A complete four to six bedroom villa renovation in Dubai commonly falls between AED 700,000 and AED 2,000,000 including a landscaping package. A smaller villa taken back to shell and refitted to a good mid-to-high specification typically lands between AED 700,000 and AED 1,100,000. The single biggest variable is how much of the mechanical, electrical and plumbing needs replacing — not the finishes.
What actually drives the number
Clients almost always assume finishes drive a renovation budget. They do not. In our experience the variables that move the figure most are, in order: the extent of mechanical, electrical and plumbing replacement; the specification of stone and joinery; whether any structure is being altered; and the external works package.
Finishes are what you think about because they are what you can see. Services are what actually drives the cost, and they are invisible in the finished house — which is exactly why they get quietly excluded from cheaper quotations.
A villa over fifteen years old will generally need its wiring, distribution board, pipework and air conditioning replaced. That is not optional once ceilings are down and walls are open. If a quotation you have received does not price it, it has not been excluded because the contractor found a clever way to avoid it.
Where the money goes
On a typical full villa renovation the split is roughly: 25–30% on mechanical, electrical and plumbing; 20–25% on joinery including the kitchen; 15–20% on tiling, stone and flooring; 10–15% on strip-out, builders work and making good; and the balance on decoration, glazing, doors and preliminaries.
Preliminaries deserve a mention because they are frequently invisible in a lump-sum quotation. Site protection, welfare, waste removal, supervision, insurance and permits are real costs. On a residential renovation they typically account for 8–12% of the total. A quotation that appears not to include them has either buried them elsewhere or has not thought about them.
Why the range is so wide
Because specification genuinely varies by a factor of three or more. A quartz worktop and a book-matched marble worktop perform the same function and differ enormously in cost. So do local joinery and imported European joinery, standard porcelain and large-format natural stone, a basic split AC and a zoned ducted system with smart controls.
This is why a rate per square foot, while a useful starting point, is a poor basis for a decision. The only number worth acting on is a measured one. See what a bill of quantities is and why it matters.
What to do with these figures
Use them to sanity-check, not to budget. If a contractor has quoted you AED 350,000 for a full five-bedroom villa renovation including services, something has been left out and it is worth finding out what before you sign.
Equally, if you have been quoted AED 2.5m for a four-bedroom refit with no structural work and no pool, ask for it broken down.
Either way, ask for the quotation to be itemised. A contractor who will not break down their price is telling you something.
What moves the number most
Finish specification, and it is not close. The same villa can be finished in porcelain and laminate or in book-matched marble and solid timber joinery, and the gap between those two is wider than the gap between a cosmetic refresh and a full strip-out. It is why any honest figure is a range rather than a number.
After that: the age of the property, because it decides whether the mechanical and electrical installation is a line item or the whole project; and whether the layout changes, because structural work brings an engineer, a permit and several weeks with it.
What a cheap quotation usually leaves out
Mechanical, electrical and plumbing. It is invisible in the finished house, which makes it the easiest thing to omit and the most expensive thing to add back once ceilings are closed. In a villa over fifteen years old it is not optional.
Then: waterproofing and the testing of it, builder's work in connection with services, making good after first fix, protection of the parts of the house not being worked on, and the authority and community charges. None of those disappear because they were not priced — they arrive later as variations.
Contingency, and why it sits outside the price
Hold five to ten per cent of the construction sum, and ten per cent on a property over twenty years old. That covers what is found behind walls and the changes you will make once you can stand in the space. It is not an allowance for contractor error and it should sit in your budget rather than inside the quotation.
A contractor who includes contingency in their price is either carrying your risk at your expense or has nowhere to go when something is found. Keeping it separate and visible is the more honest arrangement for both sides.
How we arrive at a figure
We do not price from a floor area and a rate. We measure the work and produce a bill of quantities — every element listed, quantified and rated — so that what you are agreeing to is legible rather than implied.
That is also what makes two quotations comparable. A single lump sum tells you nothing about what has been included; a measured breakdown tells you exactly where the difference between two prices sits. For an indicative range before any of that, the cost calculator takes about a minute.
| Property | Scope | Indicative range |
|---|---|---|
| Apartment, 2 bed | Full internal refurbishment, kitchen and bathrooms | AED 180k – 400k |
| Townhouse, 3 bed | Strip-out and refit, new services, modest external works | AED 350k – 700k |
| Villa, 4 bed | Full strip-out, complete MEP, kitchen and bathrooms, joinery | AED 700k – 1.1m |
| Villa, 5–6 bed | High-specification with structural alteration, pool, landscaping | AED 1.4m – 2.0m |
| Preliminaries | Protection, welfare, waste, supervision, insurance, permits | 8–12% of total |
Want a figure for your own villa rather than a table? Put the floor area, scope and age into the Dubai renovation cost calculator and it will return an indicative all-in range, costed from the same bills of quantities as the figures above.
Related Questions
Why is MEP so often excluded from renovation quotes?
Because it is invisible in the finished house, and pricing it properly makes a quotation look expensive beside one that omits it.
In a villa over fifteen years old the wiring, pipework and AC are usually at end of life. Once ceilings are down, replacing them is not a choice. This is the single most common reason a renovation quoted at AED 600,000 finishes at AED 900,000.
Should I budget a contingency?
Yes. Even with a full measured bill of quantities, hold 5–10% for genuine unknowns: what is found behind walls, and the changes you decide to make once you can see the space taking shape.
On properties over fifteen years old, hold closer to 10%. Not because the price is unreliable, but because opening up an old building occasionally reveals something nobody could have measured.
How much does it cost to renovate a villa in Dubai?
It depends far more on specification than on size. As an indication, a cosmetic refurbishment runs in a very different band from a mid-range renovation, which in turn sits well below a full strip-out with complete MEP replacement and premium finishes. Put your own floor area and scope through the cost calculator for a figure rather than working from a single headline number.
Why do villa renovation quotes vary so much?
Because they are rarely pricing the same scope. The cheaper figure usually excludes the mechanical and electrical work, the waterproofing testing, the making good after first fix and the authority charges. Ask both contractors for a measured breakdown and the gap generally explains itself.
What is the biggest hidden cost?
MEP — wiring, pipework, drainage and air conditioning. It is invisible when the house is finished, which is exactly why it gets left out of a competitive quotation. In a villa over fifteen years old it is at end of life, and once ceilings are open replacing it stops being a choice.
How much contingency should I hold?
Five to ten per cent of the construction sum, and ten per cent on anything over twenty years old. Hold it in your budget rather than expecting it inside the quotation. It covers what is found behind the walls and the decisions you will change once the space is open.
Does VAT apply?
Yes, at five per cent on construction works, and it should be shown as its own line rather than absorbed into rates. Developer and authority charges — NOC fees, deposits, permit fees — sit below the contract total and are paid at cost rather than marked up.
Is it cheaper to renovate in phases?
No, materially. Site set-up, welfare, supervision, protection and skips are paid for once per phase rather than once per project, and the access needed for services work is far harder once finishes are in. Phasing is sometimes necessary for cashflow or occupation reasons, but it is not a saving.
Does a renovation add value in Dubai?
Kitchens and bathrooms affect a buyer's decision more than anything else, and a tired property reliably costs more at sale than updating it would have. Whether a specific renovation returns its cost depends on the specification relative to the community — over-specifying for the area rarely does.