House Renovation in Dubai

The honest cost of a house renovation in Dubai is determined by three numbers: the BUA of the property, the finish-quality tier, and the structural complexity. Below are real ranges from our BOQs over the last 12 months — no marketing fluff.

Standard finish, no structural change — AED 350–450 per sqft of BUA. This covers most owner-occupier renovations on 8–15 year-old villas where the structure is sound but finishes are dated. New kitchen with mid-tier Italian or German appliances, all bathrooms rebuilt, porcelain or engineered-wood flooring throughout, new joinery in bedrooms, repaint, smart-home basics. A typical 4-bedroom 4,500 sqft villa in Arabian Ranches, JVC or Mudon falls in here at AED 1.6–2 million total — though most owners renovate selectively and the realistic bill is AED 250,000–600,000.

Premium finish, no structural change — AED 500–650 per sqft of BUA. Same scope as above but with marble flooring in main areas (not just feature walls), book-matched stone in master ensuite, custom kitchen joinery with Italian appliance suite (Miele, Gaggenau, Smeg Dolce Stil Novo), full smart-home (lighting, AC, blinds, security, multi-room audio), bespoke joinery throughout. A 5,500 sqft villa in Dubai Hills or Emirates Hills falls in here at AED 2.8–3.6 million for a full premium rebuild; partial-scope rebuilds run AED 500,000–1,200,000.

Luxury finish, structural changes — AED 700–1,200 per sqft of BUA. Full structural reconfiguration, knockthroughs to create open-plan ground floors, new staircases, possibly a villa extension (additional BUA), pool replacement, full landscaping. Imported Italian stone, hand-finished surfaces, integrated AV, full-height glazing. A 7,000–10,000 sqft villa in Emirates Hills, District One, Al Barari, Palm Jumeirah or Jumeirah Golf Estates falls here at AED 5–12 million.

Townhouse renovations follow a similar per-sqft logic but the smaller footprint means total spend is lower. A typical townhouse full renovation runs AED 180,000–400,000 covering kitchen, all bathrooms, flooring and finishing. Town Square, Mira, Mudon Al Ranim, Tilal Al Ghaf townhouses are our most common projects in this category.

What pushes the per-sqft rate up: imported stone (Italian Calacatta marble, Brazilian quartzite), Italian or German appliance suites, full smart-home wiring, structural changes requiring engineering and DM permits, full MEP rebuild on older properties, pool refurbishment, landscaping included in scope, multi-level renovations with new staircase installation.

What pulls it down: staying within existing room layouts (no structural change, no DM permit), keeping existing flooring in non-wet areas (refinish instead of replace), keeping existing kitchen carcasses and just changing doors and worktops, choosing Korean over Italian appliances, deferring smart-home to a later phase.

Our BOQs are fixed price — the rate-per-sqft we quote includes everything from waste removal to manufacturer warranties. No provisional sums. No "subject to site conditions". The number you sign is the number you pay.

The number of approvals required for a Dubai house renovation depends entirely on scope. Owners often arrive thinking "renovation is just internal work, no permit needed". That's sometimes true and sometimes very wrong. Here's the practical mapping we apply on every job.

Pure finishing renovation (paint, flooring, kitchen replacement in existing footprint, bathroom refresh in existing footprint, joinery): typically needs only the master-developer NOC and the community Owners' Association building NOC. No DM permit required. NOC turnaround is 1–3 weeks depending on community. Emaar (Arabian Ranches, Dubai Hills) is typically 5–10 working days. DAMAC (DAMAC Hills, DAMAC Lagoons, Damac Islands) is 10–14 working days. Nakheel (Palm Jumeirah, The Gardens) is 7–14 working days. Meraas (City Walk, La Mer) is 10–20 working days.

Structural renovation (knockthroughs, new openings in load-bearing walls, raised ceilings, slab modifications, new staircases): requires a Dubai Municipality Building Permit on top of the NOC. DM permit is filed by a registered Engineering Consultant with stamped structural drawings. Processing time: 2–4 weeks. Cost: typically AED 8,000–25,000 in engineering and permit fees, paid through the BOQ.

Extension (new room, new floor, additional BUA): requires DM Building Permit, master-developer extension-specific NOC (different from renovation NOC), updated site plan approval and post-completion BUA re-registration at Dubai Land Department. Processing time: 4–8 weeks for approvals alone. Some communities have an extension cap (e.g. plot ratio max 50%) that must be checked at feasibility stage.

Pool installation or refurbishment: requires DM permit, Dubai Civil Defence approval for chlorination room, DEWA water-connection approval, master-developer pool NOC. Pool work is one of the most paperwork-heavy elements of a Dubai house renovation.

Electrical load increase (new EV charger, induction hob replacing gas, additional AC zones): requires DEWA load-increase application. DEWA processes in 5–10 working days once submitted with stamped load-calculation drawings.

Gas changes (LPG cylinder bank to piped natural gas, or vice versa): requires DUSUP/DUGAS approval and DCD sign-off on gas-room ventilation. Rare in Dubai apartments but common in villa renovations.

Across 800+ projects we have a 100% NOC and permit clearance record. That is largely because we don't start work until everything is in hand, and we don't cut corners on submissions. Communities and DM remember which contractors play by the rules, which streamlines future jobs.

One thing that catches some owners out: certain communities have seasonal renovation bans. Emaar bans heavy renovation in Arabian Ranches during peak winter (December–February) to protect outdoor amenity quality of life. Palm Jumeirah Building Management restricts works during Christmas–New Year and major UAE events. DAMAC has Eid no-work blocks. We plan timelines around these from Day 0.