Renovation and building costs on the Costa Blanca in 2026: quick answers

A full apartment renovation in Torrevieja costs €420/m² at Standard finish, €650/m² at Premium and €900/m² at Luxury in 2026, before IVA. A 70 m² two-bedroom apartment comes to €29,400 at Standard, €45,500 at Premium and €63,000 at Luxury, and a cosmetic refresh of the same flat is €18,900. IVA (10% or 21%) and the 4% ICIO tax come on top.

Renovation on the Costa Blanca costs €270/m² for a cosmetic refresh, €420, €650 or €900 per m² for a full renovation at Standard, Premium or Luxury finish, and €1,100–1,400/m² when walls move and the property is stripped to the shell, all before IVA. On a typical 120 m² villa a full renovation is €50,400 to €108,000. Properties built before 1990 almost always need the electrics and plumbing replaced, which is the main reason two quotes differ.

A complete bathroom renovation on the Costa Blanca costs €4,800–14,000 in 2026, before IVA. That is a full strip to the brick with new waterproofing, plumbing, electrics, tiling and fittings. Moving the toilet adds €600–1,200, and large-format tiles add 15–25% to the tiling labour.

A new kitchen costs €800 per linear metre of cabinets at Standard finish, €1,350 at Premium and €1,800 at Luxury, before IVA. A straight 3 m kitchen at Standard is €2,400 and a 5 m L-shape at Premium is €6,750. Allow 6–10 weeks from order to installation, because cabinets and worktops are made to order.

Replacing windows costs from €390 per window (€390–1,400 per opening) before IVA, in aluminium or PVC with a thermal break. Replacing all the windows of a typical villa costs €4,500–12,000. Manufacture takes three to five weeks after measuring, and fitting takes one to two days for a whole house.

A new villa on the Costa Blanca costs from €1,800 per m² of built area at Standard finish, €2,200 at Premium and €2,600+ at Luxury, before IVA. A 140 m² villa is €252,000 at Standard and from €308,000 at Premium. The plot, the architect's project and the licences are separate, and a new house needs a full building licence before any work starts.

Terraces and outdoor areas cost from €320 per m² in 2026, before IVA: porcelain paving, steps, pergolas and lighting. That is about €9,600 for 30 m², €19,200 for 60 m² and €32,000 for 100 m². The final figure depends on what is there now, drainage, shade and lighting, which is why it is priced after a site visit.

Electrical, plumbing, air-conditioning and heating work starts from €2,200 before IVA as a standalone job. Inside a full renovation the same work is already in the rate (€420/m² and up); in a 120 m² villa our published budget split puts electrics at roughly €14,000, plumbing at €11,000 and air conditioning at €8,500. Houses built before 1990 almost always need the electrics and plumbing replaced.

A repair visit costs from €120 before IVA and covers the diagnosis; the repair is quoted separately once the cause is known. Within Torrevieja and Orihuela Costa we can usually reach the property the same or next working day. Nothing beyond making the property safe is done before you have the cause and the price.

IVA on renovation work in Spain is 21% by default and 10% when the client is a private individual using the home privately, the home is more than two years old and the contractor's materials are no more than 40% of the price of the job (article 91 of Ley 37/1992). Appliances are always 21%, and a property let out as a business does not qualify. Ask your gestor which rate applies to you.

Usually not a full licence: a renovation that does not touch the structure goes by a declaración responsable filed with the town hall, work can start the day the complete filing is submitted, and the ICIO tax of 4% applies either way. Work on the structure, demolition and a change of use also go by declaración responsable, but with a certificate from an accredited body or a professional college. A new house or villa needs a full building licence (licencia urbanística) before any work starts.

The ICIO is 4% of the real cost of the works in both Torrevieja and Orihuela, the maximum the national law allows. On a €29,400 renovation that is €1,176, and on an €18,900 cosmetic refresh €756. The town hall also charges a separate processing fee (tasa) that varies with the type of works, and a quotation should say whether both are included.

A builder's quotation in Spain should pass a 10-point check: a written scope room by room with materials named, IVA shown separately, a clear line on whether the ICIO and town-hall fees are included, who files the licence or declaración responsable, and a list of what is not included. Payments should be tied to finished stages, not calendar dates. If a quote is one number on one line, you cannot compare it with anything.

A cosmetic refresh of a two-bedroom apartment takes one to two weeks, an apartment reform that keeps the layout four to six weeks, a bathroom two to three weeks and a full villa renovation ten to sixteen weeks on site. Made-to-order kitchens and windows take several weeks to make and often set the date. A new villa needs a full licence first, which takes months.