Villa renovation cost in Dubai and the UAE

Renovating a villa in the UAE is quoted per square foot, and the rate depends on how deep the work goes. The ranges below are what the market charges. They are a starting point for a conversation, not a quote — a real number comes from a bill of quantities after a site visit.

Market ranges by scope

Scope	AED per sq ft	A 700 m² villa	What it covers
Cosmetic refresh	150–300	1.13–2.26M	Finishes, paint, flooring and light joinery. Layout stays as it is.
Full renovation	350–600	2.64–4.52M	Kitchen, bathrooms, flooring, MEP upgrades and new joinery.
Premium rebuild	600–800+	4.52–6.03M	Imported stone, bespoke joinery, custom lighting and smart systems.

Ranges reflect contractor pricing published in the UAE market, reviewed August 2026. A villa of 700 m² is about 7,535 sq ft.

Estimate your villa

Three inputs, arithmetic only. Nothing is sent anywhere — the calculation runs in your browser, and the formula is printed below so you can check it on paper.

Villa size, m²Scope

Indicative range

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Formula: area in m² × 10.7639 = sq ft, then × the rate for the chosen scope. Approval fees, loose furniture and landscaping outside the villa footprint sit outside this figure.

Send these numbers to us

Where we sit

We work turnkey from 10,000 AED per m² — about 929 AED per sq ft, above the premium band in the table. That is not a market position we argue for; it is what natural stone, hand-run mouldings, painted ceilings and bespoke joinery cost when they are done properly at this scale.

If a villa needs less than that, the ranges above are the right guide and a different contractor is the right choice. We say so rather than quote down to a scope we would not stand behind. See what that buys on a 1,500 m² villa.

What moves the number

Two villas of the same size can differ by a factor of three. In practice the swing comes from a short list: how much stone is imported and how it is cut, whether joinery is bespoke or catalogue, whether MEP is replaced or patched, whether walls move, and whether the villa sits in a community that requires its own approvals and working-hour limits.

The cheapest way to control cost is to fix the scope before work starts. Variations agreed on site, mid-project, are what turn a quoted figure into a final figure that nobody predicted.

Questions

Why is villa renovation priced per square foot?

Because area drives most of the cost: flooring, ceilings, MEP runs and labour all scale with it. Per-square-foot rates give a working range early. The contract price comes from a bill of quantities, not from a rate card.

What makes the price move inside a range?

Imported stone and bespoke joinery move it up fastest, followed by full MEP replacement, structural changes and smart systems. Keeping the existing layout keeps it down.

What is not included in a renovation quote?

Usually municipality and developer approval fees, loose furniture, appliances beyond the kitchen package, and landscaping outside the villa footprint. Ask for these to be listed explicitly before you compare two quotes.

How much should the first payment be?

An advance is normal in the UAE; what matters is that later payments are tied to completed stages rather than to dates, and that the stages are defined in the contract.

Get a figure for your villa

Send the size and the scope you have in mind. We come back with a range, and after a site visit, with a bill of quantities.

We take on villa projects from 700 m² · from AED 7M.