🏗️ Planning Permission Checker
Do I need planning permission?
Many home projects in Ireland are exempted development — no planning permission needed — if they stay inside specific limits. This checks your project against those limits and shows which conditions pass, which fail, and which only you can check.
- Figures reviewed October 2026
- Free, no account needed
- Your figures stay in your browser
What this means
A single failed condition removes the exemption for the whole project, not just the part that is over. A 42 m² extension needs permission for all 42 m², not 2.
Earlier extensions count against the 40 m² allowance, including ones built by a previous owner. If you are buying a house, check what has already been used.
Once permission is needed, the planning authority has 8 weeks to decide from a valid application, longer if it requests further information. See what the work is likely to cost and check the builder before you commit.
Important assumptions
Every figure on this page rests on these. Where one does not match your situation, the answer moves — sometimes a great deal.
- Covers houses only — not apartments, which have very few exemptions.
- Applies the Planning and Development Regulations 2001 as amended, including the 2022 solar amendments. The Planning and Development Act 2024 is being commenced in stages; check your council for any change to exemptions.
- Some conditions — window distances, roof heights, finishes — need measurements this tool does not ask for, and are shown as “check this yourself”.
- Protected structures, conservation areas and conditions on earlier permissions are taken from your answers; the council’s development plan is authoritative.
Official sources
Where this tool applies a published rule, this is where the rule comes from. Check the source before acting on anything that matters.
- Planning and Development Regulations 2001, Schedule 2
The exempted development classes and their conditions.
- Citizens Information — Planning permission
Plain-English guide to exemptions and Section 5 declarations.
- gov.ie — Planning leaflets
Department guidance on exempted development for householders.
- ePlanning.ie — council planning search
Planning history and nearby applications for your site, for participating councils.
Common questions
Can I build a garden room without planning permission?
Yes, up to 25 m² behind the front wall of the house, within the height limits and leaving 25 m² of garden — as long as nobody lives or sleeps in it. A garden room used as a bedroom or granny flat needs permission.
Do I need planning permission for solar panels?
Not on the roof of most houses since 2022, provided you are outside a Solar Safeguarding Zone and not on a protected structure. In an Architectural Conservation Area, panels on a roof facing a road need permission.
What is a Section 5 declaration?
A formal ruling from your local authority on whether a specific project is exempt. The fee is €80. It is the only way to be certain short of applying for permission.
Related checks
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Quote CheckerNewShould I hire this company?
Check a trader or company against the public evidence — CRO, VAT, insurance, references, terms — before you pay a deposit.
Should I Hire This Company?What is this house worth?
An indicative value from Property Price Register sales in the area.
Property ValuationWhat to check next
Picked for what you just worked out — not a list of everything we make.
- Get quotes from buildersDrawings and the build are the real budget. Posting the job once beats ringing round.tradequote.ie · ours
- See the extension firstThree renders of your own house before you commit to a builder — cheaper than a revision round.extensionvision.ie · ours
- What it does to the valueWorth knowing whether the extension pays for itself before you draw it.
- What neighbours have applied forNearby decisions show what the council has accepted on similar houses.
CheckIreland is independent and is not affiliated with the Irish Government or any public body. This tool is general information built on published rules and typical costs — it is not financial, tax or legal advice, and it does not account for your individual circumstances. Confirm anything that matters with the relevant body or a qualified adviser before acting on it.