What is exempted development and does a new house qualify?

How it works in Ireland

Section 32 of the 2000 Act says permission is required for development that is not exempted. A new dwelling is development and is not exempted, so owning the land does not remove the need to apply. Exempted development is for smaller work: certain extensions, garden structures, changes inside a building. The detail is in the schedules to the Planning and Development Regulations, which are amended regularly, so read the current consolidated version, not a summary.

Exemptions have conditions. They usually set a maximum floor area or height, a distance from boundaries, a limit on how much of the garden is covered, and rules for materials. Earlier extensions count towards the limits. An exemption can also be lost where a condition on the original permission removed it, where the site is in a protected area, or where the work needs an environmental assessment.

If you are not sure, ask the council for a declaration under section 5. It is a written decision on whether a described development is or is not exempted. Give an accurate description with drawings and measurements of what exists and what you propose; a vague description gets a vague answer. The declaration can be referred to the planning board if you disagree. A pre-planning consultation is not a declaration, and a planner’s remark at a meeting does not carry its weight.

For a self-builder this matters at three points. Early on, a garage, shed or temporary dwelling on the site is not automatically exempt and can create enforcement problems. During the build, changes from the permitted drawings are not covered by exemption simply because they look small. Later, an extension to the finished house may qualify, but only if the permission’s conditions leave the exemption in place.

If something was built without permission and was not exempt, the route is retention permission, which has its own rules and no guarantee. Checking first can show you never needed it.

Your solicitor will ask about this when you buy a house or site: unauthorised extensions affect title and lending. Keep the permission papers and any section 5 declaration with the house records.

A common mistake

Assuming that because the neighbour built a similar extension it is exempt. Their site may have different conditions, or they may have applied. Check your own grant, add up the earlier work, and ask the council in writing if there is any doubt.