How to Choose a Hong Kong Interior Design Firm: Scope, Fees, and Records

Design work and construction work carry different roles and different charges. The Consumer Council’s renovation quotation survey states that interior design companies assume a different role from renovation companies and that their charges differ significantly. Settle which role you are buying before you compare any offer.

Use the Hong Kong renovation directory to build a shortlist, then put the same scope and the same questions to every firm on it.

Decide the scope before comparing firms

State the job in writing before the first meeting. A design engagement can cover concept and drawings only, design with site supervision, or a design-and-build package under one company. Each answer changes who prices the construction, who answers for defects, and which records you should receive.

Settle these points with each firm:

Question	What the answer fixes
Which rooms and items does the design cover?	The boundary of the design fee
Who produces the working drawings?	The document a contractor prices against
Who inspects work on site, and how often?	The person who compares site work to the design
If one company designs and builds, how is the price split?	Which part of the offer you can compare with other firms

Two firms quoting different roles cannot be compared on price alone. Rewrite the scope until every offer answers the same job.

Question the fee structure in writing

Do not accept a single figure. The Consumer Council says a renovation contract should state each project item and its cost and identify each item as labour and material, materials purchased by the contractor, or materials supplied by the customer. Ask the firm to present its design fee the same way: one row per deliverable, with the charge and the delivery record beside it.

For the payment schedule, the Council tells customers to settle payment in stages that follow works progress and to inspect progress and cross-check costs before each stage payment. On the renovation side, its quotation survey advises payment by four instalments with the first payment not exceeding 40% of the total amount. Name the record that releases each stage instead of accepting phrases such as “middle of the project”.

Ask what the fee excludes. Site visits, revised drawing rounds, material sourcing trips, and contractor coordination either sit inside the fee or arrive later as additions. An exclusion listed in writing today costs less than the same exclusion discovered on site.

Verify the portfolio and the company behind it

The Council tells consumers not to engage any contractor casually and to compare firms through detailed enquiries and different quotations. Apply the same discipline to a portfolio. For each project shown, ask which entity delivered it, what this firm’s own scope was, and which drawings or site records it can show for that scope.

For custom-made furniture, the Council says a confirmed order should come with drawings, detailed measurements, and material samples for the customer to choose and confirm by signing. Ask a shortlisted firm to show the same records from a completed job. A firm that keeps them for past work can produce them for yours.

Check business registration and registered-work roles

A brand name is not a contracting entity. Ask for the exact registered business name that will appear on the quotation and the invoices, then check it. The Inland Revenue Department runs a Business Registration Number Enquiry service through GovHK that takes the full business name and its location, and an uncertified extract of the Business Register shows the current information of the business and its operator.

If the project touches electrical or drainage alterations, the Council says consumers should check whether such works are regulated by relevant ordinances, that regulated work is carried out or supervised by a licensed person, and that the related workers can produce a certificate copy for verification.

Where a firm claims a registered contractor role for building work, use the Buildings Department’s Registered Professionals or Contractors search. The search accepts a name, registration number, register type, or service item, and a Minor Works Contractor search adds class, type, Class III item, and business-location fields. Save the query result with the project record.

A registration match answers an identity question, not a quality question. It shows who the party is and which scope a register lists, not whether the design will serve the flat.

Set contract, variation, and handover records

The Council says specific renovation design or construction material requirements should be included in the contract. Record the drawing set, the material schedule, and the sample references that the design fee pays for, and state which document controls when two of them disagree.

For changes, the Council says both parties should confirm variations, incomplete items, and extra charges in written form and add the revised terms to the contract. Keep one variation record that names the original item, the change, the revised charge, and the approval date.

For custom furniture, the Council tells customers to keep the furniture design drawings for record and to mind the warranty period and the responsibility for future maintenance.

At completion, the Council tells customers to agree a defect list with completion dates, obtain statutory documents and material proof, and complete the key handover. Tie the final design payment to those records, together with the inspection flow and balance-payment arrangement the Council says the parties should settle in the contract.

Common questions

Is an interior design firm the same as a renovation contractor?

No. The Consumer Council’s quotation survey states that interior design companies assume a different role from renovation companies and that their charges differ significantly. Fix which role you are engaging before you compare prices.

How do I check who is behind an interior design brand name?

Ask for the registered business name on the quotation, then use the Inland Revenue Department’s Business Registration Number Enquiry through GovHK with the full business name and its location. An uncertified extract of the Business Register shows the current information of the business and its operator.

How should design fees and renovation payments be staged?

Ask for one cost per project item and a written payment schedule. The Consumer Council tells customers to inspect progress and cross-check costs before each stage payment, and its quotation survey advises four instalments with the first payment not exceeding 40% of the total amount.

Can an interior design firm handle regulated electrical or drainage work?

Route the question to the person who does the work. The Council says consumers should check whether such works are regulated by relevant ordinances, that regulated work is carried out or supervised by a licensed person, and that the workers can produce a certificate copy. For a claimed building-work role, check the Buildings Department register search.