Contract guide
What a renovation quote should contain
Two quotes for the same job can be three times apart and both be honest, because they assume a different area or finish. A quote you can act on makes its assumptions visible. Here is the checklist we hold every quote to.
Quotes
Renovation quote: what should be on the page?
A renovation quote is worth only as much as the assumptions it shows. A single total on a letterhead tells you what the contractor wants, not what the work is worth, and you cannot compare it with anything. A quote that names the rate, the area it applies to, the finish, what is excluded and who pays each fee can be held against a published band and against the other quotes on the table. That is the whole test.
What should a renovation quote include?
The contractor's licensed name and licence number; the scope room by room; the rate and the area it applies to, or a job total for work the market prices as a total; a finish specification; the exclusions; every authority and developer fee with who pays it; the programme in weeks; the payment stages; the warranty; and the price before VAT, the VAT and the total. If any of those is missing, ask for it in writing before you compare the quote with anything.
Why does the rate matter more than the total?
Because totals hide the assumptions. Among the companies in our villa figures, the five that publish a rate per square foot converge at roughly AED 350 to 600 for mid-range work, while their totals for the same stated scope differ by a factor of three. The unit matters as much as the number. Apartment prices are published per square foot on some pages and per square metre on others, and mixing the two without converting produces an error of about eleven times. Bathrooms are priced per bathroom, so a figure for "the bathrooms" in a four-bathroom villa needs dividing before it means anything. Kitchens are priced almost entirely as job totals, so a kitchen quoted only per square foot is unusual; ask for the total.
- Villa or apartment: a rate and the area it applies to, plus the finish level.
- Kitchen: a job total by size, with cabinets, worktops and appliances itemised.
- Bathroom: a price per bathroom, with waterproofing and tiling shown.
- Design: the fee basis, whether a percentage of project value, a rate or a fixed package.
Which fees sit outside the contractor's price?
| Fee | Published figure (AED) | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Emaar home-modification NOC | 1,000 minor or 2,000 major in total, including a 500 review fee paid first | Emaar factsheet, 2022 |
| Nakheel villa modification, now under Dubai Holding | Fee not published in the 2026 rulebook; refundable contractor deposit, amount not published | Dubai Holding rules, July 2026; nakheel.com |
| DDA fit-out permit | 0.90 per sq ft, minimum 200, maximum 10,000, plus 20 | DDA service page |
| Tasareeh single-villa modification, Abu Dhabi | About 5,900 across four fee lines | Tasareeh fee structure, January 2025 |
| Ajman building permit, private residential | 3.5 per m², minimum 200, plus 2 per m² insurance | Ajman government catalogue |
| Sharjah modification or expansion | Calculated per application by Municipality engineers | Sharjah Municipality service 234 |
| DEWA builder services | Free to apply; estimate or connection cost as issued | DEWA service pages |
Dubai Municipality does not publish its permit fees, so a Dubai quote should state the amount the consultant expects, or say plainly that the fee is excluded. The point is not the size of these lines, which is small beside the work, but that a quote leaving them out looks cheaper than one that includes them. Our guides to Dubai permits and developer NOCs show which apply to your address.
Renovation quote red flags
- One total with no rate, area or finish behind it.
- "Permits and approvals as required" with no amount and no owner of the task.
- No exclusions list, which usually means the exclusions arrive later as variations.
- A programme with no weeks in it, or no statement of what happens if it slips.
- Payments tied to dates rather than stages, or most of the money due before any permit.
- No licence number, or a licence for a different emirate from the job's.
- A price that does not say whether VAT is included.
How do you compare three quotes?
Put them on one sheet, line by line, on the same basis. First the unit: convert everything to the same rate and area, or the same per-bathroom figure. Then the finish, since a basic and a luxury specification sit in different bands and cannot be compared on price. Then the exclusions and the fees, adding back anything one quote leaves out. Then VAT, bringing all three to the price before VAT, the VAT and the total. Only then look at the totals, and set them against the published band for that line in our cost index. A quote near the top of the band should name what puts it there; one below it should say what it leaves out. For the whole-job picture first, see renovation costs.
After you accept a quote
The quote becomes the contract's schedule, so move it across whole: scope, rate, area, finish, exclusions and fees. Dubai Municipality publishes guidance contract forms for private villa construction, and Sharjah Municipality issues a standard contract form, so you need not start from the contractor's own text. Tie payments to stages, as our payment schedule guide explains, write the warranty periods in, as the warranty guide sets out, and check the VAT line before signing. Or send us the job and we write the brief so every quote arrives in this shape; that is what our free quotes service is for.
Questions
Renovation quotes, answered
- Why are my quotes so far apart?
- Usually because they assume different areas and finish levels, not because the contractors' rates differ. Five companies publish mid-range villa rates that converge at roughly AED 350 to 600 per square foot, while their totals for the same scope differ threefold. Ask each for the rate, the area and the finish, and the gap usually narrows.
- Should a quote include permit and NOC fees?
- It should show them, either as priced lines or as stated exclusions with an amount you will pay directly. Published examples include Emaar's NOC at AED 1,000 for minor or AED 2,000 for major works in total, the AED 500 review fee included, and a DDA fit-out permit at AED 0.90 per square foot, from AED 200 to AED 10,000.
- How many quotes should I get?
- Enough to see where the market sits for your scope, on the same brief. We put one written brief to up to three licensed contractors who work in your community, so the quotes come back comparable line by line.
- Is a verbal quote enough?
- No. A price you cannot hold anyone to is not a quote. Ask for it in writing with the rate, area, finish, exclusions, fees, programme, payment stages, warranty and VAT, and keep it with the contract.
- What does "finish level" mean on a quote?
- The standard of materials and fittings the price assumes, usually described as basic, mid-range or luxury. Published rates step up sharply between them, so two quotes at different finish levels are pricing different jobs. Ask for a short finish specification, even a single page.
- Can you check a quote I already have?
- Yes. Send it on WhatsApp with the size and community, and we set it against the published band for that kind of work. There is no charge.
Who you are dealing with
- OperatorWebsiteOS LLC
- Licence2646567.01
- Cost to homeownerNone
- Figures datedSeptember 2026
Tell us about the renovation
Villa or apartment, community, which rooms and what you want changed. We come back with contractors whose quotes show the rate, the area, the finish and every fee.