How long does an interior fit out take in Dubai?
A typical interior fit out in Dubai takes 8 to 16 weeks of work on site, plus 4 to 8 weeks of design and 2 to 6 weeks of approvals. Most apartments and small offices run 4 to 6 months end to end, from the first site survey to the handover meeting.
Why work with INTERIOXPERT TECHNICAL SERVICES CO. L.L.C
- Single contract covering design, DET and DEWA submissions, joinery, MEP and finishing trades
- Fixed price BOQ locked before mobilisation, with every variation priced in writing first
- In-house site supervision with a weekly progress report and photo log
- Fit out permit, building NOC and MEP approval paperwork handled by the same delivery team
- Snag list closed with the client before the final payment milestone is released
- Handover pack with as built drawings, warranty documents and maintenance contacts
How long does an interior fit out take in Dubai? The short answer
Plan on 8 to 16 weeks of construction, 4 to 8 weeks of design and BOQ work, and 2 to 6 weeks of approvals. Design and approvals run in parallel, so the realistic window from survey to handover is 4 to 6 months. A single wardrobe or a like for like kitchen replacement is a different job and takes days, not months, and usually needs no DET fit out permit.
Cost and time move together. A 1,200 sq ft apartment turnkey fit out in Dubai typically lands between AED 130,000 and AED 260,000, or about AED 110 to 220 per sq ft, and the top of that range almost always means more joinery, more MEP changes and a longer programme.
The four phases of a Dubai interior fit out
Every fit out follows the same four phases, and the approvals phase is the one owners most often leave out of their plan.
- Design and BOQ, 4 to 8 weeks. Site survey, measured drawings, layout options, 3D visuals, material selection and a priced bill of quantities.
- Approvals, 2 to 6 weeks. The DET fit out permit, the building NOC from the owners association or tower management, and DEWA MEP approval for any change to electrical or plumbing points. Retail and food units also need Civil Defence clearance.
- Construction, 8 to 16 weeks. Demolition, blockwork, MEP first and second fix, ceilings, tiling, painting, flooring and joinery installation.
- Snagging and handover, 1 to 2 weeks. Testing and commissioning, the defect list, cleaning, and the handover pack with as built drawings and warranty documents.
Open plan office fit out in Dubai: workstations, acoustic dividers and linear LED lighting delivered on the same programme as the meeting rooms.
Fit out duration by scope
Compare your unit with the table below before you accept any programme.
| Scope | Design | Approvals | On site | End to end |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Studio or 1 bed refresh | 3 to 4 weeks | 2 to 3 weeks | 4 to 6 weeks | 8 to 12 weeks |
| 2 to 3 bed apartment turnkey | 4 to 8 weeks | 2 to 4 weeks | 10 to 14 weeks | 16 to 24 weeks |
| Villa interior fit out | 6 to 10 weeks | 3 to 6 weeks | 16 to 24 weeks | 25 to 40 weeks |
| Office or retail unit | 4 to 8 weeks | 3 to 6 weeks | 8 to 16 weeks | 15 to 28 weeks |
A studio refresh is mostly paint, flooring, lighting and one wardrobe run. A villa adds majlis joinery, staircase, several wet areas and often external MEP work. Retail units with cooking sit at the top of the office and retail band because of Civil Defence and grease trap requirements.
A worked example: 1,200 sq ft apartment turnkey fit out
Here is a 22 week programme for a two bedroom apartment, starting on the first working Monday of January with handover in the first week of June.
- Week 1: site survey, measurements, design brief and appliance list.
- Weeks 2 to 4: layouts, 3D visuals, material selection and the signed BOQ.
- Week 4: DET fit out permit submitted and the building NOC requested from tower management. Imported tiles and long lead joinery are ordered the same week.
- Weeks 5 to 6: permit issued, DEWA MEP approval cleared, mobilisation and full site protection.
- Weeks 6 to 8: demolition, blockwork and MEP first fix.
- Weeks 8 to 11: plaster, ceilings, waterproofing and tiling.
- Weeks 10 to 13: joinery in production, second fix MEP starts as ceilings close.
- Weeks 12 to 16: painting, flooring, kitchen and wardrobe installation.
- Weeks 17 to 19: bathroom fittings, lighting, final MEP second fix and touch ups.
- Weeks 20 to 21: snagging, testing and commissioning, deep clean.
- Week 22: handover with the certificate of completion, as built drawings and the warranty pack.
On site time is 16 weeks. The remaining six weeks are design and approval time that cannot be compressed, which is why the honest end to end answer is closer to five months than four.
Six things that add 3 to 8 weeks to your fit out
- Long lead joinery and imported finishes. Veneered joinery, imported tiles and special order sanitaryware can take 6 to 8 weeks to land, and none of it can be installed early. Ordering in week one is the difference between a 12 week and a 16 week site programme.
- Hidden MEP defects found after demolition. Old pipework, illegal electrical joints and damp behind tiles are common in older buildings. Each discovery needs a priced variation and written approval before work restarts, and two or three of them can cost 2 to 3 weeks.
- Design changes after the BOQ is signed. Moving a kitchen wall or adding a walk in wardrobe after joinery drawings are approved pushes the whole order back to the end of the production queue.
- Permit and NOC turnaround. If drawings are rejected and resubmitted, add 5 to 10 working days per cycle. Buildings that only sit once a month for NOC approval can add 3 to 4 weeks on their own.
- Ramadan and summer working hours. Site hours drop by around two hours a day during Ramadan, and the summer midday break runs from 12:30 to 15:00. Expect one to two weeks of slippage on a 12 week programme.
- Building access and lift booking rules. Load in and load out slots are often limited to a few hours a day, and noisy works are restricted to set windows. A slow material route through a service lift can add days to every stage.
Workstations finished and partitioned from the meeting room, photographed in the week before snag closure and handover.
How to keep an interior fit out on schedule
The programme holds when one company owns design, approvals and construction, and when the BOQ is locked before anyone mobilises.
- One contract, one programme, one point of accountability. When design, approvals and site delivery sit with the same team, nobody can point at another party. Our turnkey interior fit out services in Dubai work this way.
- Locked BOQ before mobilisation. Every item priced and every allowance stated, with provisional sums only where a hidden condition genuinely cannot be inspected.
- Milestone payments tied to finished work. A common split is 30 percent on mobilisation, 40 percent when ceilings and MEP first fix are complete, 20 percent at joinery installation, and the final 10 percent after snag closure.
- Weekly site report with photos, a two week look ahead and a live open items list.
- Long lead items ordered in week one, with supplier delivery dates written into the programme.
- Lift and access slots booked with building management before demolition starts.
You can see how earlier programmes ran on our completed interior fit-out projects in Dubai, or read more interior fit out guides in the articles hub. For your own dates, get a fixed-price interior fit out estimate and we will follow up with a survey slot and a dated programme.
Frequently asked questions
How long does a kitchen or wardrobe joinery job take in Dubai?
A built in wardrobe takes 2 to 4 weeks from final measurements, with installation finished in a day or two per unit. A full kitchen replacement runs 3 to 5 weeks including stone templating and installation. These jobs usually need no DET fit out permit, but most buildings still want a delivery and access request approved in advance. As a guide, a 3 metre wardrobe run in Dubai is typically AED 3,500 to AED 7,000 depending on finish.
Do interior fit out approvals in Dubai always take 4 weeks?
No. A clean DET fit out permit application can be issued in 5 to 15 working days, the building NOC usually takes 3 to 10 working days, and DEWA MEP approval sits on top of that. Four weeks is a fair average rather than a fixed rule, and drawings that get rejected once can add another week per cycle.
Can an interior fit out be finished in less than 8 weeks?
Yes, if the scope is small. A single room refresh, a studio repaint or a joinery only job can finish in 3 to 6 weeks. A full turnkey fit out with new MEP, custom joinery and a DET permit is rarely done in under 10 weeks on site, because joinery lead times and inspections set the floor.
Does Ramadan delay interior fit out work in Dubai?
Working hours during Ramadan are shorter by around two hours a day, and many buildings restrict noisy work, so a 12 week programme can slip by one to two weeks. Slippage is worse when joinery deliveries or imported materials land in that month. Front loading the noisy stages outside Ramadan keeps the programme intact.
When is the final payment due on an interior fit out?
Final payment is due after snag closure and handover, once the certificate of completion, as built drawings and warranty documents are handed over. Most contracts hold a retention of 5 to 10 percent for 30 to 90 days to cover defects that appear after handover. Never pay the balance before the snag list is signed off.
