Renovation Companies in Dubai: One Contractor from Permit to Handover

The Property Masters is a Dubai renovation company and licensed contractor, covering home and villa renovation across all seven emirates. Most Dubai renovations turn on one question: do the works need a permit, and who is allowed to submit it? We answer that first, then design, build and hand over under one contract. Founded in 2025, fully licensed, and certified to ISO 9001, ISO 14001 and ISO 45001, with a fixed price after a free site visit and a 12-month defects-liability period in line with UAE market practice.

Renovation or fit-out? What changes your paperwork

A fit-out turns a bare or newly leased space into a finished one. A renovation reworks a space that is already built and usually occupied. In Dubai the practical difference is the approval chain.

  • Cosmetic works such as painting, flooring, joinery replacement and like-for-like re-tiling generally do not need an authority permit, though your building or community may still require its own NOC.
  • Anything that moves walls, wet areas, services or structure (a new bathroom position, a knocked-through kitchen, re-routed MEP) is a modification, and that needs a permit.

The costliest mistake in a Dubai renovation is starting without the right permit, because work stops when the building notices. See internal modification approval for where the line sits, or the fit-out approvals hub for the full picture.

What we renovate

  • Villa renovation: whole-home reworks, extensions and external works
  • Apartment renovation: building management rules bind tighter than the authority permit
  • Kitchen renovation: layout, joinery and the MEP moves behind it
  • Bathroom renovation: waterproofing, falls and drainage before anything decorative
  • Whole-home refresh: flooring, ceilings, joinery, lighting and paint as one coordinated programme

Why renovation goes wrong in Dubai

The permit question is answered too late

The permit answer has to be in hand before a contractor arrives with a sledgehammer. We establish jurisdiction and permit scope during the survey, before anything is priced.

The building has rules the authority does not

Community and tower managements issue their own renovation guidelines, working-hours windows, service-lift bookings, approved-contractor lists and a refundable deposit. These are commercial terms rather than statutory ones, and they usually pace a residential renovation.

Existing conditions are unknown until they are opened

An occupied property hides its services. Budget a renovation like a new build, with no contingency for what is behind the wall, and a fixed price stops being fixed.

The climate punishes shortcuts

Heat and humidity find unsealed board edges, temperate-rated adhesives and missing movement joints. A renovation also ties new work into old substrates, which is where waterproofing failures start.

What a renovation costs

Renovation in Dubai is priced against the general fit-out bands, which start from AED 250 (Essential), AED 450 (Premium), AED 800 (Luxury) per square foot, before 5% VAT and a typical ~10% contingency.

Against an apartment base, villas run roughly 1.8x, townhouses roughly 1.4x and offices roughly 1.3x. These ratios are indicative. What drives renovation cost most is how much has to be removed before anything is built.

For what moves a project from one band to another, and the five costs that sit outside the rate, see the fit-out cost guide.

How the programme runs

  1. Survey and permit scoping: measure, establish jurisdiction and confirm what needs approval before anything is drawn.
  2. Design and specification: layouts, finishes, MEP and a transparent bill of quantities.
  3. Approvals: building or community NOC first, then the authority submission where the works require one.
  4. Procurement: long-lead items are ordered at design freeze, not at permit.
  5. Strip-out and build: phased around occupancy where you are living in the property.
  6. Snagging and handover: defects are closed, then the defects-liability period begins.

The approval sequence sets your date more than the build does. See what sets your fit-out timeline, and fit-out handover for what has to close at the end.

How to choose a renovation company in Dubai

Ask for the paperwork before the portfolio: the trade licence, a named company that files any permit, a written scope, payments tied to finished stages and warranty terms you can read. Our vetting checklist for hiring a renovation contractor has the questions to ask under each check, and what needs approval comes before any quote.

Fixed-scope quotes: how the price gets set

We price a renovation after a site survey, against a written scope. The survey gives us measurements, the state of what's already there and the answer to the permit question. From that we produce drawings where they're needed and a bill of quantities, so every line has a quantity and a rate you can check.

A fixed-scope quote holds as long as the scope does. Change the scope and you'll see the difference line by line. The exclusions are listed too: the building's deposit, authority fees, and anything that only shows once the walls are open. We carry a contingency for that last one, the same ~10% the cost figures above assume, and we explain what it covers. Quotes vary because scopes vary, so put two side by side and compare the exclusions before you compare the totals. The fit-out approvals hub shows which approvals a scope needs before it's priced. The fit-out contractor checklist covers the licensing side. We also run facilities management, so the team that renovates the property can maintain it afterwards.

Majlis renovation

A majlis renovation starts with the size of the room and how it's used. These rooms are large, formally furnished and built for hosting, so the air conditioning load, the sound and the lighting matter as much as the finishes. The seating runs along the walls, which means the joinery, curtains and ceiling details get built around it.

Refreshing finishes, curtains and seating is cosmetic work. Moving walls, opening the room to a garden or changing the services is a modification, and the same permit line applies as anywhere else in the house; internal modification approval shows where it sits. An external majlis in a villa is external works with its own route, covered on the villa renovation page. If the seating is the job, look at custom majlis furniture. An apartment majlis follows the apartment renovation rules.

Penthouse renovation

A penthouse renovation follows the apartment rules with more at stake. The building's NOC, working hours and service-lift slots still set the pace, and a top-floor unit means long carries and larger deliveries through that same lift. Read the building's renovation guidelines before designing to them; the apartment renovation page explains why.

If your penthouse has a private terrace, roof area or plunge pool, each of those is its own scope. A pool follows the swimming pool approval chain, and terrace works can fall under the external works route. We confirm which applies for your building during the survey.

For a commercial project, see interior fit-out works or office fit-out.

Frequently Asked Questions

Do I need a permit to renovate in Dubai?

It depends on what the works touch. Cosmetic works (painting, flooring, like-for-like re-tiling, replacing joinery) generally do not need an authority permit, though your building or community may still require its own NOC. Anything that moves walls, wet areas, services or structure is a modification and does need one. We establish the answer during the survey, before anything is priced.

What is the difference between a renovation and a fit-out?

A fit-out turns a bare or newly leased space into a finished one. A renovation reworks a space that is already built and usually occupied. In Dubai the difference shows up in the approval chain and the constraints: a renovation has existing services behind the walls, an occupier to work around and building management rules that a bare-shell fit-out does not.

How much does a renovation cost in Dubai?

Indicatively, from AED 250 per square foot for an essential specification, AED 450 for premium and AED 800 for luxury, before 5% VAT and a typical 10% contingency. Against an apartment base, villas run roughly 1.8x and townhouses roughly 1.4x. What drives renovation cost most is how much has to be removed before anything is built. A fixed price follows a free site visit.

Can I live in the property during the renovation?

Often yes, if the works are phased. Whole-home reworks that move services or wet areas are usually faster and cheaper with the property empty, because trades are not working around occupancy and dust containment is simpler. We set out both options with the programme so you can decide.

Who deals with the building management?

We do. Community and tower managements issue their own renovation guidelines, working-hours windows, service-lift bookings, approved-contractor lists and a refundable deposit. These are commercial terms, and in a residential renovation they usually pace the job more than the authority permit does.

Why do renovation quotes vary so much?

Quotes often price different scopes. A quote without a bill of quantities is an estimate that will be re-measured, and one without a contingency leaves the risk of unknown existing conditions with you. Compare the exclusions list before the headline number.

How do I choose a renovation company in Dubai?

Check six things in writing: the trade licence covers the work, a named company submits any permit, the scope comes with drawings and a bill of quantities, the exclusions are listed, payments follow finished stages, and the snagging and defects-liability terms are in the contract. Treat a price given before anyone has seen the property as a red flag.

Do you renovate majlis rooms and penthouses?

Yes. A majlis renovation is cosmetic unless it moves walls or services, in which case it's a modification and needs the permit answer first. A penthouse follows the apartment rules, and any terrace, roof or pool works are separate scopes with their own approvals, which we confirm at the survey.

Call +971 50 928 5264 or message us on WhatsApp.