Planning and budget

The stages of a home renovation in Singapore, in order

A renovation runs in six stages: plan and budget, hire, get approvals, hacking and wet works, carpentry and fittings, and handover. The order matters most at two points: approvals come before any work starts, and the dusty, wet trades finish before the carpentry goes in.

Checked against official sources · Updated

Every renovation is different, but the order of the work is surprisingly constant. Getting the order right saves money: tiles laid before a pipe is moved get hacked up again, and cabinets measured before the walls are finished don’t fit.

The six stages of a renovation in order: 1 plan and budget, 2 hire a designer or contractor, 3 get the approvals, 4 hacking and wet works, 5 carpentry, fittings and painting, 6 handover and defects. Approvals come before any work starts.
The stages overlap a little on site, but approvals always come before the work they cover.

1. Plan and budget

Decide what you want to change, room by room, and what you’ll keep. For a new flat, start by inspecting it: HDB asks owners of new flats to report defects before renovation starts, while they’re easy to see. Then set a budget with a contingency in it. See budgeting for a renovation.

Find out early what your home’s rules allow: which works need approval.

2. Hire a designer or contractor

Decide whether you need an interior designer or a contractor, check the firms, and compare quotes like for like. The contract should include a work schedule with a start date and completion date, agreed by both of you, and a payment schedule that follows it.

3. Get the approvals

Nothing that needs a permit starts before the permit is granted:

  • HDB flat: your HDB-registered contractor applies for the permit on your behalf. HDB only grants it for a new flat once the utilities account is open.
  • Condo: apply to the MCST under its by-laws, and to BCA through a Professional Engineer if anything structural is involved.
  • Landed house: URA and BCA approval through a Qualified Person if you’re adding floor area or changing the structure.

Neighbours come next. HDB flat owners must give written notice to neighbours within two units at least 5 days before works start. See working hours and neighbours.

4. Hacking and wet works

The noisy, dusty part comes first:

  • protection of floors, lifts and common areas;
  • hacking: walls, old tiles, built-in carpentry;
  • gas, plumbing and electrical rough-ins, by licensed workers (City Energy asks for the gas supply to be cut off and the meter removed during renovation);
  • wet works: screeding, waterproofing, tiling and plastering.

In HDB flats this is also when the strictest hours apply: noisy works only on weekdays, 9am to 5pm. Debris has to leave properly: see hacking and debris. If you’re clearing out the home first, do it before this stage starts.

5. Carpentry, fittings and painting

Once the wet trades are done and dry:

  • false ceilings and lighting;
  • carpentry measured on site and installed: kitchen cabinets, wardrobes, storage;
  • fittings: sanitary ware, taps, lights, switches and sockets;
  • painting, and the electrical testing your licensed electrical worker arranges.

6. Handover and defects

Walk through every room with your contractor, list what needs fixing, and hold back the final payment until it’s done. How renovation payments are staged explains why. Collect your certificates and warranties.

What comes after the works (the post-renovation clean, checking every trade’s work, and moving in) is covered in OurKampung’s after-renovation checklist, our sister guide to running your home.

Planning a renovation? Tell us about it

Tell us what you’re planning. The team behind Junk to Clear, which handles renovations, will get back to you with a quote.

Which rooms or works? (choose any)

Your details go to the team behind Junk to Clear, which runs SpaceToReno. They use them only to reply to this enquiry and arrange a quote, and don’t sell them. How we handle your details

Questions people ask

How long does a renovation take?

It depends on the scope, the home and how quickly decisions are made, so ask each firm for a schedule with a start and completion date in the contract. For HDB flats, the permit itself sets a limit: approved works must be finished within 3 months of the permit date in new blocks, 1 month in existing blocks, and 2 weeks for window works alone.

Can I start renovating before I get the keys?

No work can start before you have the keys and, where needed, the permit. For a new HDB flat, HDB grants a renovation permit only once you’ve opened a utilities account with SP Services, and HDB asks owners of new flats to report defects before renovation starts.

When should the carpentry be measured?

After the walls, floors and ceilings it fits against are finished, so the measurements match what’s really there. Ask your contractor to confirm when they’ll measure on site.

Sources

Renovation rules change. We checked this guide against these official pages on 5 October 2026. If a source says something different from this guide, the source is right, and your HDB branch, condo management or BCA has the final word on your own home.

  1. HDB — Important Information on Renovations
  2. HDB — Application for a Renovation Permit
  3. HDB — Rectification of Defects in New Flats
  4. BCA — Building works not requiring approval
  5. Competition and Consumer Commission of Singapore — Fair Trading Practices for the Renovation Industry
  6. EMA ELISE — Search for licensed electrical workers
  7. City Energy — FAQs

SpaceToReno is run by the team behind Junk to Clear, which also handles renovations. Where a guide links to Junk to Clear or a sister site, it’s because that step calls for the service, and the sentence says so. Enquiries sent through the form go to the same team. How SpaceToReno works

Read next

Budgeting for a renovation: what drives the cost

We don’t publish price lists: they date quickly and every home differs. What we can say is what moves the price: how much is hacked and rebuilt, how much carpentry, which materials, what the rules require, and the costs outside the contract. Plan for all of them, and keep a contingency.

Read the guide →

Which renovation works need approval in Singapore?

It depends on the home. HDB flats need an HDB permit for most hacking, re-tiling and window work. Condos answer to the MCST’s by-laws, and to BCA for anything structural. Landed homes answer to URA and BCA once you add floor area or touch the structure.

Read the guide →

HDB renovation rules: permits, approved contractors and what’s not allowed

In an HDB flat, every contractor must come from HDB’s Directory of Renovation Contractors, even for works that need no permit. Hacking walls, replacing floor tiles and replacing windows need a permit first, and some works, like removing structural walls, aren’t allowed at all.

Read the guide →