HOS renovation budget: fittings, essential work and extras

HOS renovation is often compared with private whole-home refurbishment, but they start differently. HOS flats may have sale or alteration limits, and new flats often need basics first: usable kitchen and bath, working drainage, doors and windows, and whether you will replace cabinets after move-in. Budget from “what must be fixed to move in or keep living here” — not backwards from social-media finished photos.

Homore does not publish an official HOS unit price, and will not dress sample quotes up as market rates. Real cost depends on scope, material grade, existing condition, material access, and how each firm quotes. What you can control is writing the scope clearly so different firms bid on the same brief.

• Record supplied fittings and defects at handover. Keep the seller's defect obligations separate from your new renovation work.
• List quantities for wiring, plumbing, waterproofing, kitchens, bathrooms, joinery and other work. Mark uncertain items for site inspection.
• Budget separately for management deposits, temporary accommodation, moving and appliances you buy yourself, alongside the works contract.

Must-haves are usually safety and basic use: leaks, poor drainage, undersized consumer units, damaged doors and windows, or not enough cooking and bathing conditions. Optional items make daily life nicer: better storage, hiding cables, replacing all lights, unifying floors. Defer items are things you like but need not finish this year — for example whole-home custom bookshelves or replacing every interior door.

After these three columns are in the brief, ask firms to price them separately when you request a quote. You can then see if defer items are bundled into a “whole-home package”, or must-have waterproofing is crushed into an unclear small line. When comparing, align must-haves first, then optional material notes, and totals last.

• Must-have: items that affect move-in, safety, and basic cooking and bathing.
• Optional: storage, lighting, finishes and other upgrades that do not block move-in.
• Defer: items you can phase, do after move-in, and should not lock into this contract.

For the same area, open and enclosed kitchens need different cabinet volume; bathrooms with and without windows need different ventilation, lighting and moisture control. HOS and private flats with similar saleable area can still differ in walls, windows and pipe runs you can change. Homore splits housing type and work type so systems or firms do not apply a “new public housing” assumption to every flat.

If you have not measured yet, note approximate saleable area and room count, and mark them as estimates. Floor plans help; without them, mark cabinets to remove and spots to keep on current photos. Budget talk with thin data becomes guesswork on both sides.

In older flats, opening base cabinets or bathroom walls may reveal old drainage, leaks or insufficient power. A contingency is sensible, but contingency must not mean “scope TBD”. State where opening for inspection may be needed, which substitute materials you accept, and when works must pause for confirmation.

Budget ranges you enter on the platform are your own direction only. They do not become a firm quote, and are not published as market rates. A firm’s private quote and the budget on your brief are separate; compare against the firm’s written items.

Three firms, three totals—a big gap may not mean who is dear or cheap. One may include demolition and haulage while another assumes you clear debris; one may redo waterproofing while another only swaps fittings. List must-have items as a checklist and ask replies to mark included, not included, and needs on-site confirmation.

On Homore, you save the brief first, then explicitly choose firms to send it to. If you later change budget direction, send an update so old enquiries are not silently overwritten. When comparing replies, use the same brief version — not mixed old messages.