This is the first question almost every owner asks, and the one the market answers least clearly. Agencies quote a figure that suits the sale. Contractors quote a figure that suits the job in front of them. What follows is the answer I give my own clients, in 2026 euros, with the reasoning attached so you can check it against your own case.
One caution before the numbers. A per-square-metre figure is a sanity check, not a budget. It tells you whether a quote sits inside a defensible range; it does not tell you what your apartment will cost. Two flats of the same surface on the same street can differ by a factor of two, depending on the state of the pipework, the ceilings, and what the co-ownership will let you touch.
The three ranges, in 2026 euros
Rental refit, all trades included: €1,000 to €1,800 per square metre. Bringing a flat back to a lettable standard. Walls, floors, paint, a functional kitchen and bathroom, electrics brought up to code. Standard materials, no bespoke joinery, no moved partitions to speak of.
Mid-range private renovation: €1,800 to €2,500 per square metre. A flat you intend to live in. A mixed palette of trades, a redrawn plan, a proper kitchen and bathroom, better materials, some fitted joinery. This is where most owner-occupier projects in Paris land.
Haussmannian restoration: €2,500 to €3,500 per square metre. Plasterwork, period mouldings, cornices, solid parquet relaid or restored, panelled doors and cased joinery handled properly by people who know how. Add restoration of marble fireplaces and original ironwork and you are at the upper end.
Above that, once genuine art craftsmanship is involved, the range has no real ceiling: it depends on the original state of the property and the level of finish you are after. All three ranges assume trades coordinated by a design authority, and none of them covers heavy structural works, which follow their own logic and their own engineer.
What these ranges do not include
This is where budgets quietly break. The per-square-metre figure above covers the works themselves. Around them sit costs that are real and that nobody puts in the headline number.
- Design authority or architect fees — commonly ten to fifteen per cent of the works, sometimes more on a small or complex project.
- VAT — the reduced rates on renovation depend on the age of the building and the nature of the works, and are not automatic. Confirm which rate applies to each line before you compare quotes.
- Owner's representation — my own fees, published here.
- Co-ownership costs — technical opinions, syndic administration charges, and sometimes a structural report before the general assembly will approve anything.
- Furniture, curtains, lighting fixtures and appliances — routinely ten to twenty per cent of the works on a flat meant to be lived in, and almost always forgotten at the start.
- Contingency — a Paris building of 1880 will surprise you at least once. Ten per cent held back is not pessimism, it is arithmetic.
Two worked examples
A 70 m² flat brought back to a good lettable standard, at €1,400 per square metre, is €98,000 of works. Add ten per cent of design fees and a ten per cent contingency and you are planning for roughly €118,000 before furniture.
A 130 m² Haussmannian apartment restored properly, at €2,800 per square metre, is €364,000 of works. Add twelve per cent of architect fees, a ten per cent contingency and the co-ownership costs and the real envelope is closer to €450,000 — before a single piece of furniture.
Why the same works are priced differently to different buyers
No official tax targets foreign buyers in Paris. But across dozens of quotes a year I see the same scope priced differently depending on who the client is, where they are based, and whether anyone on the ground is reading line by line. It is rarely a doubling of the total; it is a steady drift of five to twenty per cent on individual lines, hidden in quantities, units and supply margins. Over a €400,000 renovation, that drift is €20,000 to €80,000 that becomes very hard to retrace later.
Two concrete examples of how it happens. The square metres of painting listed on a quote can exceed the plan's actual surface by ten to twenty per cent, because ceilings and returns get double-counted. And a €900 basin listed at €2,400 is not uncommon on a non-resident file — which is why supply should always be separated from fit on any line above €1,500.
→ Read in full: "The foreigner premium: how quotes quietly inflate."
Common questions
How much does it cost to renovate an apartment in Paris per square metre?
In 2026 euros: €1,000 to €1,800 per square metre for a rental refit with all trades included, €1,800 to €2,500 for a mid-range private renovation, and €2,500 to €3,500 for a Haussmannian restoration with plasterwork, period mouldings, joinery and parquet. Above that, with genuine art craftsmanship involved, there is no real ceiling.
Do those figures include the architect's fees?
No. The ranges cover the works themselves. Design authority or architect fees are commonly a further ten to fifteen per cent of the works, and owner's representation, VAT, co-ownership costs, furniture and contingency sit on top of that as well.
How much should I hold back for the unexpected?
Ten per cent of the works. A Paris building from the 1880s will surprise you at least once — pipework, floor levels, or something a neighbour's earlier works left behind. Ten per cent held back is arithmetic, not pessimism.
Do foreign owners pay more to renovate in Paris?
No official tax targets them, but the same scope of work is often priced five to twenty per cent higher when nobody on the ground reads the quotes line by line. Over a €400,000 renovation that is €20,000 to €80,000. The drift hides in quantities, in lines priced at forfait, and in supply-and-fit margins.
Can I renovate a Paris apartment without being in France?
Yes, provided someone on the ground works for you alone: reads the quotes before you commit, walks the site each week, and reports back in writing. That is what owner's representation — assistance à maîtrise d'ouvrage, or AMOA — means. I work in English and in French.
— Paris, August 2026. Charles-Eric Guerrier.