Updated September 2026. Scope, approvals, cost and timing are property-specific. Engage an architect, engineers, quantity surveyor, lawyer, lender and contractors before committing.
Define the intervention correctly
URA distinguishes renovation, additions and alterations, reconstruction and new erection. Its current landed A&A guidance uses tests involving gross floor area, external walls, structural work, roof and storey changes. The label affects approvals and design options.
Verify the site before designing
- Title, boundary survey, easements and road or drainage reserves.
- Zoning, landed housing type, height, setbacks and site coverage.
- Conservation or Good Class Bungalow controls.
- Ground, drainage, retaining-wall and neighbouring conditions.
- Existing approvals, unauthorised works and utility capacity.
Build a whole-project budget
Obtain a measured design and itemised professional cost plan. Include demolition, authority fees, consultants, temporary accommodation, finance, taxes, utilities, specialist systems, landscaping, contingency and escalation. Generic cost-per-square-foot figures are not quotations.
Compare three scenarios
Test renovation, A&A or reconstruction, and full rebuild against the current home's condition and the household's holding period. Assess disruption, approval risk, retained-structure risk, embodied value and resale relevance. Building more does not guarantee that a future buyer will pay the cost.
Use staged gates
Do not move from concept to tender until surveys and planning feasibility are clear. Do not select a contractor on price alone. Require scope, exclusions, programme, payment milestones, insurance, defects obligations and change-control terms to be documented and professionally reviewed.