The stages
The four stages, and how long each runs.
Every villa renovation runs through the same four stages: planning, design, build and handover. Planning takes 4 weeks and design 8 weeks, with the developer NOC and permits running in parallel. The build takes 6–8 months depending on scope, and handover 2 weeks. Brief to handover is around 12 months.
| Stage | Duration | What happens | What you decide |
|---|---|---|---|
| Planning | 4 weeks | Brief, site survey, scope and budget band | Type, rooms and budget |
| Design, approvals in parallel | 8 weeks | Drawings and materials; developer NOC and authority permits lodged while design is detailed | Layout, specification and furniture |
| Build | 6–8 months | Strip-out, MEP, joinery, finishes and furniture, built from the signed set | Very little — that is the point |
| Handover | 2 weeks | Snagging, final styling and the walkthrough | Sign-off at the walkthrough |
| Brief to handover | Around 12 months | Villa 47 Fairways, 10,000 sqft, took 12 months, in line with the programme | — |
The stages overlap where they can and wait where they must. Approvals run inside the design stage rather than after it; furniture is ordered while the build is running so it arrives into finished rooms; the build itself waits for nothing except the signed drawings and the approvals they carry. That is how a villa fits into around 12 months without anyone working faster.
Planning is short because it only has to answer three questions: what type of renovation this is, what the community will require, and what the budget realistically buys. The villa renovation cost guide covers the third.
What stretches or shortens it
Common villa renovation mistakes in Dubai: what stretches the timeline, and when it's decided.
The same things stretch or shorten a villa renovation in Dubai, and each is decided before the build starts: when decisions are made, when materials are ordered and when approvals are lodged. Stone, veneer and made joinery carry lead times of around eight weeks, so a choice made on site becomes a wait on site.
01 · Decisions
Late decisions
A layout changed after sign-off goes back through design, and sometimes back through approvals. A finish changed after ordering waits for its replacement. In the design stage the same change costs a drawing.
Decide in design
02 · Lead times
Material lead times
Stone, veneer and made joinery carry lead times of around eight weeks. Ordered against a signed plan, they arrive when the build needs them. Chosen late, the build waits or the specification changes.
Order at design sign-off
03 · Approvals
Approvals order
The developer NOC comes before the authority permit, and Civil Defence where fire systems change. Lodged while design is detailed, the wait runs alongside the work. Lodged after, it is a gap.
Villa NOCs, explained →Lodge during design
| Driver | Shortens it | Stretches it |
|---|---|---|
| Decisions | Layout and specification signed in design | Changes after sign-off |
| Materials | Ordered at design sign-off | Chosen on site |
| Approvals | Lodged while design is detailed | Lodged after design |
| Scope | An upgrade of finishes, with fewer trades | A remodel with full MEP, or an extension |
| Size | Fewer rooms and less joinery | More rooms, more joinery, more trades |
General drivers, not durations. Where a villa lands in the 6–8 month build is set by scope and size once the drawings are signed.
Stone carries an eight-week lead time, so it is ordered against a signed plan or the programme moves.
InstagramDone in the right order, EP-01
The five-step system we use on every Dubai villa, in one reel: survey, design, approvals, build and furnish, and why the order is the programme.
A 12-month example
Villa 47 Fairways: 12 months, in line with the programme.
Villa 47 Fairways in Dubai Hills is a 10,000 sqft villa Fajr took from design to furnishing over 12 months, for its owner, Wyll. That is in line with the programme: planning, design with approvals in parallel, build and handover, in the same order and on the same stages as any villa we renovate.
Best decision I made was to hire Fajr Interiors.
Wyll, Fairways, Dubai Hills
- Area
- 10,000 sqft
- Programme
- 12 months
- Community
- Dubai Hills
- Scope
- Design to furnishing
Size is carried inside the stages rather than added after them. The design stage has more rooms to resolve, the joinery order is larger against the same lead times, and the build has more trades to sequence through the same rooms. The order does not change, which is why the programme could be planned at 12 months from the start rather than discovered on site.
Planning yours
How to plan around your own villa's timeline.
Plan backwards from the date you need the villa back. Allow 4 weeks for planning and 8 weeks for design, with approvals in parallel, before the build starts, then 6–8 months of build and 2 weeks of handover: around 12 months in all. If you are moving out, the build is the part your arrangements have to cover.
Before the build starts, you should have
- A signed layout — the plan the approvals and the quote are built on.
- A signed specification, with stone, veneer and joinery ordered against it.
- The developer NOC and any permit issued for the works on the drawings.
- A furniture plan tied to the layout, so it can be ordered while the build runs.
Can you live in the villa while it is renovated? No. While civil works are under way, a villa is not safe to live in, so Fajr does not take on renovations with the family in residence. Plan to move out for the build, 6–8 months on a whole villa.
