HGTV: Who pays for the renovations on Celebrity IOU? Tue 29 December 2020 11:57 Celine Byford
Isabella Ramos
Published Apr 06, 2026
Celebrities pay their thanks to individuals by completely transforming their homes for them – but who pays for the renovations?
HGTV’s Celebrity IOU series came back on our screens on December 14th, with actress Zooey Deschanel appearing as the first guest of the season.
The renovation show, hosted by Drew and Jonathan Scott, sees celebrities take on special projects to transform homes.
So who actually pays for the Celebrity IOU renovations? Do the major transformations come with a big price tag? Let’s find out…
Celebrity IOU Season 2: What to expect
Celebrity IOU became the highest rated for a first year series in early 2020.
The four-episode season 2 is back, with the first episode showing Zooey Deschanel surprising her best friend with an open concept renovation.
Actress Allison Janney is then seen in episode 2, giving her assistant a space where she can cook and entertain.
In the third episode, actor Justin Hartley transforms his friend’s back yard.
For the final screening, The Office actor Rainn Wilson takes on a renovation project with the Scott brothers.
Who pays for the Celebrity IOU renovations?
In 2017, Jonathan revealed that when it comes to him and his brother’s HGTV shows, they put up the money for the renovations by themselves.
He said: “Everything to do with the project comes out of our pockets.”
The Property Brothers also reportedly pay for costs like asbestos and outdated wiring!
However, in the first season of Celebrity IOU, it was reported that Brad Pitt footed the bill when he starred on the renovation show.
This #CelebrityIOU show is good @hgtv 👍🏻❤️
— Amy Huggins (@HeyAmyHugg) December 29, 2020
WATCH CELEBRITY IOU ON HGTV EVERY MONDAY AT 9 PM ET/PT
