Renovating an apartment or villa in Dubai

What we cover

Do you need a permit to renovate a flat in Dubai?

Yes. Two approvals stand between an owner and a removed wall: a no-objection certificate (NOC) from the building’s management company and the regulator’s permit. Both are easier to obtain before work starts than afterwards.

Which regulator depends on the community’s master developer: usually the municipality, sometimes a free-zone authority. Its approval covers structural work, wet areas, the facade, electrics, water and cooling.

Which works cannot be done without approval?

Load-bearing walls, columns and slabs are off limits, as are facade glazing, risers, ventilation and the central air-conditioning layout. Moving a bathroom or kitchen without approved waterproofing is the commonest source of claims from neighbours below.

Cosmetic work needs no complex approvals: new lighting, paint, taps and sanitaryware at existing points, kitchen appliances, made-to-measure furniture, curtains.

Why do renovations in Dubai overrun?

Because approvals sit between signing the contract and starting on site, and then community rules, climate and deliveries take over. A villa or large apartment is a project of six months to three years.

Noise hours, lift bookings and worker passes eat weeks, summer brings a midday break on outdoor work, and made-to-order items take 8–16 weeks. The main factor, though, is changes along the way: two of three months of delay often come from the client’s own decisions.

A contract that keeps the job on time

The standard schedule is an advance, stage payments and a final 10–15% of the contract sum. Disputes start wherever a stage is described vaguely, so four things belong in the contract.

How the work runs

The work runs in five steps, from the building rules to a signed handover certificate. For small jobs of 3–7 days a temporary permit is enough: it usually takes a day or two, though some communities want the application 48 hours ahead.

1. 1

   Rules and permits

   We get the building rules in writing: working hours, contractor requirements, lift bookings, and the authority that approves your address.

2. 2

   Contractor and contract

   We check the licence, the right to do this type of work and experience with approvals in your community. Stages, penalties and warranty go into the contract.

3. 3

   Access application

   The crew list with Emirates IDs or passports, vehicles, the contractor’s trade licence, a description of the works, waste removal.

4. 4

   Works and variations

   Any departure from the design becomes a written variation with a new price and date.

5. 5

   Handover

   A walk-through against a checklist, a snag list with photographs and the certificate. Approvals stay with the title documents.

Why do you need a snag list at handover?

A snag list sets the point at which remarks close. It is a written record of defects: room, description, photo, date and a deadline for fixing, usually 10–15 working days. Both parties sign; later finds go under the warranty.

Unfinished items are priced in money: with defects worth three thousand dirhams, withholding a hundred thousand is pressure, not protection. A workable final settlement is 60% on handing over the keys and 40% once the list is closed.

Who does the work?

The renovation is done by an invited contractor with a valid licence and insurance — an independent practitioner, not our employee. A Dubai building will not admit an unlicensed crew.

Our role is the third party between client and construction company. Clients often live outside Dubai and judge the work by video, which shows neither floor levels nor joints nor ventilation. So we go to the site.

When does a renovation pay back, and when not?

For your own home the spend is justified by comfort. In a rental flat a full refit rarely pays back: the tenant pays for address, size, view and the building. Lighting, storage, appliances and curtains do.

Vacancy counts too: two weeks without a tenant at a rent of AED 120–150 thousand a year is a loss of AED 5–6 thousand. So the gap between tenants is for cosmetic work, and major works wait until the property is empty.

For a villa bought to resell, add the Dubai Land Department fee of 4%, an agent’s commission of about 2% and holding costs over 4–9 months of works.

Frequently asked questions

See also

• Interior design
• Snagging inspection
• All services