Renovation Cost Hong Kong 2026: What You Actually Pay, Room by Room

Every renovation budget starts with a number someone made up. A friend’s quote. A contractor’s ballpark. A forum post from 2019. By the time you’re six weeks in, that number is gone and you’re negotiating the fourth variation order.

Here’s the actual 2026 breakdown. Hong Kong dollars, per square foot or per job, depending on what makes sense for each trade. No ranges so wide they’re useless.

The Four Tiers, Defined

The market splits into four tiers and they don’t overlap. Know which one you’re in before talking to contractors.

Basic refresh: HK$500 to HK$800 per square foot

Paint, new flooring, kitchen laminate wrap, toilet fixtures replaced. You’re updating the surface without touching the bones. For a 600 sqft flat, that’s HK$300,000 to HK$480,000 total. It looks completely different when done. Nothing structural moves.

Mid-tier: HK$1,000 to HK$1,500 per square foot

Full rewire, custom kitchen with stone or tile, bathroom gut and redo, new doors and hardware. This is where most owner-occupier renovations actually land for a quality result. 600 sqft costs HK$600,000 to HK$900,000. At this level you’re changing the flat, not just the surface.

High-end: HK$2,000 to HK$3,500 per square foot

Bespoke cabinetry (lacquered, integrated handles), stone throughout, smart-home system (lighting, climate, audio), European appliances in the kitchen. Interior designer on the project, probably an ID firm with regional reputation. For 600 sqft: HK$1.2M to HK$2.1M.

Luxury: HK$5,000 and above per square foot

Boffi, Poliform, or equivalent European kitchen systems. Stone sourced and matched per slab. Gallery-grade lighting. Bespoke metalwork. This isn’t a price band you shop into. It finds you, or you brief the ID firm explicitly for it.

These tiers exist because the labour and materials are genuinely different. A mid-tier kitchen uses a local joinery workshop. A high-end kitchen imports the system from Italy or uses a Mainland premium workshop with Italian fittings. The quality gap is real.

How the Budget Splits

Across most mid-tier to high-end projects:

Labour: 35 to 45%
Materials: 40 to 50%
Design and supervision: 10 to 15%

Labour is expensive here. A skilled tiler charges HK$800 to HK$1,200 per day. A licensed electrician runs HK$1,000 to HK$1,500. The difference between a HK$1,000/sqft and a HK$2,000/sqft renovation is mostly materials: stone vs tile, Italian hardware vs local hardware, 25mm lacquer doors vs 18mm melamine. The structural work, electrical, and waterproofing cost roughly the same across tiers.

Design and supervision at 10 to 15% means a HK$900,000 project carries HK$90,000 to HK$135,000 in ID fees. If your ID firm is quoting 8%, either the team is thin or they’re recovering margin on materials markups. Ask directly.

Kitchen: The Number That Surprises Everyone

The kitchen is where budgets detach from expectations fastest. A full custom kitchen in a Hong Kong flat runs:

Cabinetry: HK$40,000 to HK$120,000+

HK$40,000 to HK$60,000 gets you a solid local joinery kitchen with lacquer finish and reasonable hardware. HK$80,000 to HK$120,000 gets you a premium local or mainland workshop with soft-close everything, integrated handles, and better substrate (18mm to 25mm boards). Above HK$120,000 you’re into Italian-assembled systems or Boffi/Poliform/Bulthaup.

Stone worktop: HK$15,000 to HK$40,000

Quartz from Silestone or Caesarstone: HK$15,000 to HK$22,000 for a typical L-shape counter. Natural marble or quartzite: HK$25,000 to HK$40,000, more if the slab matching is complex. The price difference isn’t just vanity: marble needs sealing and shows staining more readily. Know what you’re choosing.

Appliances: HK$30,000 to HK$150,000

HK$30,000 buys you a respectable set: Bosch or Siemens hob, hood, and oven, new fridge. HK$60,000 to HK$90,000 is mid-premium: Miele or V-Zug for built-in appliances, Fisher and Paykel fridge. HK$150,000 and above: Gaggenau, full integrated set, Sub-Zero. The Gaggenau combi-steam oven alone is HK$35,000. These prices are honest.

Venting and hob connection: HK$8,000 to HK$20,000

Budget HK$8,000 minimum for ducting, hood bracket, and licensed gas fitter if you’re moving the hob or upgrading extraction. Longer duct runs through ceiling space push this to HK$20,000.

Most mid-tier full kitchens land between HK$120,000 and HK$200,000 all in. Across the full range: HK$93,000 to HK$330,000.

Bathroom: HK$40,000 to HK$100,000 Per Room

A complete bathroom gut: demo, waterproofing, new tile, new sanitary fittings, shower screen or bath, vanity, lighting, ventilation fan. That’s HK$40,000 to HK$70,000 for a standard Hong Kong bathroom in a mid-tier spec. HK$70,000 to HK$100,000 gets you wall-hung toilet, rain shower, stone tiles, and a frameless glass screen.

The waterproofing is the part you can’t see and the part you can’t cut. Membrane for a bathroom floor and lower walls: HK$6,000 to HK$12,000. If a contractor quotes HK$35,000 for a full bathroom, ask them to break out that line item. If it’s not there, it wasn’t done properly.

Waterproofing failures show up 2 to 4 years later as seepage into the flat below: management complaints, insurance claims, mandatory strip-out. The HK$8,000 saved costs HK$80,000 to fix.

Electrical: HK$50,000 to HK$150,000

Full rewire for a 500 to 600 sqft flat: HK$50,000 to HK$80,000 in labour and materials, plus the EMSD registration certificate (around HK$2,000 to HK$5,000 for residential). For larger flats, 800 sqft+, expect HK$80,000 to HK$150,000.

What drives cost: circuit count and the condition of the existing installation. Pre-1990s buildings in Kennedy Town, Sai Wan Ho, or Kowloon City often have original aluminium wiring that needs full replacement, not partial upgrade. Copper throughout, proper earthing, RCDs on all circuits. Don’t negotiate this line.

Smart-home lighting control (Casambi, KNX, or Lutron Caseta) adds HK$15,000 to HK$60,000 depending on control points. Budget it separately from the base rewire.

Plumbing: HK$30,000 to HK$80,000

Full plumbing redo for a 2-bathroom flat: HK$30,000 to HK$50,000 for standard work, HK$50,000 to HK$80,000 if the existing pipes are original and run through concrete, requiring more demolition and reinstatement. Includes all supply and waste pipes, new isolating valves, and pressure testing before the walls close.

If you’re moving a toilet position, add HK$5,000 to HK$15,000 for the drainage rerouting. This is a Class 2 minor work under MWCS. It needs a registered contractor and BD notification 30 days in advance. Your plumber should know this. If they don’t, that’s a credential problem.

Flooring: The Cost Per Square Foot

Flooring is quoted per sqft and easy to compare.

Engineered hardwood: HK$180 to HK$400 per sqft (supply and install). HK$180 to HK$220 gets a 3-layer engineered board in oak or walnut from a local distributor. HK$280 to HK$400 is European-sourced, wider planks (180 to 240mm), better wear layer. Thin wear layers look fine on day one and sand through by year five.

Porcelain tile: HK$150 to HK$350 per sqft (supply and install). Large-format rectified tile (600x1200mm+): HK$200 to HK$350, including adhesive, grout, and levelling. Standard smaller format: HK$150 to HK$200. Large-format labour is higher because the substrate needs more preparation for flat joints.

Marble: HK$400 to HK$1,200 per sqft (supply and install). Carrara: HK$400 to HK$600. Calacatta or exotic vein matching: HK$700 to HK$1,200. Marble runs on a higher labour rate than porcelain because of cutting, sealing, and bookmatching. The slab invoice is only part of the story.

Windows: What Replacement Actually Costs

Window replacement is a Class 1B or Class 3 minor work under MWCS depending on floor level. It needs a registered contractor regardless.

Aluminium windows: HK$2,500 to HK$6,000 per unit. Standard casement: HK$2,500 to HK$4,000, BD notification included. Larger units or structural fixing assessment: up to HK$6,000. For a 600 sqft flat with 6 to 8 windows: HK$15,000 to HK$48,000 depending on spec and floor level.

Bronze or steel windows: HK$8,000 to HK$15,000 per unit. Fabricated to order, 6 to 10 weeks lead time. Class 1B applies above 3 floors, which means a PBP is required. Factor this into both cost and programme.

Hidden Costs: The Budget Items That Don’t Appear in Quotes

Permit and professional fees: 2 to 5% of project value. A HK$600,000 renovation typically carries HK$12,000 to HK$30,000 in BD fees, MWCS professional fees, and submission costs. Get it as a separate line item.

BD levies: HK$500 to HK$3,000 per submission. Small but real. Some contractors absorb it, some don’t. Ask.

Management company deposit: HK$10,000 to HK$50,000, fully refundable. Most private residential estates require this before works start. It’s working capital parked for 4 to 12 weeks.

Waste disposal: HK$3,000 to HK$15,000. Licensed construction waste disposal isn’t free. Confirm whether it’s included.

Payment Structure: The Industry Standard

The standard schedule is 30/30/30/10: deposit on signing, midpoint (first-fix complete), practical completion, 10% retention released 30 to 60 days after.

If a contractor asks for 70% upfront, don’t sign. That structure funds their other jobs with your money and eliminates your leverage. The 10% retention is the only tool you have to get defects fixed after the crew has moved on. Hold it for 30 days minimum after you’ve lived in the space.

Scope Creep: What’s Normal and What Isn’t

5 to 10% over scope is normal. You open walls and find unexpected plumbing. The stone you specified is out of stock and the substitute is HK$30 more per sqft. This is renovation.

More than 20% over means the original spec was too vague, or the contractor didn’t price properly, or both. Major variations appearing six weeks in that should have been obvious at tender stage point to a scoping problem, not a property quirk.

The best protection is a detailed spec before you sign. Not “complete renovation works as discussed.” A document that says “18mm lacquer cabinet doors, soft-close hinges, Blum hardware, quartz top in Silestone Eternal Calacatta, 20mm edge profile.” Specificity closes the gap.

Where to Save, Where to Never Save

Fine to cut:

Wallpaper and decorative paint. Branded appliances where an equivalent-spec non-luxury brand does the same job. Decorative light fittings (not the wiring). Door ironmongery. Sanitary ware brand (a Duravit basin and a Roca basin of the same geometry perform identically).

Never cut:

Waterproofing membrane in bathrooms and wet areas. Electrical rewire quality and EMSD compliance. Anything touching load-bearing elements. Window installation compliance.

The pattern: never save on things you can’t see after completion, and things that generate third-party claims (the flat below you, your insurer, your eventual buyer). A HK$5,000 saving on waterproofing costs HK$80,000 to fix. A HK$15,000 saving on a non-compliant electrical installation costs you the fire claim. Neither is hypothetical.

Getting to a Real Budget

Start with your floor area. Multiply by the per-sqft range for your tier. That’s your rough total. Then add:

Kitchen: budget separately at actual scope
Bathroom(s): HK$50,000 to HK$80,000 each at mid-tier
Permit fees: 3% of total as a reserve
Management deposit: check with your estate management office
10% contingency on top of everything

If the number is too high, the adjustment levers are: tier (mid vs basic is a big difference), scope (postpone the kitchen to phase 2), and specification (quartz instead of marble, engineered instead of solid hardwood). None of these are compromises. They’re choices.

The renovations that go badly over budget share one trait: the owner knew the number was tight and signed anyway, hoping the contractor’s estimate was right. It rarely is.