Executive Maisonette Renovation: Costs & Ideas (2026)

Renovating an HDB executive maisonette costs S$60,000–120,000 for a standard whole-home scope, and S$150,000–350,000 for full transformations of these 1,500–1,700 sq ft double-storey flats. They're the largest homes HDB ever built — no longer constructed, increasingly sought after, and renovation-wise closer to a small landed house than to a regular flat.

This guide covers what maisonette and jumbo-flat owners should budget, the staircase and double-volume opportunities that make these homes special, and the age-related works that eat budgets quietly.

How much does a maisonette renovation cost?

Documented projects across the market run from S$50,000 for disciplined refreshes to S$350,000 for full rebuilds; most owners doing a proper whole-home renovation land between S$80,000 and S$150,000.

• Refresh (overlay flooring, painting, essential carpentry): S$50,000–80,000
• Standard renovation (full carpentry, both bathrooms, kitchen): S$80,000–150,000
• Full transformation (staircase rework, layout changes, premium finishes): S$150,000–350,000

Two forces push maisonettes above regular-flat budgets: sheer floor area (roughly 1.5× a 5-room flat) and age — every executive maisonette is now 30+ years old, so rewiring, re-plumbing and waterproofing renewal are usually needs, not options.

Where should the budget go first in an old maisonette?

Infrastructure before beauty: electrical rewiring (S$6,000–12,000 for a full maisonette), bathroom waterproofing, and window servicing come before a single feature wall. Flats of this age predate today's electrical loads; a full DB box upgrade and rewiring is the single most common surprise line. Old khaki-tiled bathrooms almost always need full reconstruction — our bathroom cost guide applies twice over here.

What design opportunities do maisonettes offer?

The staircase and the double-storey separation are the whole point — treat them as features, not circulation.

• The staircase as centrepiece: reclad treads, a new balustrade (timber, powder-coated steel or glass) and concealed lighting transform the one element no other HDB flat has
• Full floor zoning: living, dining and kitchen below; every bedroom above — the same privacy logic as a terrace house, and a natural fit for multi-generational households
• The landing as a room: upper landings fit a study nook, reading corner or family lounge that regular flats can't spare
• Vertical palette discipline: like any two-storey home, maisonettes fragment visually if each floor gets its own scheme — run one material story through the stair

What rules apply to maisonette renovations?

Standard HDB rules, with the staircase as the sensitive zone: the structure of the stair itself can't be altered without approval, though finishes and balustrades can change. Everything else follows the usual permit regime — hacking, wet works and window replacement need an HDB permit through a registered contractor; see our HDB renovation permit guide for the full list. Because scopes are larger, permits and works both take longer: plan 12–16 weeks on site for a standard scope rather than the 8–12 of a regular flat.

Is a maisonette renovation worth the outlay?

Generally yes — these flats are irreplaceable stock. HDB stopped building maisonettes in 1995, supply only shrinks, and buyers consistently pay for well-renovated examples. The honest caveat: badly-scoped renovations sink money into oversized floor area without fixing the ageing infrastructure that the next buyer's inspector will find. Renovate the bones properly and the space generously, and a maisonette rewards it like no other HDB type. Our HDB interior design team scopes these as two-storey homes, not big flats — request a free design proposal if you're planning one.

The bottom line

Budget S$80,000–150,000 for a proper maisonette renovation, put infrastructure first, and spend the design energy on the staircase and the two-storey logic that make these homes worth owning in the first place.