How Much Does a Costa Blanca Renovation Cost in 2026?
Most published guides put a full refurbishment on the Costa Blanca at roughly €700–€1,200 per m², a light refresh at €400–€600 per m², and major structural work above €1,500 per m². Those figures are budgeting ranges, not a contractor’s quotation. Your real number depends on the condition of the building, the specification you choose and how the work is managed. This guide shows how to turn the ranges into a budget for your own property, and how the main ways of hiring compare.
Key Takeaways
Typical planning ranges: €400–€600/m² for light work, €700–€1,200/m² for a full refurbishment, €1,500/m² and over for structural work.
Kitchens and bathrooms are the usual cost drivers: about €8,000–€25,000 for a mid-range kitchen and €5,000–€15,000 per bathroom.
Add a contingency of at least 10%, and 15% or more for an older property, plus licences, technical fees and VAT.
Southern locations such as Torrevieja and Orihuela can be cheaper than the northern coast, but condition and specification matter more than the postcode.
Compare quotes line by line, with scope, exclusions, stage payments and a written variation procedure.
Table of Contents
Costa Blanca renovation costs per square metre
The per-m² figure is a starting point. It is useful because it lets you test a quote quickly, and misleading because two 100 m² flats can differ by tens of thousands of euros.
Two guides to renovating on the Costa Blanca give consistent ranges. One gives €400–€600/m² for light renovation and €700–€1,200/m² for a full refurbishment. A second adds a band for structural or layout work at €1,100–€1,600/m² and gut renovations at about €1,500–€2,200/m².
Scope | Typical range per m² | Example: 90 m² apartment |
Light or cosmetic refresh | €400–€600 | €36,000–€54,000 |
Full refurbishment (installations and finishes) | €700–€1,200 | €63,000–€108,000 |
Structural or layout changes | €1,100–€1,600 | €99,000–€144,000 |
Gut renovation | €1,500–€2,200 | €135,000–€198,000 |
The example column is our own multiplication of the published ranges by 90 m². It is an illustration, not a price list.
For a larger home, one builders’ guide reports about €95,000–€220,000 for a three-bedroom, 180 m² villa reform. It also reports northern areas such as Jávea and Moraira at around 15% above southern ones such as Torrevieja and Orihuela.
Pro Tip: if a quote works out far below the bottom of these ranges, ask what has been left out. A low figure is usually a narrower scope, not a cheaper way of doing the same work.
What actually moves the price
Per-m² averages hide five factors that decide where you land inside the range.
Condition of the building
Older properties and coastal flats hide problems until walls, roofs or terraces are opened: damp, salt-related deterioration, obsolete wiring, plumbing defects and unrecorded alterations. A coastal apartment with damp and outdated installations can cost more than a newer villa with a simpler scope. We cover the moisture side in our guide to renovating a coastal home against humidity and salt air.
Scope and number of trades
Wet rooms, rewiring and replumbing cost more than painting and flooring because they involve several trades working in sequence. Moving a kitchen or a bathroom drain means breaking floors and rerouting services.
Specification
Tiles, sanitaryware, carpentry and glazing swing the budget. Flooring is about €25–€70/m² installed, and windows €500–€1,500 each.
Location
The south of the province is generally quoted lower than the north, as shown above. Access matters too: a top-floor flat without a lift, or a street where skips cannot park, adds labour and waste handling time.
Timing and management
A rushed programme, interrupted work or poor coordination between trades adds cost. This is where the way you hire matters as much as the materials.
Room-by-room and system-by-system allowances
For individual projects, one 2026 resale-property guide gives these Costa Blanca allowances. Use them to sense-check each line of a quote.
Item | Allowance |
Kitchen, supply and fitting, mid-range | |
Bathroom, per room | €5,000–€15,000 |
Walk-in wet-room conversion (extra, if drainage or floor levels need work) | €2,000–€3,000 |
Full rewire, 100 m² property | €8,000–€18,000 |
Full replumbing | €6,000–€15,000 |
Three-unit multi-split air conditioning | €4,000–€9,000 |
Flat roof, 100 m² | €10,000–€25,000 |
Pitched roof | €15,000–€35,000 |
New swimming pool | €25,000–€60,000 |
Pool renovation | €8,000–€30,000 |
Note how wide the bands are. A bathroom at the low end is a like-for-like swap. At the high end it is a layout change with new waterproofing and drainage. If you are weighing a pool, our comparison of concrete and fibreglass pools in Spain covers costs, permits and site risks.
The costs outside the builder’s price
A headline construction price is not the whole project. The same guide says permits or licences, technical reports, architect or engineer fees, taxes, waste disposal and hidden repairs may be extra. It puts architect fees at about 6%–10% of the works and obra mayor licence fees at about 2%–5%, where they apply, and says to confirm locally.
Municipal figures differ. One architects’ guide to licences in Orihuela and Torrevieja gives a processing fee of 0.6% of the material execution budget in Torrevieja, with a minimum of €80. Ask the town hall or your technician which fees apply to your scope, because minor works and major works are treated differently.
VAT. For renovation of a private home, a reduced 10% rate can apply when specific conditions are met, otherwise 21% is normal. The conditions concern the type of work, the property, the client and, often, the weight of materials. Ask your contractor to state the VAT treatment on the quote, and confirm it with your gestor or tax adviser if you are unsure.
For the permits and stages of a full project in our area, see our guide to home renovation in Torrevieja: stages, permits and coastal costs.
Contingency: the line most budgets miss
Set aside 10% of the project cost as a contingency, and 15% or more for older homes or structural alterations. On a 90 m² full refurbishment at €63,000–€108,000, that is roughly €6,300–€10,800 at 10%, or €9,450–€16,200 at 15% (our arithmetic).
Contingency is not a fee. It is money you hold back for what the building reveals. If it is not used, it stays yours.
Your options for getting the work done
There is more than one way to run a renovation. Each has a different cost profile and a different risk profile.
Option | How it works | Where it fits | Watch for |
Hiring each trade yourself | You find a plumber, electrician, tiler and painter and sequence them | Small jobs, owners living locally with time | Coordination gaps, no single party responsible for the whole result |
A single-trade contractor | One firm for one scope, such as a bathroom or a roof | Contained, well-defined work | Interfaces with other trades remain your job |
A contractor managing all trades | One contract, one programme, one point of contact | Full and partial renovations, owners abroad | Quote must be detailed, phased and written |
Architect-led design and build | Technician designs, tenders and supervises | Structural work, extensions, licensed projects | Technical fees come on top of works |
Buying an already renovated property | Someone else’s renovation, priced into the sale | Buyers who want no project | You inherit specification choices and cannot inspect hidden work |
For most owners of apartments and villas in Torrevieja and the Vega Baja, a contractor managing all trades is the most practical route. You get a single scope and programme, and the plumber, electrician, plasterer, carpenter and painter are not left coordinating each other. Structural or extension work may also bring in an architect or technician, which a managing contractor can work alongside.
How to compare renovation quotes
A transparent quote should separate works, materials, permits or licences, technical or design fees, waste removal, temporary protection or accommodation, exclusions, VAT treatment, payment stages and the written process for approving variations. When two quotes differ by 20%, the difference is almost always in that list.
A checklist you can use:
Site inspection first. A fixed budget needs someone to look at the property. A quote from photos is an estimate.
Phased pricing. Demolition, installations, plastering, tiling, carpentry, painting and finishing as separate lines.
Named materials. Brand or quality level for tiles, sanitaryware, doors and flooring, not just “supply and fit”.
Exclusions in writing. Licence fees, technician reports, skips and appliances are the usual ones.
Stage payments. Stage payments are safer than paying the full price upfront, tied to completed work.
Programme with dates. Start, milestones, completion.
Variation procedure. Any change to scope is priced and approved in writing before it is carried out.
Pro Tip for owners abroad: financial control depends on contract administration as much as workmanship. Agree the written scope, payment stages, programme and variation procedure before work starts, and ask for dated photo or video updates at each stage.
Where you can save without cutting quality
Keep the layout. Leaving kitchen and bathroom positions unchanged avoids drainage and floor work.
Phase the project. Do waterproofing, electrics and plumbing first, and leave decorative upgrades for later.
Choose the specification deliberately. Spend on what is hard to change (waterproofing, wiring, pipework, windows) and economise on what is easy to replace.
Bundle trades. Grouping plumbing, electrics, carpentry and painting under one programme reduces repeat visits and idle days.
Fix damp before finishes. Painting over a moisture problem means paying twice.
Check the VAT and licence position early, so there are no surprises at invoice stage.
Our perspective: the cheapest quote is rarely the lowest cost
We work on homes in Torrevieja and the Vega Baja, and the pattern is consistent. Budgets rarely go wrong because labour was expensive. They go wrong because the scope was vague, the building’s condition was not checked, or the variations were agreed verbally.
That is why we offer a free consultation and a detailed, phased quote. We price by contract according to the scope of the project, so we do not publish fixed price lists. A price per m² cannot account for a salt-damaged terrace, a 40-year-old electrical board or a bathroom with no fall to the drain. We look at the property first and put the answer in writing.
We also manage the trades, so plumbing, electrical work, plastering, carpentry and painting follow one programme with one point of contact. For owners who live abroad, that is the difference between a project you can follow and one you worry about. Our aim is guaranteed pricing, deadlines and quality, with insurance and regulatory compliance handled from start to finish.
— URU Reformas
Get a quote based on your property
If you own an apartment, villa or holiday home in Torrevieja, Orihuela Costa, Ciudad Quesada or elsewhere in the Vega Baja, we can inspect it and give you a detailed phased quote. Our full and partial renovation services cover bathrooms, kitchens, façades, roof waterproofing and home extensions, and you can see examples of our work before you decide. To start, contact us with your address and a short description of what you want done.
FAQ
How much does it cost to renovate a house on the Costa Blanca?
It depends on scope. Guides give about €400–€600/m² for light work, €700–€1,200/m² for a full refurbishment and €1,500/m² or more for structural work. A 120 m² property therefore indicates roughly €48,000–€72,000 for light works and €84,000–€144,000 for a full refurbishment, before extras. Only a site inspection gives a reliable figure.
Is renovating cheaper in Torrevieja than in Jávea?
Often, yes. One builders’ guide reports northern locations such as Jávea and Moraira at about 15% above southern ones such as Torrevieja and Orihuela. The condition and specification of the property still matter more than the postcode, so compare scopes rather than towns.
How much contingency should I allow?
At least 10% for a straightforward project, and 15% or more for an older property or structural alteration. Opening walls, roofs and terraces often reveals damp, old wiring or plumbing defects that cannot be priced beforehand.
What costs are usually not in the builder’s price?
Licence fees, technical reports, architect or engineer fees, waste disposal and VAT are the common ones. Ask for them to be listed as inclusions or exclusions in the quote. Architect fees are often quoted at 6%–10% of the works, and obra mayor licence fees at 2%–5%, where they apply.
Sources
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