Home Renovation Cost in India: Per Sq Ft Ranges and Budget Plan

Two published ranges that do not agree

The two sources below are both Indian home services companies. They were published on different dates and they describe very different scopes, which explains most of the gap. Brick&Bolt's figures are roughly two to three times NoBroker's for the same tier name.

NoBroker's page also carries a headline of "Rs 1,000 to 4,000" that does not match its own tier table, so treat its numbers as indicative only. Brick&Bolt spells out scope, which makes its numbers easier to compare against a real quotation.

What each tier actually buys

According to Brick&Bolt, the tiers break down like this:

• Basic (Rs 1,500 to 2,500 per sq ft): painting, essential plumbing and wiring work, flooring updates, standard fittings and simple storage.
• Mid (Rs 2,500 to 4,000 per sq ft): a full kitchen and bathroom remodel, wall changes, custom wardrobes, false ceiling and upgraded electrical and plumbing.
• Premium (Rs 4,000+ per sq ft): imported marble, home automation and luxury bathrooms.

If your plan is mostly cosmetic (paint, a few fittings, new curtains, maybe one room of flooring), the lower NoBroker range is the more relevant comparison. If you are gutting a kitchen and two bathrooms, Brick&Bolt's mid tier is closer to reality. The honest answer to "what does a 2 BHK renovation cost" is: list the work first, then price it.

Big-ticket items drive the total. A modular kitchen or a set of built-in wardrobes can swallow a large share of a mid-tier budget on its own, while painting is usually a small share even when done well.

City-wise figures from NoBroker

NoBroker (updated 1 Jul 2026) also lists per sq ft ranges by city. Again, the page does not say what work these cover, so use them to compare cities, not to fix a budget.

The pattern matches what most homeowners see on the ground: labour and logistics cost more in Mumbai and Delhi, and a society that limits working hours or lift use adds days, which adds cost.

Painting cost per sq ft

Painting is the one part of a renovation where a large paint company publishes detailed rates. Asian Paints (current 2026 page) gives:

• Interior: Rs 12 to 45 per sq ft including materials (paint, primer, putty) and labour (preparation, putty, sanding, one coat of primer and two coats of paint).
• Exterior: Rs 18 to 60 per sq ft on the same basis.
• Labour only: repaint Rs 8 to 12; fresh interior Rs 12 to 18; premium Rs 18 to 25; texture Rs 25+ per sq ft.
• Materials are 55 to 65 percent of the painting budget.
• City interior rates: Mumbai Rs 15 to 40, Delhi Rs 12 to 35, Bengaluru Rs 14 to 22 for basic and Rs 25 to 45 for premium.
• A 2 BHK with 2,500 to 3,500 sq ft of paintable area: economy Rs 35,000 to 55,000; premium Rs 1 to 1.8 lakh.

NoBroker (2026) quotes interior wall paint at Rs 10 to 30, exterior Rs 15 to 40 and texture Rs 30 to 60 per sq ft. An older Asian Paints Beautiful Homes article (July 2022, using 2021 prices) gave interior Rs 12 to 35 plus labour and texture from Rs 80; it is useful history but not a current rate.

Note that "paintable area" is wall and ceiling surface, not carpet area. Asian Paints' 2 BHK example assumes 2,500 to 3,500 sq ft of paintable area, so measure walls and ceilings, not the floor, before you compare quotations.

How to turn ranges into your own budget

Per sq ft ranges are a sanity check. A real budget is built from a list of jobs. This is the sequence we suggest:

1. Walk the house and write a scope. Room by room, note what stays, what gets repaired and what gets replaced. Our home renovation checklist helps you avoid missing items like electrical points and plumbing lines.
2. Check the hidden basics first. Havells advises that after about 25 years wiring becomes more prone to crumbling insulation, so an old flat may need rewiring before any decorative work. See our old house renovation guide for other checks.
3. Separate fixed work from furniture. Civil, plumbing, electrical, flooring and painting are fixed. Beds, sofas and loose furniture can be bought later or phased.
4. Get at least three itemised quotations. Ask each contractor to price the same scope line by line, with brand, grade and quantity. A lump sum per sq ft hides what is included.
5. Compare against the published ranges. If a basic job comes in far above Brick&Bolt's basic tier, ask why. If a full remodel comes in near NoBroker's basic tier, ask what is missing.
6. Add a contingency. Old homes in particular reveal surprises once tiles and plaster come off. Keep a reserve you are prepared not to spend.
7. Split the budget. Use the renovation budget planner on this page to divide the amount you have decided on across kitchen, bathrooms, painting, furniture and reserve.

The planner does not estimate costs for you. It only splits the budget you enter, so the figure you type in should come from your own quotations.

Permissions and society rules that affect cost

Approvals add time and sometimes fees, so check them before you sign a contract. In Mumbai, reported guidance (housing.com, June 2025) says tenantable repairs such as plaster, paint, tiles and pipe replacement need no Commissioner permission but do need a society NOC. Removing partitions or touching beams, columns or load-bearing walls needs written approval from the civic body plus a society NOC. In Bengaluru, reports (onecityproperty.com) say painting, tiling and rewiring generally need no approval, while structural changes do, and an RWA or association NOC is practically mandatory for work touching structure or common areas.

Rules vary by city and by society, so ask your society office for its written rules on timings, debris disposal and deposits before work starts.

Paying for it

Many homeowners fund renovation from savings; some use a bank renovation loan or a top-up on an existing home loan. Interest rates and eligibility change often, so check the lender's current page. Our home renovation loan guide explains how these products work and the tax rules, for information only. If you are still deciding what to change, browse room by room renovation ideas first; scope drives cost far more than city or contractor does.