Most bathroom and kitchen jobs in the Algarve are one of two things: a like for like refit that keeps the plumbing where it is, or a rebuild that moves it. They cost very different amounts. Handyman Algarve quotes both in writing, with labour and materials separated, before anything is stripped out.
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A bathroom or kitchen renovation in the Algarve is priced by how far the services move, not by the size of the room. Keeping the plumbing and electrics in place makes it a finishing job; moving them means chasing walls, lifting floors and a much longer programme. Handyman Algarve quotes renovation work in the Algarve for free, in English or Portuguese, with labour and materials separated and the cost known before anything is stripped out.
A bathroom is a wet room with four fittings in it. A kitchen is a wet room with a gas or electric supply, a ventilation route, an appliance list that dictates the cabinetry, and a worktop that has to be measured after the units are level rather than before. That is why a kitchen usually takes longer than its bathroom equivalent even when the plumbing does not move: the critical path runs through the worktop, and a stone or solid-surface top is templated on site and then made, which is dead time in the middle of the job rather than at the end of it. That is also where two kitchen quotes for the same room stop being comparable: one that prices the worktop from a drawing and one that prices it from a site template are pricing different risks, and the first sign a homeowner sees is a revised figure arriving after the units are in, with the room already stripped.
Two things decide an Algarve kitchen more than taste does. Older units here are often too shallow for a current dishwasher or oven, so the appliance list has to be settled before the layout, not after. And extraction is frequently the item nobody planned: an apartment with no duct to an outside wall needs a recirculating hood and a filter routine, or a route that has to be agreed with the condominium before anything is ordered.
There is a second reason worth knowing, and it decides whether a kitchen is also a paperwork job. Since 1 October 2026, article 6.º n.º 1 b) of the RJUE, in the wording republished by Decreto-Lei n.º 108/2026, exempts from a licence and from a comunicação prévia alteration works inside a building or flat that, together, (i) involve no exterior change with an impact on the building's physical or aesthetic characteristics, namely its heights, facades, roofs or coverings, and (ii) do not affect the building's stability or, where they do intervene in it, come with a stability project, a statement of responsibility by a qualified technician declaring that the works, taken as a whole, improve or do not harm the stability structure, and, where the law requires one, a seismic reinforcement project, all delivered with the start-of-works information. These works are still notified to the câmara, and since the same date the owner or the works director also posts a notice at the site, visible from the public road, both at least five days before work starts (article 6.º n.º 12 and article 80.º-A n.os 1 and 5). Separately, operations that result in the removal of facade tiles (azulejos) are on the RJUE's licence list (article 4.º n.º 2 i)). Cutting a new extraction duct out through an exterior wall is the point at which a kitchen stops being purely interior, and whether a given opening is an exterior change with an impact on the facade is a classification for your câmara or your technician, not for a contractor and not for this page. Source: Decreto-Lei n.º 555/99 (RJUE), arts. 4.º, 6.º and 80.º-A, as republished by Decreto-Lei n.º 108/2026, in force since 1 October 2026, read on 1 October 2026. National scope. Until 30 September 2026 the alínea read differently, which is why this paragraph is dated.
Three of them, in order of how expensive they are. Moving plumbing for cosmetic reasons, when the same look was available in the existing layout. Choosing tiles and sanitaryware after work has started, so the job stops waiting for a delivery while the room is unusable. And skipping the tanking behind a shower because it is invisible, which is the single most common reason an Algarve bathroom needs redoing again in five years.
It can. Portugal's reduced VAT rate on the mainland is 6 per cent, and verba 2.27 of Lista I to the VAT code applies it to contracted works of improvement, remodelling, renovation, restoration, repair or conservation on a property, or an autonomous fraction, allocated to housing. It does not require the property to sit inside an urban rehabilitation area, and it does not require it to be your permanent home. Those are conditions from two other verbas, and all three rules get merged constantly: the urban rehabilitation area belongs to verba 2.23, and the permanent home to verba 2.42.1, a 2026 rule aimed at whoever builds or rehabilitates a dwelling for sale or letting rather than at whoever lives in it. Cleaning, green-space maintenance, work on pools, saunas, tennis courts, golf, minigolf and similar installations are outside it, and so are new construction, extensions, adding a storey and reconstruction.
The rest turns on how the invoice is written. There has to be a contract of empreitada; the property must not be licensed for another purpose and has to be actually used as a dwelling both when the works start and after them, which puts a property used for a professional, commercial, industrial or service activity outside the verba; and the dono da obra may be the owner, the tenant or the condominium. Materials count: if the incorporated materials are 20 per cent or less of the total, the whole invoice goes at 6 per cent; above that, labour and materials must be itemised, at 6 per cent and 23 per cent respectively. The trap is the third case, and it only exists above the 20 per cent line: once materials pass it, an invoice issued at one global price, without labour and materials split out, loses the verba entirely and is taxed at 23 per cent throughout. Below 20 per cent that risk does not arise, because the whole invoice is at 6 per cent anyway. The invoice also has to state the reduced rate under verba 2.27 and identify the dono da obra and the property. Source: Código do IVA, article 18.º n.º 1 a) and verba 2.27 of Lista I, with Autoridade Tributária binding information, read in August 2026. National scope.
Nothing here says whether a particular job qualifies. That is for whoever issues the invoice, which is exactly why it is worth asking before comparing two quotes: one of them may be at 6 and the other at 23. If someone tells you the answer depends on your town being in an ARU, that is verba 2.23, and the câmara of your concelho is where that question is answered.
As of 2026, the quote is driven by a short list of concrete things: whether plumbing and electrics move, whether the floor comes up, the square metres of tiling and the tile chosen, the specification of the sanitaryware or the kitchen units, waste removal and access, and whether the room is in a villa with a driveway or a third floor apartment with no lift. Labour and materials are quoted separately, because they behave differently: you can change the tile you buy without changing the work, and you should be able to see that.
No renovation is quoted properly from a description alone. The written quote follows a look at the room, and it says what is included, what is provisional, and what happens if something unexpected appears behind a wall. See how it works for the process from request to finished job.
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There is no single figure, because the same room can be a two week refit or a six week rebuild. What decides it is whether plumbing and electrics stay where they are, whether the floor comes up, what the tiles and sanitaryware cost, and how hard it is to get materials in and waste out. As of 2026, Handyman Algarve quotes the work in writing with labour and materials separated, free, before anything is stripped.
Moving the plumbing. Keeping the toilet, basin and shower where they are means the existing pipework stays, the floor stays, and the job is finishing work. Moving any of them means chasing walls or lifting the floor, which brings in waste, drying time and a second wave of tiling. The layout decision, made before anything is ordered, moves the price more than the choice of tiles ever will.
A like for like refit in an Algarve apartment is commonly two to three weeks of working days, and a full rebuild with moved plumbing runs longer. The programme is set by waiting rather than by work: screed and tile adhesive have to cure, and a sanitaryware or shower tray item that is out of stock stops everything. Ordering the slow items before demolition starts is what keeps a job on schedule.
Your câmara decides which procedure, if any, a job needs. Since 1 October 2026, article 6.º n.º 1 b) of the RJUE exempts from a licence and a comunicação prévia interior alterations that involve no exterior change with an impact on the physical or aesthetic characteristics of the building and either leave its stability unaffected or come with a stability project and a statement of responsibility by a qualified technician; they are still notified to the câmara at least five days ahead (article 80.º-A). Ask your câmara municipal and, in an apartment, your condominium before ordering materials, not after the wall is open.
In a house with a second bathroom, usually yes. With one bathroom, expect several days with no working toilet or shower around the plumbing and tiling stages, and plan for that before demolition rather than during it. Kitchens are easier to live around if a temporary sink and a working socket are kept somewhere until the new units are in.
There is no useful average, because a kitchen is priced by what the work forces you to move, not by the size of the room. What decides it is whether the plumbing, gas and electrics change position, whether there is an extraction route to an outside wall, the appliance list that dictates the units, and the worktop material, which is only measured once the units are level. In 2026, Handyman Algarve quotes in writing, with labour and materials separated, free of charge.
It is the classic bathroom change, and it is usually straightforward because the drain and the water supply are already in the right corner. It gains floor space, it is far easier to use for anyone with limited mobility, and in a holiday home it is what most guests prefer. The one honest caution is resale: a property with no bath at all can put off buyers with small children.