Apartment prices
Apartment renovation cost in Dubai
Every figure here was published by a UAE renovation company on its own site. Each one carries the publisher's name and the month we collected it: September 2026.
The numbers
Apartment renovation cost Dubai: what do companies publish?
What should an apartment renovation cost Dubai owners in 2026? A range, and a wide one, because each company that publishes prices does it in its own tiers and its own units. We read every band below on the publisher's own page on 18 September 2026, and we quote each as that company's figure. None of them is a price we set.
How much does an apartment renovation cost in Dubai?
A basic apartment renovation in Dubai starts at about AED 15,000: the floor of ASM Interiors' published band for painting, flooring and minor fixes in a one or two-bedroom unit, which runs to AED 40,000. The same company publishes AED 40,000 to 120,000 for mid-range work and AED 120,000 to 350,000 and above for a full luxury renovation. Before any of those numbers becomes a quote, our matching service puts one written brief to several contractors so their totals can be compared.
Published totals by unit size
Three companies publish apartment totals by unit size, and they disagree more than their tiers suggest. Read across a row before you read down a column: for two bedrooms, the lowest published floor is AED 60,000 and the highest is AED 150,000. Revive Hub's averages for three typical jobs are set out under typical apartment costs.
| Unit size | Revive Hub, AED | First Unicorn Interiors, AED | Vision Three, AED |
|---|---|---|---|
| Studio | 18,000 to 60,000 | 25,000 to 50,000 | 35,000 to 80,000 (studio or 1-bed refresh) |
| One bedroom | 35,000 to 120,000 | 35,000 to 70,000 | 35,000 to 80,000 (studio or 1-bed refresh) |
| Two bedrooms | 60,000 to 220,000 | 60,000 to 120,000 | 150,000 to 350,000 (mid-range) |
| Three bedrooms | 90,000 to 350,000 | 100,000 to 200,000 | 250,000 to 550,000 (mid to high specification) |
| Penthouse | Not published | 150,000 to 350,000 and above | 600,000 to 1,500,000 and above (luxury) |
The Vision Three column runs higher for a reason printed in its own labels: its two and three-bedroom figures are labelled mid-range and higher specifications, where the other two publish one range per unit size with no tier attached. Match a quote to the column that shares its specification. A two-bedroom in Dubai Marina has no published band of its own, so the two-bedroom row applies, with the building's NOC fees on top where the tower sits under Emaar Community Management. That is the comparison we run when renovating your apartment goes out to contractors.
Apartment renovation cost Dubai: what is the rate per square foot?
Rates are the better unit for comparing quotes, because a total hides the area it was multiplied by. Two publishers give rates per square foot and one per square metre. The table converts the per-metre figures at 10.76 square feet to the square metre, so every row can be read in the same unit.
| Publisher and tier | As published | Per sq ft |
|---|---|---|
| Revive Hub, refresh | AED 450 to 850 per sq m | about AED 42 to 79 |
| Revive Hub, standard | AED 850 to 1,350 per sq m | about AED 79 to 125 |
| Revive Hub, premium | AED 1,350 to 2,200 per sq m | about AED 125 to 204 |
| Revive Hub, full makeover | AED 2,200 and above per sq m | about AED 204 and above |
| First Unicorn Interiors, budget | AED 80 to 150 per sq ft | AED 80 to 150 |
| First Unicorn Interiors, standard | AED 150 to 250 per sq ft | AED 150 to 250 |
| First Unicorn Interiors, premium | AED 250 to 400 per sq ft | AED 250 to 400 |
| ASM Interiors, all levels | AED 150 to 500 and above per sq ft | AED 150 to 500 and above |
Converted, Revive Hub's refresh rate sits below First Unicorn's budget rate, and that is the whole case for asking every contractor for the unit and the area. Multiply the standard tiers out for a 1,000 sq ft unit and the gap is plain: Revive Hub's comes to about AED 79,000 to 125,000, First Unicorn's to AED 150,000 to 250,000. A total quoted without its area cannot be placed on either line.
Prices outside Dubai: confirmed per emirate
Every band on this page is a Dubai figure. None of the companies behind these bands publishes an apartment renovation band for Abu Dhabi, Sharjah or Ajman, so quotes there are confirmed per emirate rather than copied across. The approval path does differ from one emirate to the next, and each one changes what a quote has to allow for.
- Dubai: the published bands above, AED 15,000 to 350,000 and above, plus the building's NOC fees and noisy-work windows.
- Abu Dhabi: confirmed per emirate. The contractor files a maintenance permit for cosmetic work, AED 2,000 where Tasareeh reviews the plot; a design consultant files a building permit for layout changes; Aldar-managed towers need the Owners Union's written approval.
- Sharjah: confirmed per emirate. Sharjah City Municipality publishes no permit fee, and its deposits are refundable once the site is clean.
- Ajman: confirmed per emirate. The one fixed cost is known in advance: AED 1,000 for the maintenance permit, with a refundable deposit.
What moves the price inside a band?
- The tier, above all. ASM Interiors' bands for a one or two-bedroom unit run from AED 15,000 to 40,000 for a basic renovation and from AED 120,000 to 350,000 and above for a luxury one.
- The building. Vision Three publishes that apartments cost 15 to 25 percent more than villas at the same specification, because of building access restrictions and logistics.
- What the rules forbid. In Emaar and Town Square apartments new tiles go over the old ones, so a quote that prices removing a floor is pricing work that will not be approved.
- The building's own fees. Emaar's published schedule lists AED 1,000 for a minor or AED 2,000 for a major works NOC, with the AED 500 review fee deducted from the total. Town Square charges AED 1,000 for minor works, and AED 2,000 plus an AED 5,000 deposit for major ones.
- Unit and area. A rate per square metre is about eleven times the same rate per square foot. Check which one a quote uses before comparing it with anything.
What must a quote show?
- The rate, the unit it is quoted in, and the area it was multiplied by.
- The tier, named in the words the published bands use: basic, mid-range, standard, premium or luxury.
- The building's fees and any deposit, and who pays each of them.
- What is excluded, in writing: waste removal, protection of common areas and making good.
- The programme in weeks, with the building's noisy-work windows already built in.
Painting on its own is not one of these bands: painting quotes are read line by line, by area, coats, paint and preparation. The same method, with the villa, kitchen and bathroom lines beside it, is in the Corvana cost index. Send us the unit size and the tier you have in mind, and the quotes that come back will be in a shape you can set against the tables above.
Four figures to hold a quote against
- published floor, basic 1 to 2 bedroom refresh
- AED 15,000published floor, basic 1 to 2 bedroom refresh
- top of the published luxury band
- AED 350,000+top of the published luxury band
- apartment premium over villas, per Vision Three
- 15 to 25%apartment premium over villas, per Vision Three
- square feet in one square metre
- 10.76square feet in one square metre
Questions
Questions about apartment prices
- How much does it cost to renovate a small apartment in Dubai?
- For a studio, Revive Hub, First Unicorn Interiors and Vision Three publish ranges that start at AED 18,000, AED 25,000 and AED 35,000, and top out at AED 60,000, AED 50,000 and AED 80,000. Revive Hub's floor comes from a directional range; Vision Three's is a figure for a studio or one-bedroom refresh. ASM Interiors publishes a basic refresh of a one or two-bedroom unit from AED 15,000.
- How much does a full flat renovation cost?
- ASM Interiors publishes AED 120,000 to 350,000 and above for a full luxury renovation of a one or two-bedroom unit. For three bedrooms at mid to high specification Vision Three publishes AED 250,000 to 550,000, and for a penthouse or luxury specification AED 600,000 to 1,500,000 and above.
- Why do published apartment prices disagree so much?
- Because the publishers price different things. One gives a directional range for each unit size, another a mid-range figure, a third a rate; one works per square metre and the others per square foot. Line up the tier and the unit before comparing two figures, and the building's fees before comparing two quotes.
- Is it cheaper to renovate an apartment than a villa?
- In total, usually, because there is less floor area. Per square foot, not necessarily: Vision Three publishes that apartments sit 15 to 25 percent higher than villas at the same specification, because of building access restrictions and logistics. The published apartment floor is AED 15,000; the published floor for a full villa renovation is AED 150,000.
- Do the building's fees come on top of the renovation price?
- Yes, and no headline band includes them. Emaar's published schedule lists an AED 500 review fee, deducted from the total, and approval fees of AED 1,000 for minor and AED 2,000 for major works. Town Square charges AED 160 for a home improvement, AED 1,000 for minor works, and AED 2,000 plus an AED 5,000 deposit for major ones. Dubai Holding's rulebook says an application is not processed until its fees are paid in full, but publishes no amount.
- What is the cheapest way to renovate an apartment?
- Stay inside what Dubai treats as simple maintenance: painting, new floors laid to the building's rules, doors and suspended ceilings. That needs no Dubai Municipality permit, only an accredited contractor, and in Emaar apartments internal painting needs no NOC, only a contractor entry permit. ASM Interiors' published band for that basic tier in a one or two-bedroom unit is AED 15,000 to 40,000.
- Do prices differ in Abu Dhabi, Sharjah or Ajman?
- None of the companies behind these bands publishes one for those emirates, so quotes there are confirmed per emirate. What changes is the approval path and its cost. Ajman publishes AED 1,000 for its maintenance permit. In Abu Dhabi, Tasareeh, the Aldar company that reviews permits for the plots in its scope, lists AED 2,000 for a building maintenance permit, while TAMM adds no platform fee. Sharjah publishes no permit fee at all.
- How do I compare two quotes that use different units?
- Convert both to the same unit, then to the same area. Divide a rate per square metre by 10.76 to get the rate per square foot: AED 1,350 per sq m is about AED 125 per sq ft. Then multiply by the area each contractor measured. If the areas differ, ask why before comparing anything else.
Who you are dealing with
- OperatorWebsiteOS LLC
- Licence2646567.01
- Cost to homeownerNone
- Figures datedSeptember 2026
Tell us about the apartment
Size, community, how many bathrooms and what you want changed. We come back with contractors who quote against the published bands, and we show you where each quote sits against them.