Skip to content
Makan Al Najah

Cost guides

What an apartment renovation costs in Dubai

In an apartment the building has a say in the work before the owner does, and that is usually what separates one budget from another.

Request a quoteWhatsApp us
Open-plan apartment with a sofa area, dining table and a fitted kitchen along one wall

An apartment renovation is shaped by constraints a villa does not have. Working hours are fixed by the building, the service lift may be the only route for materials, wet areas usually sit on a shared stack that cannot be moved, and almost everything visible has to be protected on the way through. None of that appears on a floor plan, and all of it is real cost.

Cost guides on this site explain what moves a price up or down and which parts of a quote to compare line by line. They never publish a figure we cannot stand behind.

The second difference is approval. Work that touches plumbing, drainage or the electrical supply normally needs building management to review it first, and that review takes time before a single trade is on site. A quote that ignores it will look cheaper and then not be.

What matters most on this page

  • Access and protection

    Lift bookings, corridor protection, dust control and daily clearing are priced work in an occupied building.

  • Shared services

    Stack drainage and riser positions usually stay put. Working within them is cheaper than proposing a change that will not be approved.

  • Approval sequence

    Building sign-off, deposits and any reinstatement condition all sit on the critical path before work can start.

Where an apartment budget differs from a villa

  • The kitchen is usually replaced, not extended

    Because the layout is fixed by the shaft and the window line, most apartment kitchens are re-fitted in place. A smaller scope, but unforgiving about appliance dimensions.

  • Bathrooms stay on the same drainage

    Keeping fittings near the existing stack avoids a length of new drainage that would never be approved. Moving a toilet or shower across the room is the line that changes the cost.

  • Ceilings and bulkheads

    Ceiling voids carry the services. Recessed lighting, extraction or a new circuit usually means opening the ceiling, which then has to be rebuilt to match the rest of the apartment.

Before you compare apartment renovation quotes

  • Ask who handles the building submission

    Someone has to lodge the drawings and method statement. If that is you, the quote is not the whole cost.

  • Confirm the working hours you are priced for

    A programme built around restricted hours is longer and costs more than one that assumes a free hand.

  • Check the reinstatement condition

    Some buildings require the original layout back at the end of a tenancy. That condition belongs in the budget, not in the surprise column.

Questions we are often asked

Do apartment renovations always need building approval?

Work that touches plumbing, drainage, the electrical supply or the building fabric normally does. Building management will say what they need to see and how long the review takes.

Can a kitchen layout be changed?

Sometimes, within the shaft and window line. Moving the sink or hob far from the existing services is where a small change becomes an expensive one.

Can work be done while we live in the apartment?

Often, particularly where the apartment has more than one bathroom. It is a phasing decision, and it is priced as one.

Related guides

Start from apartment renovation, browse the cost guides, or see all renovation and fit-out services. We work on homes and commercial premises across Dubai.

Tell us about the property

Tell us the property and the scope you have in mind. We price from a survey, line by line, so the comparison is honest.

Next step

Price the apartment work properly

Send the apartment layout and what you want changed. We will check what the building is likely to approve before the scope is priced.

Request a quoteWhatsApp usCall +971 56 181 0106
Call usWhatsApp