How much does an apartment renovation cost in Geneva?

It's the first question almost everyone asks, and it's also the one that gets the worst answers online. The ranges you find on forums run from CHF 800 to CHF 3,000 per square metre without ever specifying what they include — which explains why two quotes for the same apartment can differ by CHF 50,000 without either one being "wrong."

Light renovation vs. full renovation

A light renovation (paint, flooring, a refreshed kitchen and bathroom, without touching partition walls or utilities) generally falls between CHF 600 and CHF 1,200 per square metre in Geneva. A full renovation — one that involves the electrics, the plumbing, and sometimes the structure — easily climbs to between CHF 1,500 and CHF 2,800 per square metre, not least because Geneva's pre-war buildings often require bringing everything up to code once the walls are opened.

• Kitchen: from CHF 15,000 (refacing and new worktop) to CHF 45,000 and above for a bespoke kitchen with high-end appliances
• Bathroom: from CHF 12,000 for a standard refresh, CHF 25,000 to CHF 35,000 for a bathroom with a walk-in shower and considered finishes
• Flooring: CHF 80 to CHF 250 per square metre depending on the material, excluding subfloor preparation
• Electrics and code compliance: hard to price accurately without opening the walls, but to be budgeted for systematically in a building from before 1980

Why quotes diverge so much

The factor that weighs most heavily is almost never the trade itself — it's the quality of the preparation beforehand. An interior architect who has drawn up a precise brief before approaching contractors receives comparable quotes. Without that, each contractor interprets the project their own way, and the gaps between quotes mostly reflect differing assumptions, not differing skill.

The LDTR: the constraint that sets Geneva apart from other French-speaking cantons

In Geneva, one factor weighs on renovations that isn't found elsewhere in French-speaking Switzerland with the same intensity: the LDTR (loi sur les démolitions, transformations et rénovations de maisons d'habitation — the law on demolitions, alterations and renovations of residential buildings), in force since 1983 and updated in 1996. It applies to residential buildings located in zones 1 to 4 — which covers most of Geneva's urban building stock — and aims to protect the rental housing stock against speculation. As soon as a renovation touches the layout of rooms, the rental value or the amenities of a rented apartment, an LDTR authorisation is required, in addition to the building permit itself.

This authorisation has a direct consequence on the rent the owner can charge after the works: the canton caps the rent for a control period of 3 years for a simple renovation, 5 years for a heavy renovation, and up to 10 years in case of demolition-reconstruction. The cap is calculated based on an allowable return on the capital invested in the works — generally 70% of the cost, remunerated at a rate close to the first-rank mortgage rate charged by the Banque cantonale de Genève — rather than on the actual cost of the works. If the rent was already above this cap before the works, it can be maintained at that level, but not increased beyond it.

For a landlord, this changes how a heavy renovation gets budgeted: the return on investment via rent is deferred and capped for several years, which often pushes owners to phase the works or concentrate them at a tenant changeover rather than during an ongoing lease. For an owner-occupier in a PPE (condominium), the LDTR applies differently since renting isn't at stake — but the later conversion of a rented apartment into a PPE unit remains governed by the same law.

APA or DD: which procedure, and what's the real timeline

Two procedures coexist in Geneva. The APA (accelerated procedure authorisation) applies to works of limited impact — a refresh that doesn't touch the structure or the layout of rooms — with an official timeline of 30 days, brought down in practice to around 2 months once the complete file is submitted. The DD (definitive application), the ordinary procedure, applies to alterations touching the structure, the layout of rooms or the designated use: the official timeline is 60 days, but publication in the Feuille d'avis officielle opens a 30-day objection window, and any request for additional information suspends the timeline. On a typical Geneva project, it's better to allow 3 to 5 months between filing and the permit becoming final for a DD.

• Permit application file (architect): CHF 4,000 to 6,000 excluding tax depending on the complexity of the project
• APA: official timeline of 30 days, around 2 months in practice once the file is complete
• DD: official timeline of 60 days, 3 to 5 months in practice including the objection period
• A change to the layout of rooms, a change of designated use, or works touching the load-bearing structure moves the file into the DD procedure

Vieille-Ville or a more recent building: two different projects

The age and heritage status of the building change things considerably. A building in the Vieille-Ville or protected as heritage often requires restoring existing façades, mouldings and decorative elements rather than replacing them, which lengthens the works and reduces the room for manoeuvre on exterior insulation. A more recent building (1950s to 1980s, in neighbourhoods like Eaux-Vives, Champel or Plainpalais) generally offers more technical freedom, a simpler permit file, and a more predictable project.

Cantonal subsidies for energy renovation

The canton of Geneva is devoting CHF 80 million to energy subsidies in 2026, up from CHF 70 million in 2025, funded in part by a CHF 500 million envelope approved by the Grand Conseil in 2024 and administered by the OCEN, the Services industriels de Genève (SIG) and the federal Programme Bâtiments. The application must be submitted before the works begin, at least 14 days in advance, via the national leprogrammebatiments.ch platform — a subsidy requested after the fact is not paid out.

• Thermal insulation: CHF 140 per m² for a U-value ≤ 0.20 W/m²K, on buildings built before 2000
• Heat pump replacing a fossil-fuel heating system: CHF 9,000 to 20,000 depending on the installed capacity
• Windows: no direct subsidy, but replacing them contributes toward an overall certification (Minergie, CECB, HPE, THPE) that unlocks other grants

Budget overruns: what almost always escapes the initial quote

According to Swiss homeowners' associations, most renovation projects exceed their initial budget by 15 to 25%. The cause is almost never poor workmanship but what opening the walls reveals: damp, corroded plumbing, non-compliant electrics, a subfloor that needs redoing. Planning a reserve of 10 to 20% of the total budget from the outset prevents this kind of discovery from stalling the works or forcing a cut-rate finish choice at the end of the project.

What to remember before starting a project in Geneva

The budget per m² is only a starting point. In Geneva, the apartment's rental or PPE status, whether the LDTR applies, the type of permit required and the age of the building weigh as much on the final cost and the timeline as the materials chosen. A brief that factors in these parameters from the outset, rather than after the first permit refusal or the first bad surprise behind a wall, remains the most reliable way to get comparable quotes and a project that keeps to its timeline.