands adding parts cost. Leaks from the base of a swivel spout are O-rings, at the bottom of the price range. Where a plumber quotes far above these bands for a standard tap, ask what's special about yours.
When repair stops making sense
Three situations tip the economics toward replacement: obsolete taps whose cartridges are discontinued (hunting rare spares costs more than new brassware), corroded bodies where the leak is through the casting itself, and cheap builder-grade mixers whose replacement cost barely exceeds a cartridge. A tap replacement runs £90–£160 labour plus the tap you choose — and done properly includes new flexible connectors and isolation valves, which quietly halve the cost of every future repair.
The metered-supply arithmetic
On a water meter, a dripping hot tap is the most expensive drip in the house: you pay for the water, pay again for sewerage volume, and paid to heat it. At typical 2026 combined rates, a steady drip can cost £25–£90 a year depending on severity — meaning most repairs pay back within one to three years on waste alone, before counting the limescale staining that etches sinks permanently in hard-water areas.
DIY or call someone?
Re-washering a compression tap with working isolation valves is honest DIY territory: isolate, dismantle, replace, reassemble. The step that catches people is discovering there are no isolation valves — meaning the whole house goes off at the stopcock — or a seized headgear that shrugs at household tools. Ceramic cartridges add identification risk: dozens of sizes and spline patterns look nearly identical. The professional hour costs £65–£110 and includes the part identification, the seized-fitting tools and the habit of fitting isolation valves so next time is trivial.
| Option | Typical cost | Best when |
|---|---|---|
| Re-washer (compression tap) | £65–£95 | Traditional taps, sound bodies |
| Cartridge replacement (ceramic) | £70–£120 | Modern mixers, available spares |
| O-ring/seal repair | £65–£90 | Base or spout leaks |
| Full replacement (labour) | £90–£160 + tap | Obsolete, corroded or cheap taps |
Why prices vary this much
The spread in these bands is honest: identical-sounding jobs differ by access (seized fittings and missing isolation valves add hours), parts (mainstream cartridges live on the van; obsolete brassware means a second visit), region, and urgency. Out-of-hours work runs 1.5–2× daytime rates everywhere. When comparing quotes, compare scope line by line rather than bottom lines — the cheapest number with silent exclusions is routinely the most expensive job.
Frequently asked questions
Why does my tap still drip after changing the washer?
Either the brass seat below the washer is scored and needs reseating, or the tap is a ceramic-disc design where the washer was never the wear part. Persistent post-DIY drips usually mean the wrong diagnosis.
How long does a tap repair take?
Typically 30–60 minutes with normal access. Missing isolation valves or seized fittings extend it — which a good plumber flags as found, not on the invoice.
Can any cartridge fit any tap?
No — cartridges vary by diameter (25/35/40mm are common), spline count and operation. Matching is routine for a plumber with a cartridge case; guesswork orders online often go two rounds.
Is a dripping tap really urgent?
It's not an emergency, but it is money: thousands of litres a year, twice-billed on a meter, plus permanent scale staining in hard water. Book it as a standard job soon rather than a someday job.
The honest next step
Where you go from here depends on what you've diagnosed. A contained, understood fault with the water safely off can wait for a standard appointment — cheaper and calmer for everyone. Active water damage, no water at all, or anything you can't isolate deserves the emergency line, any hour. Either way, describing what you've observed using what you've learned here gets the right engineer with the right parts to your door first time — which is most of what 'fixed quickly' actually means in plumbing.