HDB BTO & resale packages
BTO Renovation Packages in Singapore
We do not publish a single package price, and we would rather explain why than show you a number that changes the moment we see your flat. A 3-room premium BTO with no hacking and a 5-room resale that needs the kitchen moved are not the same job, and pricing them as though they were is how “packages” end up with variation orders.
What follows is the part that is genuinely useful before you speak to anyone: what drives the number, what usually sits outside a package, and what we need from you to quote your flat properly.
What a package actually is
A scope, not a price tag.
A renovation package is a bundle of works quoted together for a defined flat type. The bundle is the useful part — it makes two quotations comparable. The headline figure is only meaningful once you know what is inside it, which is why the first question to ask any contractor is not “how much” but “what is in it, in writing”.
These are the items that genuinely move the number on an HDB flat:
- Hacking and masonry — walls down, walls up, floor screeding
- Plumbing and electrical re-runs, and how far points have to move
- Carpentry — measured in running feet, the single largest line on most quotes
- Flooring type and area, and whether the existing finish is overlaid or removed
- False ceiling, cove lighting and the lighting plan
- Wet-area works and the waterproofing they require
- Painting, doors, windows and sanitary ware
- Whether it is a new BTO or a resale flat with an existing renovation to strip
By flat type
Why a smaller flat is not proportionally cheaper.
Room count is a weak predictor of cost. A kitchen, a bathroom and an entry wardrobe cost roughly what they cost whether the flat is 3-room or 5-room — what scales is flooring area, painting and the length of the carpentry runs.
3-room
The fixed items — kitchen, bathrooms, entry storage — make up a larger share of the total, so the price per square foot reads higher even though the total is lower. Storage planning matters most here.
4-room
The most common brief we see. Usually the point where a full carpentry package across kitchen, wardrobes and living storage is worth doing in one go rather than in phases.
5-room and above
More floor area, more flooring and painting, and often a study or a fourth bedroom in the brief. The cost driver is usually how much of the layout you want changed, not the room count.
Resale flats carry an extra variable a BTO does not: the condition of what is already there. Stripping out an old renovation, and whatever it reveals, has to be seen before it can be priced.
In and out
What usually sits outside a renovation package.
Across the industry these items are commonly quoted separately or excluded altogether. None of it is a trap — but it is the difference between two quotations that look like they are for the same job. Check every line below against any quotation you receive, including ours:
Usually inside a package
- Design consultation and the layout itself
- Hacking, masonry and general building works
- Electrical and plumbing works within the agreed scope
- Carpentry to the specified running-foot allowance
- Flooring, painting and false ceiling as specified
- Site supervision and trade coordination
Usually quoted separately
- Appliances, and loose furniture
- Curtains, blinds and soft furnishings
- Fees payable directly to HDB or to third parties
- Carpentry beyond the stated allowance
- Upgrades in stone, tile or hardware specification
- Works uncovered after strip-out in a resale flat
Why the registration matters
HDB decides who may renovate your flat.
Renovation works in an HDB flat require a permit, and it is applied for in the contractor’s name — which means the contractor has to be one HDB recognises. That is not a marketing badge, it is the gate. If a quotation is unusually low, it is worth confirming who exactly will be holding the permit.
- HDB Registered Licensed Contractor
- BCA Registered Contractor & Licensed Builder
- CaseTrust/RCMA Joint Accreditation
- BizSAFE 3 Certified
- SIDAC – Interior Designer Practitioner Class 3 (ID3)
- Top Executive WSH Programme (TEWP)
- Qanvast Super Trust Award 2023
- SIXSIDES Verified Certificate 2025/2026
Dots ’N’ Tots Interior Group Pte Ltd · over 12 years designing Singapore homes. The full accreditation list is on our About page.
How we quote
Six things and we can price your flat.
Bring these to a first consultation and you will leave with a real scope rather than a ballpark:
Bring these
- Flat type and layout — the HDB floor plan if you have it
- Key collection date, or your intended start date
- Whether it is a new BTO or a resale flat
- Which rooms are in scope, and any that are out
- References for the look you want, and what you dislike
- A budget range you are comfortable working within
Then we
- Measure the flat rather than working from the plan alone
- Set the layout around how you actually live in it
- Quote line by line, so you can compare it with anything else
- Tell you plainly what HDB will and will not permit
- Hold the permit and coordinate the trade sequence
- Stay reachable after handover — after-sales support is a studio principle
Selected work
HDB homes we have completed.
Real flats, photographed finished. Open any project for the full set of images.
Common questions
Before you ask for a quote
How much is a BTO renovation package?
We quote it, we do not list it — because the same flat type can differ by a wide margin depending on hacking, carpentry length and finish level. What we can do is put the scope in writing line by line, so you can hold our number against anyone else’s and see exactly where they differ. Send us your flat type and scope and we will come back with that breakdown.
Is a package cheaper than quoting item by item?
Not automatically. A package is mainly a comparison tool: it fixes a scope so two quotations mean the same thing. It saves you money when the bundle matches what you actually want, and costs you money when you pay for items inside it that you do not need. Read the inclusion list before the price.
When should I engage a contractor for a BTO?
Most homeowners start talking to designers before key collection, so that the design is settled and works can begin soon after keys. Nothing can be measured or confirmed on site until you have the unit, but the layout thinking does not have to wait for it.
Do I need an HDB renovation permit, and who applies for it?
Renovation works in an HDB flat require a permit, and it is taken out in the contractor’s name rather than yours — which is why the contractor must be one HDB recognises. We hold the permit for the works we carry out.
Can I do part of the renovation myself, or use another contractor?
It happens, and it can work, but it has to be agreed at quotation stage rather than mid-project. Split scopes need the boundary written down — who does what, in what order, and who is responsible where the two meet.
Is a resale flat more expensive than a BTO?
Often, and the reason is strip-out. A BTO is a known starting point; a resale flat has an existing renovation that has to be removed, and what sits behind it cannot be priced until it is seen. That is one reason we measure on site before quoting a resale unit.
Also worth reading
Looking at the design rather than the price?
Our HDB interior design page covers the design side — how BTO and resale flats differ, and the HDB rules that shape what is possible. If you are renovating a private unit instead, start with condo interior design.
Send us your flat type.
Tell us the flat type, whether it is BTO or resale, and what you want done. We will come back with a scope and a line-by-line quotation — no obligation, and no number pulled out of the air.