How much does a renovation cost in Dubai? (2026 guide)
Honest, up-to-date price bands for apartment and villa renovations in Dubai — and, more importantly, where the money actually goes and how to avoid overpaying.
It's the first question every homeowner asks, and the hardest to get a straight answer to: what should a renovation in Dubai actually cost? Ask three contractors and you'll get three very different numbers — not because the work differs, but because each is quoting a slightly different job.
Here are realistic 2026 turnkey price bands, excluding VAT, furniture and authority fees. Treat them as planning guidance, not quotes.
Renovation cost per square metre in Dubai (2026)
- Essential refresh — AED 950–1,400 / m². Paint, flooring, basic joinery and light updates.
- Premium renovation — AED 1,500–2,400 / m². Full replacement of kitchens, bathrooms, flooring and finishes to a high standard.
- Signature luxury — AED 2,600–4,500 / m². Bespoke joinery, natural stone, imported fittings and detailed finishing.
Villas typically sit slightly higher than apartments per square metre because of external works, more services and larger volumes; structural reconfiguration adds roughly 30–40% on top.
A quick way to sanity-check any quote: divide the total by the renovated area. If the resulting rate sits far outside these bands, ask why — in either direction.
Where the money actually goes
On a typical premium renovation, the rough split is:
- Bathrooms & kitchen — 30–40% of the budget. The most service-heavy, finish-heavy rooms in the home.
- MEP (electrical, plumbing, cooling) — 15–20%. Often invisible, always important.
- Flooring & finishes — 15–20%.
- Joinery & wardrobes — 10–15%.
- Preliminaries, management & contingency — 10–15%.
The three things that quietly inflate your cost
1. Vague scope. If nobody wrote down precisely what's included, every ambiguity becomes a paid extra later. This is the single biggest cause of overspend — and the entire reason a Renovation Blueprint™ exists.
2. Provisional sums. A quote full of "allowances" is a quote designed to grow. Each one is a number the contractor can revisit once you've signed.
3. Comparing totals, not scopes. The cheapest quote is often the one that left the most out. Without a common bill of quantities you're comparing guesses.
How to budget with confidence
Start from a realistic per-square-metre band for your finish level, add a 10–15% contingency, and — crucially — get every contractor pricing the same documented scope. That one step turns a nervous guess into a decision you can actually trust.
You can get an instant range for your own home with our free renovation cost calculator →
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