How Much Does It Cost to Renovate a Villa in Spain?

Renovating a villa on the Costa Blanca in 2026 typically costs somewhere between €300 and €2,500+ per m², excluding VAT, fees and taxes. Where your project sits in that range depends on how deep the work goes, how easy the site is to reach and the specification you choose. The only figures you can truly rely on come from a proper survey and an itemised budget, but a realistic range helps you plan, negotiate a purchase and talk to professionals with confidence.

Indicative cost ranges for 2026

The figures below are broad, indicative ranges for the Costa Blanca in 2026. They exclude VAT, architect and technical fees, licence costs and municipal taxes. They are a starting point for conversation, not a quotation.

Type of work	Indicative range (excl. VAT, fees, taxes)
Cosmetic refresh (paint, some floors, no layout change)	roughly €300–€600/m²
Full renovation, good mid-to-high specification	roughly €900–€1,500/m²
High-end / architect-led renovation with reconfiguration	roughly €1,500–€2,500+/m²
Kitchen	roughly €25,000–€80,000+
Bathroom (each)	roughly €12,000–€35,000+
Pool refurbishment	roughly €15,000–€60,000+ depending on scope

To make that concrete: a 200 m² villa receiving a full renovation at a good mid-to-high specification would, on these ranges, fall roughly between €180,000 and €300,000 before VAT, fees and taxes. The same house given a cosmetic refresh might be a fraction of that, while a reconfiguration led by an architect, with new openings towards the view and premium finishes throughout, can go well beyond.

Kitchens, bathrooms and pools are often priced separately because their cost depends far more on specification than on floor area. A limestone and oak kitchen with integrated appliances is a very different budget line from a well-made but simpler one.

What actually drives the cost

Two villas of the same size, on the same street, can produce quotes that differ by tens of thousands of euros. These are the factors that usually explain it.

Access and the plot

Many villas in places such as Jávea and Moraira sit on sloping plots with narrow approach roads. If a lorry cannot reach the house, materials are moved by small dumper, crane or by hand, and waste leaves the same way. Steep sites, terraced gardens and retaining walls all add labour and time, and time is money on a building site.

Structure

Opening up a layout towards the sea, removing a load-bearing wall, enlarging windows or adding a first-floor terrace touches the structural system. That means calculations, often steel or reinforced concrete work, and a technical project. Discovering a weak slab, corroded reinforcement or poor foundations during works is one of the most common reasons budgets move.

Installations

Older villas frequently need new electrics to current regulations, new plumbing (older galvanised pipework is a common finding), and a rethink of heating, cooling and hot water. Replacing an ageing system with an aerothermal heat pump, adding underfloor heating or installing solar PV for self-consumption adds cost but changes how the house lives and performs. Our page on energy upgrades explains the main options.

Glazing and joinery

Large sliding glazing with thermal-break aluminium frames is one of the most transformative, and most expensive, elements of a contemporary renovation. Size, opening type, glass specification and how the frames are recessed into floors and ceilings all affect price. Near the sea, joinery and hardware also need to cope with salt air.

The pool

A pool can be a modest refresh of tiles and equipment or a full rebuild with new structure, waterproofing, an overflow edge and modern filtration. The range is wide for good reason. Our article on renovating a swimming pool on the Costa Blanca goes into more detail.

Specification

Finishes are where budgets drift most quietly. Natural stone, lime plaster, solid oak, bespoke joinery and designer sanitaryware each add up. It helps to decide early where specification matters most to you and where a good standard finish is perfectly adequate.

The costs outside the builder’s quote

A contractor’s quotation covers the works. Several other costs sit alongside it, and they are easy to overlook when comparing a quote against your budget.

• ICIO (municipal construction tax). Each ayuntamiento sets its own rate, up to a legal maximum of 4% of the execution budget. On a €250,000 project, that could be up to €10,000.
• Licence fee (tasa). A separate municipal fee for processing the licence or declaración responsable.
• Waste-management deposit (fianza de residuos). Many towns ask for a deposit, returned once you show that construction waste was properly managed.
• Professional fees. Architect, arquitecto técnico (aparejador) and health and safety coordination fees are separate from the build cost. Health and safety coordination is required when more than one contractor or self-employed tradesperson works on site, which is the case on almost any villa renovation.
• VAT (IVA). The general rate is 21%. A reduced 10% rate can apply to renovation and repair works on a home used privately by an individual, where the home was completed at least two years earlier and the materials supplied by the contractor do not exceed 40% of the taxable base. Conditions apply, and the contractor or your tax adviser should confirm the position case by case.

There are also costs people forget entirely: temporary accommodation if you planned to stay nearby, storage for furniture, utility reconnection, and furnishing and landscaping once the builders leave.

As with all tax and legal points, treat the above as general guidance. Rates and procedures vary by municipality and should be confirmed with the ayuntamiento, your architect or a tax adviser. Our guide to renovating property in Spain covers permits and procedures in more depth.

Contingency: how much to hold back

Even with a thorough survey, renovating an older house brings surprises. Walls are opened and pipes are found in unexpected places; a slab turns out to need reinforcement; you decide, mid-project, that a window should be larger.

A contingency of 10–15% of the works budget is sensible advice for most villa renovations. Towards 15% is wise for older properties, structural work or houses that have not been opened up before. Keep the contingency separate in your own planning rather than spending it on upgrades at the start, and agree in your contract how variations will be priced so that changes do not become disputes.

How to get figures you can rely on

The ranges in this article help you decide whether a project is broadly realistic. Firm numbers come from a structured process.

1. Define the scope clearly. A written brief, ideally with drawings, stops quotes from being based on different assumptions.
2. Commission a survey. A technical inspection of structure, damp, roof and installations turns unknowns into known items.
3. Ask for itemised quotes. A detailed presupuesto broken down by chapters (demolition, structure, installations, carpentry, finishes) lets you compare like with like and see what is excluded.
4. Compare like with like. If you are tendering to several firms yourself, the lowest number is not necessarily the best value; look at what each quote includes and how realistic its timeline is. In a managed renovation, you receive one budget covering the whole project instead, with design, fees, permits and contingency shown clearly.
5. Check the contract terms. A milestone payment schedule, material specifications, a variation procedure and a retention (often 5%) until defects are resolved are good practice. Ask for proof of civil liability insurance.

If you are still at the buying stage, it is worth reading our guide to buying a villa in Spain that needs renovation before you make an offer.

How CostaVeyra approaches budgets

CostaVeyra manages complete villa renovations on the Costa Blanca, from concept to completion, and budget and cost control are central to that. We survey the property, define the brief, prepare a budget by chapters that sits alongside the design direction, and then coordinate the architect, permits and the works delivered by our project team and selected specialists, reporting on progress and costs as the project moves on. Our approach to villa renovation on the Costa Blanca explains this in more detail.

In short

• Indicative 2026 Costa Blanca ranges run from roughly €300–€600/m² for a cosmetic refresh to €1,500–€2,500+/m² for a high-end, architect-led renovation, excluding VAT, fees and taxes.
• Access, structure, installations, glazing, the pool and your choice of finishes explain most of the difference between quotes.
• Budget separately for ICIO (up to 4%), the licence fee, any waste deposit, professional fees and VAT at 21% or, where conditions are met, 10%.
• Hold a contingency of 10–15% of the works budget, and more for older or structurally complex houses.
• Reliable figures only come from a survey, a clear scope and an itemised budget by chapters.