How Much Does a Condo Renovation Cost in Vancouver?

A condo renovation isn't a scaled-down house renovation — it runs on a different rulebook. You're building inside concrete, not wood framing. Your plumbing ties into risers that feed the units above and below you. And before a single trade shows up, your strata corporation gets a say in what you can do, when, and how.

None of that means a condo renovation is a bad idea. It means the budget has to account for things a detached-home renovation never touches. Here's what a condo renovation honestly costs in Vancouver in 2026, tier by tier, and exactly where the strata- and concrete-specific costs come from.

What does a condo renovation cost in Vancouver?

Most Vancouver condo renovations fall into one of four tiers, based on a typical 650–1,000 sq ft one- or two-bedroom unit:

Tier	What it typically includes	Typical Vancouver range
Cosmetic refresh	Paint, flooring, lighting and hardware, a cosmetic kitchen or bathroom update — same layout, no plumbing or electrical changes	$30,000 – $55,000
Mid-range full renovation	New semi-custom kitchen, full bathroom renovation, new flooring throughout with proper acoustic underlay, updated lighting and electrical	$70,000 – $120,000
High-end renovation	Custom cabinetry, premium finishes, non-structural layout changes, fixture relocation within the constraints of your plumbing stack	$120,000 – $200,000
Luxury / design-build	Bespoke finishes throughout, integrated smart-home systems, full gut, structural changes where the building allows	$200,000+

Treat this as a starting map. The number that actually matters is a detailed, fixed-price estimate written against your unit, your strata's rules, and what your plumbing stack and concrete slab will actually allow — and that's the number we build before any work begins.

Cost per square foot — and why it often runs higher than a house

A condo's total renovation cost is almost always smaller than a house's. Its cost per square foot is frequently higher, and that's not a coincidence.

As a rough guide for the Lower Mainland:

• Cosmetic refresh: roughly $45 – $85 per sq ft
• Mid-range renovation: roughly $95 – $170 per sq ft
• High-end renovation: roughly $170 – $260 per sq ft
• Luxury design-build: $260+ per sq ft

Key Insight: Kitchens and bathrooms are the most expensive square footage in any home, and they don't shrink much just because the unit around them does. In a 750 sq ft condo, that kitchen and bathroom can represent 40–50% of your total floor area's budget — versus 20–30% in a larger house. Add strata approval, elevator logistics, and acoustic flooring requirements, and it's common for a condo renovation to land near the top of its own per-square-foot range — even though the headline ceilings above can read lower than a comparable house's, since kitchens and bathrooms dominate a much smaller floor area.

Kitchens and bathrooms still decide the number

The room-by-room math doesn't change just because you're in a tower instead of a house. A mid-range kitchen in Vancouver typically runs $45,000 – $80,000 — see our full kitchen renovation cost guide — and a standard full bathroom runs $18,000 – $40,000, detailed in our bathroom renovation cost and timeline guide.

Those two rooms cost roughly the same to renovate whether they sit inside a 750 sq ft condo or a 2,500 sq ft house — quartz counters, tile, and a proper waterproofing membrane don't get cheaper because the hallway outside them is shorter. That's the real reason condo renovations feel disproportionately expensive for their size: the two priciest rooms in any home take up a much bigger share of a small footprint.

What concrete construction changes about your renovation

Most Vancouver condos are built with concrete slab-and-column construction, and that changes what's actually possible inside your unit:

• Interior partition walls are usually non-load-bearing and can often be moved with strata and, sometimes, engineering sign-off — but the concrete slab, columns, and shear walls cannot.
• Plumbing runs to shared risers that feed the units above and below you. Moving a kitchen sink or bathroom far from its stack means cutting into or routing around a concrete slab — expensive, sometimes structurally restricted, and never something to decide casually.
• Windows and balconies are frequently common property, not part of your strata lot. Swapping them is usually a building-wide decision, not a personal renovation choice — worth confirming with your strata before you fall in love with a design that assumes new glass.
• Older concrete towers (generally pre-1990) sometimes have asbestos-containing materials in popcorn ceilings, tile adhesive, or drywall compound. Testing before you disturb these surfaces isn't optional caution — it's standard practice, and a contractor who skips it is cutting a corner you'll pay for later.

Strata approval: the extra step (and extra weeks) most owners underbudget

On top of any City of Vancouver permit, your strata corporation requires its own sign-off before work starts — typically called an alteration agreement. A complete submission usually includes:

• A written scope of work, and often drawings
• Your contractor's business licence and general liability insurance — most stratas ask for $2 million or more in coverage
• A WorkSafeBC clearance letter
• Sign-off on flooring, since many Vancouver strata bylaws set a minimum impact sound rating (often in the IIC 50s or higher over a concrete slab) for hardwood, laminate, or tile — meaning proper acoustic underlay is mandatory, not a nice-to-have

Plan for 4 to 6 weeks minimum for strata to review and approve a straightforward request. If your building requires a vote at an annual or special general meeting, that can stretch to 2 to 4 months. Skip approval and do the work anyway, and under BC's Strata Property Act your strata can apply to the Civil Resolution Tribunal to order the work undone — at your expense, not theirs. Our permits and strata approval guide walks through the full process, condo or house.

Condo renovation vs. house renovation: what's actually different

Factor	Condo	Detached house
Approvals needed	City permit and strata alteration agreement	City permit only
Structural flexibility	Interior partitions only; slab and columns are fixed	Some load-bearing walls can be altered with engineering
Plumbing	Tied to shared risers; relocation is costly and sometimes restricted	More flexible; direct ground access
Windows & exterior	Often common property — building-wide decision	Owner's to change
Work hours	Bylaw hours plus strata's own (often tighter) rules	City noise bylaw only
Material & waste access	Elevator or loading-dock booking; no dumpsters	Direct driveway and dumpster access
Typical cost per sq ft	Often higher for the same finish tier	Baseline

Building logistics that quietly add to the bill

Even a straightforward condo renovation carries costs a house renovation never sees:

• Elevator and loading-dock bookings, sometimes with a refundable damage deposit and mandatory hallway or elevator padding during moves
• No on-site dumpster. Debris typically leaves through bagged disposal or a scheduled haul-out, not a driveway bin
• Permitted work hours. Vancouver's noise bylaw allows construction noise from 7am–8pm on weekdays and 10am–8pm on weekends outside downtown (6am–midnight on weekdays downtown) — but most strata corporations set their own, often tighter, internal hours for interior renovation noise on top of that
• Parking for trades, which can mean a daily cost in denser buildings with limited visitor stalls

None of this should discourage you — it's exactly why a full-scope general contractor, not a handyman working solo, is worth having coordinate the building side while the trades handle yours.

Why the lowest condo quote is rarely the real one

Condo renovations have more places for a thin quote to hide than a house does: strata insurance certificates, acoustic underlay, elevator fees, asbestos testing in an older tower. Leave any one of them out and the total on paper looks better — until the alteration agreement gets rejected, or the floor fails the sound test, and the "extra" shows up as a change order.

We're a fixed-price contractor. We price your unit against your actual strata's rules, your building's logistics, and what your plumbing stack will realistically allow — before you sign anything. What we quote is what you pay. If you want the fuller pattern behind this, our breakdown of fixed-price versus lowball quotes is worth a read before you compare estimates of your own.

Building a condo renovation budget you can trust

1. Pull your strata's alteration agreement requirements before you finalize a timeline. Insurance minimums, flooring rules, and approval routes vary by building.
2. Ask what's excluded. Acoustic underlay upgrades, elevator booking fees, and disposal costs are exactly where a thin quote stays quiet.
3. Build in a 10–15% contingency, a bit higher in a pre-1990 building where asbestos testing or an unexpected shutoff valve can surface once surfaces come down.
4. Decide early whether moving plumbing is worth it. Keeping fixtures near their existing stack is almost always the cheaper, faster path.

People also ask

Do I need strata approval to change my condo's flooring? In almost every Vancouver strata, yes. Most bylaws set a minimum impact sound rating for hard flooring over a concrete slab, which means your contractor needs to submit the flooring and underlay system for approval before installation, not after.

Can I move plumbing fixtures in a condo renovation? Sometimes, but it's more restricted and more expensive than in a house, because everything ties back to a shared riser. Keeping your kitchen and bathroom plumbing close to where it already is keeps both your budget and your strata approval simpler.

Key takeaways

• Condo renovations in Vancouver typically range from $30,000 for a cosmetic refresh to $200,000+ for a luxury design-build, with most mid-range projects landing between $70,000 and $120,000.
• Cost per square foot often runs higher in a condo than a house, because kitchens and bathrooms take up a bigger share of a smaller footprint.
• Strata approval is a separate process from your city permit — budget 4–6 weeks minimum, longer if a vote is required.
• Concrete construction, shared risers, and common-property windows limit what's physically and legally possible inside your unit.
• A detailed, fixed-price estimate — not a market range like this one — is the only number worth planning your budget around.

FAQ

How much does it cost to renovate a condo in Vancouver? Most mid-range condo renovations run $70,000 to $120,000, covering a new kitchen, bathroom, flooring, and updated electrical. Cosmetic refreshes start around $30,000; high-end and luxury projects can reach $200,000 or more.

Do I need a permit to renovate a condo in Vancouver? Yes, for the same triggers as any home — structural, electrical, and plumbing changes generally need a City of Vancouver permit, on top of your strata's own alteration agreement. See our permits and strata guide for specifics.

How long does a condo renovation take? Most mid-range condo renovations run 8 to 12 weeks on site, with strata approval (4–6 weeks minimum) typically running in parallel with design and material ordering rather than adding to the schedule.

Is a condo renovation more expensive than a house renovation per square foot? Often, yes. Kitchens and bathrooms cost roughly the same regardless of the unit around them, so they eat up a bigger share of a smaller footprint — and strata approval, elevator logistics, and acoustic flooring rules add cost a house never carries.

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A condo renovation has real constraints — strata, concrete, shared risers — but none of them should turn into a surprise mid-project. If you're planning a renovation in a Vancouver condo and want a straight answer on what it will honestly cost for your unit and your building, our condo renovation service in Vancouver starts with a fixed-price estimate. We'll walk your space, learn your strata's rules, and put one complete number in front of you before any work begins.