Villa renovation cost in Dubai 2026: what a quote must say
A full interior villa renovation in Dubai runs from about AED 250,000 for a 200 sqm home on a mid-range finish to more than AED 1,100,000 for a 300 sqm villa at high-end specification. What decides your final number is less about the market rate and more about which items the contractor actually wrote down.
Why work with ROUND TRIANGLE DECORATION CO. L.L.C
- Line by line review of the villa quote you already hold
- A clear price for the same scope, from AED 100,000
- Weak, missing and duplicated line items flagged before you sign
- One written scope covering structure, MEP, joinery and finishes
- Direct phone and WhatsApp line on +971 50 786 0555 during pricing
- No obligation to proceed once the review is done
What a full villa renovation costs in Dubai in 2026
The bands below cover an interior renovation only: kitchens, bathrooms, flooring, joinery, MEP and finishes, with the shell, roof and external walls left standing.
| Villa built-up area | Mid-range finish | High-end finish |
|---|---|---|
| 200 sqm (about 2,150 sq ft) | AED 250,000 to 400,000 | AED 420,000 to 650,000 |
| 300 sqm (about 3,230 sq ft) | AED 350,000 to 600,000 | AED 600,000 to 1,100,000 |
| 400 sqm and above | AED 520,000 to 880,000 | AED 950,000 to 1,600,000 |
The spread inside each row is not contractor greed. It is scope. Two 300 sqm villas can sit AED 250,000 apart simply because one keeps its existing split units and the other replaces them, reworks the drainage and adds a second kitchen.
What mid-range and high-end mean in real terms
Mid-range usually means porcelain tiles at AED 60 to 120 per sqm, locally fabricated kitchen and wardrobe joinery, standard sanitaryware brands, and split AC units replaced like for like.
High-end means large format tiles or marble, imported kitchens and wardrobes, ducted AC redesigned around new ceiling layouts, smart lighting, dressing rooms and feature joinery. Imported kitchens alone can add eight to sixteen weeks to the programme and two to three times the cost of a local build.
Most buyers searching villa renovation cost Dubai actually want a rate they can multiply by their area. That detail sits in villa renovation cost per square foot rates in Dubai, where the same scope is broken into per square foot figures.
What actually moves the number
Four or five line items decide whether your villa lands at AED 350,000 or AED 700,000, and none of them are the paint colour.
Structural work
Removing a load bearing wall, widening an opening, adding a staircase or extending the majlis triggers blockwork, lintels, new columns and a structural engineer letter. Budget AED 20,000 to AED 90,000 on a 300 sqm villa, and expect an approval step before work starts.
MEP and electrical rewire
Many Dubai villas built in the late 1980s and 1990s still have undersized circuits and old distribution boards. A full rewire with new containment, a larger DB and earthing on a 300 sqm home runs AED 35,000 to AED 80,000. A partial rewire in the renovated zones costs considerably less.
Air conditioning
Split units supply and install land around AED 2,500 to AED 4,500 each, so five units is AED 12,500 to AED 22,500. Replacing a ducted system with new ceiling routes, grilles and controls is a different budget entirely, typically AED 60,000 to AED 150,000.
Kitchens and bathrooms
Each fully renovated bathroom costs AED 15,000 to AED 45,000 depending on size, sanitaryware brand and glass work. A villa with four bathrooms instead of two adds AED 30,000 to AED 90,000 without anyone noticing on the drawings.
Kitchens range from AED 45,000 for a local carcass with quartz tops to AED 200,000 and above for imported cabinetry with appliances.
Imported versus locally fabricated finishes
Wardrobes cost AED 1,200 to AED 3,000 per linear metre from a local workshop. Imported systems are two to three times that, with longer lead times and currency exposure.
Floor area versus built-up area
This is the single most common source of disagreement. One contractor prices only the area being finished, another prices the full built-up area including garage, store and covered terrace. On the same villa the gap can be 20 to 30 percent, and neither quote is wrong until you read the assumptions page.
A worked example: 300 sqm villa, mid-range finish
Take a four bedroom single storey villa of about 300 sqm, built in the late 1990s, keeping the shell and replacing everything inside. This is the same profile you see across older inland neighbourhoods such as Al Barsha or Jumeirah 1, where villas of that era share original split units and tired wiring.
- Demolition, strip out and debris removal: AED 18,000
- Structural repairs, blockwork and new lintels: AED 25,000
- Screed, plaster and waterproofing to wet areas: AED 32,000
- Electrical rewire, new DB, lighting points: AED 48,000
- Plumbing and drainage rework: AED 26,000
- Five split AC units supplied and installed: AED 55,000
- Porcelain flooring supply and install, 300 sqm: AED 45,000
- Kitchen, local joinery with quartz tops: AED 65,000
- Three bathrooms, sanitaryware, vanities and glass: AED 60,000
- Internal doors, wardrobes and joinery: AED 40,000
- Painting, roughly 900 sqm of wall and ceiling: AED 22,000
- Entrance and boundary wall touch ups: AED 18,000
- Site supervision, protection, cleaning and handover: AED 20,000
That subtotal is AED 474,000. Add a contingency of 8 percent, AED 37,900, and the working budget is about AED 512,000, or roughly AED 158 per sq ft. That number only holds if the scope stays identical, which is why contingency should be written into the quote rather than discovered mid project.
A finished villa bathroom. Wet areas like this one carry waterproofing, tiling, sanitaryware and glass, and usually land between AED 15,000 and AED 45,000 each.
Why five quotes for the same villa can differ by 2x
Because they are rarely quoting the same villa. The difference is usually structural in the paperwork, not in the price of tiles.
Exclusions
One quote carries twelve lines, another carries one hundred and eighty. The short one is not cheaper, it is simply quieter about what it left out: demolition, MEP, AC, skip permits, final cleaning.
Provisional sums
A provisional sum of AED 30,000 for kitchens is a placeholder, not a price. If the real kitchen costs AED 90,000, the difference lands on you as a variation.
Per item versus lump sum pricing
Lump sum pricing is fine when it is backed by a measured breakdown. Without one, you cannot compare two contractors at all, and you cannot tell whether a variation is reasonable.
Finishing schedule quality
A schedule that names tile size, brand family, grout, paint system and door core is a fixed scope. A schedule that says good quality tiles is an open door.
These are the same gaps that villa renovation hidden costs Dubai quotes leave out walks through item by item, including the ones owners only find at handover.
Permit, NOC and DEWA costs that sit outside the contractor price
Authority charges are paid by the owner, not absorbed by the contractor, and they should not appear inside the renovation total. On a Dubai villa interior renovation, budget AED 3,000 to AED 12,000 for the Dubai Municipality or DET renovation permit, related NOCs and approvals, plus any refundable deposit your community developer requires, commonly AED 2,000 to AED 10,000. DEWA related works, meter upgrades or new connections are billed separately at the current tariff.
Two practical points. Permits take time, often two to four weeks, so they affect your start date more than your price. And a permit is normally issued against a specific scope, so adding a wall or a bathroom after approval means a revision, not a phone call.
Structure stage. Any wall that moves, any column that is added and any excavation is where a renovation budget starts climbing.
How to compare two quotes on identical scope
Put the two documents side by side and work through this in order. It takes about an hour and saves far more than that.
- Normalise the scope. Ask both contractors to price the same finishing schedule, the same bathroom count and the same AC solution. Nothing else is comparable until this is done.
- Match the line items. Tick every item that appears in one quote and not the other. Missing MEP, demolition or painting is the usual gap.
- Turn provisional sums into fixed figures. Ask for a real price or a clearly defined allowance with a stated brand and model.
- Check what is excluded in writing. Skips, permits, protection of existing flooring, cleaning, snagging and handover documents all belong somewhere.
- Compare totals, then compare terms. A price is only meaningful next to its villa renovation payment schedule in Dubai, including the retention held until snagging closes.
If you already hold a quote, send us the villa renovation quote you already have and it gets read line by line. You get a clear price for the same villa work, from AED 100,000, with the weak points named before you commit to anything.
Frequently asked questions
How much does villa renovation cost in Dubai?
A full interior renovation of a 200 sqm villa starts around AED 250,000 on a mid-range finish. A 300 sqm villa sits between AED 350,000 and AED 600,000 mid-range, or AED 600,000 to AED 1,100,000 at high end specification. Above 400 sqm, budget from AED 520,000 on mid-range finishes.
What is the villa renovation cost per square foot in Dubai in 2026?
Mid-range villa work lands between AED 110 and AED 190 per square foot of built-up area in 2026. High end specification runs from AED 190 to AED 350 per square foot and goes higher with imported kitchens, marble and ducted AC redesign. Confirm whether your contractor is pricing the finished floor area or the full built-up area, because the two figures differ.
Why do villa renovation quotes in Dubai differ so much?
The gap comes from exclusions, provisional sums and how much detail sits in the finishing schedule. One contractor prices a lump sum over twelve vague lines, another prices one hundred and eighty measured items. A quote that looks 40 percent cheaper often leaves out MEP, AC replacement or demolition, and those arrive later as variations.
Does the villa renovation price include permits and DEWA fees?
No. Permit and authority charges sit outside the contractor price and are normally paid by the owner. For a Dubai villa interior renovation, budget AED 3,000 to AED 12,000 for the permit, NOCs and related approvals, plus any refundable developer deposit. DEWA works are billed separately at the current tariff.
Can you price my villa renovation from the quote I already have?
Yes. Send the quote you hold and it is read line by line, with weak, missing and duplicated items flagged. You then get a clear price for the same villa scope, from AED 100,000, with no obligation to proceed.
