Klang Valley Renovation Cost Per Square Foot, 2026

Contractors quote two ways: lump sum, or psf times your area. Knowing the band lets you check either one in minutes.

2026 psf bands, Klang Valley

• Basic refurbishment (paint, patch, light tile): RM80 to RM150 psf
• Mid-range with carpentry and wet works: RM150 to RM280 psf
• Premium full gut and rebuild: RM280 to RM450+ psf
• New build (design and build): RM180 to RM300+ psf depending on spec

Psf by room type

Whole-home psf hides a lot. Wet zones cost 3 to 4 times more per square foot than dry zones because of plumbing, waterproofing and tile labour density. If you're renovating part of a home, room-level psf is the more honest number.

• Bedroom with carpentry: RM150 to RM280 psf
• Living and dining (with TV cabinet, ceiling, flooring): RM180 to RM320 psf
• Kitchen (full carpentry, worktop, tile, M&E): RM450 to RM900 psf
• Wet kitchen or yard fit-out: RM300 to RM600 psf
• Bathroom (the most expensive room per psf): RM550 to RM1,200 psf
• Study or family hall (light scope): RM120 to RM220 psf

If a contractor quotes you a flat RM200 psf across all rooms of your house, they're either overcharging the dry areas or underquoting the wet ones. Both are problems.

Psf by finish tier

The same room at three different finish tiers can carry very different psf. Here's a rough split for mid-range renovation scope.

• Budget tier (melamine, basic ceramic, mid-range fittings): 100% baseline
• Mid tier (laminated carpentry, quartz worktops, SPC flooring, Blum hardware): 130% to 160% of baseline
• Premium tier (shaker or acrylic carpentry, stone worktops, brand-name fittings, feature lighting): 180% to 240% of baseline

Why psf for new build differs from psf for renovation

Renovation psf can be higher than new-build psf for the same square footage. Counterintuitive, but real. Reasons: you pay for demolition and disposal before you start, you work around an existing structure with limited access, you discover hidden issues (bad wiring, old plumbing, slab problems) that don't exist on virgin land. A new build is more predictable. Renovating an older home is a discovery process.

Diseconomies of scale on small jobs

Smaller projects carry higher psf, almost without exception. A 300 sqft single-bathroom renovation will sit at RM500 to RM900 psf because the fixed costs (site setup, supervision, mobilisation) spread over fewer square feet. A whole-home renovation of 2,000 sqft might come in at RM150 to RM280 psf for the same finish quality. Don't expect a contractor's psf for a small job to match their psf on a large one.

How to use psf without getting fooled

1. Divide each quote by your renovated area to get its real psf
2. Ask what's included at that psf: material tier, M&E, scope
3. Treat a quote far below the band as a warning, not a win

A psf figure tells you what to expect. An itemised quote tells you what you're actually buying. Get both before you sign.

Worked comparison: three quotes at different psf

A homeowner sends out the same brief to three contractors for a 1,200 sqft single-storey terrace renovation, mid-tier scope. Here's what comes back.

• Contractor A: RM168k all-in (~RM140 psf). Detailed itemised quote, lump-sum payment schedule, names brand of waterproofing.
• Contractor B: RM198k all-in (~RM165 psf). Itemised, but with several lines marked "to be quoted on site" for M&E and waterproofing.
• Contractor C: RM135k all-in (~RM113 psf). One-page quote with broad scope categories. Doesn't name brands. Asks for 50 percent upfront.

Contractor A is honest and probably fair. Contractor B will turn into Contractor A's price by month three, once those "to be quoted on site" lines come due. Contractor C will end up costing more than both once you tally the variation orders, the waterproofing redo, and the things that don't get done at all. The cheapest psf is almost never the cheapest job.

When psf is useful, when it isn't

• Useful: rough budgeting before you've called a contractor. "My house is 1,500 sqft, mid-tier reno is around RM150 psf, so plan around RM225k."
• Useful: sanity-check between two quotes with the same scope.
• Not useful: comparing two quotes with very different scopes. The lower psf might just have less in it.
• Not useful: a single number used to argue a contractor up or down without naming what's actually in or out of scope.