Planning application fee for a new house in Ireland

The planning application fee for a new house is €65. Budget separately for drawings, notices, site assessments and any development contribution attached to the permission.

Confirm the fee category and amount with your council before paying. The filing charge is only a small part of the cost of getting a house ready for construction.

Check which fee applies

Use the fee category that matches your proposal. Schedule 9 of the Planning and Development Regulations 2001 sets the following house fees in the consolidation to the end of 2025. Its term “provision” includes carrying out works, a material change of use and retention of unauthorised development; the permission and retention charges differ.

Application	Fee
New house: permission	€65
House: retention	The greater of €195 or €2.50 per m² of gross floor space.
Improve, alter or extend an existing house	€34

Applications for other uses, outline permission and larger schemes have their own rows in the schedule. If your site includes anything beyond a house, such as a commercial element, read the full schedule.

Submission and appeal fees

The fee to comment on someone else’s house application (for example, a neighbour) is €20. You do not pay it on your own application. Comments must be lodged, with the fee, within 5 weeks of the council receiving the application. Article 168 exempts certain public bodies and councillors acting in that capacity. See how to apply for how the process runs.

Appeal fees are separate from the council submission fee. The standard non-commercial house appeal fees in October 2026 are:

• Your own appeal: €220 if there is no retention element, or €660 if it includes retention.
• A third-party appeal: €220.
• An observation on an appeal: €50.
• A request for an oral hearing: €50.

An Coimisiún Pleanála handles these appeals. Reduced rates and exemptions exist. If An Coimisiún Pleanála invites you to comment on appeal documents it sends you, there is no fee. Check the category before paying. Objections and appeals covers the process.

Calculate the retention fee for a house

For retention of a house, the rule is €195 or €2.50 per square metre of gross floor space, whichever is greater. Other development classes also have area-based fees; this example is specifically for a house.

Floor area	Retention fee calculation
60 m²	€2.50 × 60 = €150; pay the €195 minimum.
78 m²	€2.50 × 78 = €195; both methods give the same fee.
150 m²	€2.50 × 150 = €375; pay €375.
220 m²	€2.50 × 220 = €550; pay €550.

At 78 m², the two calculations give the same result. These worked examples illustrate the fee rule; they are not council quotes.

Round any fractional square metre up before multiplying: article 167 counts a remaining fraction of the specified area unit as a complete unit. Confirm the gross floor space with your designer and council before paying.

If the application is invalid

If your application is invalid, the council must return the application fee when it sends the invalidity notice (article 26(6)). You still lose time and may have paid for newspaper publication, drawings or work to correct the application. Those costs are separate from the refunded filing fee.

Check the notices, documents and payment together before lodging. Use the application checklist for the full process. Before lodging, check:

• Use a newspaper on the council’s approved list and the prescribed site-notice format.
• Publish the newspaper notice and erect the site notice within the two weeks before lodging. Article 17 allows receipt on the next open day if the final day falls when council offices are closed; confirm the deadline before relying on that rule.
• Make the development description, applicant details and location consistent throughout the form, notices and drawings.
• Include the required maps, plans, owner consent where relevant, and evidence of site suitability for a proposed wastewater system.
• Ask the council what paper copies are needed for your chosen submission route. Do not assume uploading a file removes every document requirement.
• Keep the site notice legible for at least five weeks after receipt of the application, replacing it if needed. Follow any later notice requirements too.

A practical lodging sequence

1. Agree the design and supporting assessments with your designer before buying newspaper space.
2. Draft both notices from the council’s current forms and check them against the application.
3. Confirm the fee category and payment method, including how to identify an online payment against the application.
4. Schedule publication, site-notice erection and submission within the notice window. Mark the notice position on the location map.
5. Keep proof of submission and payment, and check the council’s validation response promptly.

Costs the fee does not cover

Budget item	What to arrange
Council fee	Pay the planning authority €65 for a house; confirm the category first.
Newspaper notice	Get a quote from an approved newspaper. Prices vary.
Site notice	Pay for printing and a weatherproof mount. Replace a missing or illegible notice at once.
Drawings and documents	Agree a written scope and quote with your architect, designer or engineer.
Wastewater assessment	Budget for an assessor and percolation test where there is no public sewer. See site suitability.
Maps	Get the required map from a mapping supplier. Show the site-notice position on the location map.
Contribution	Check any separate council contribution condition, the scheme, any applicable waiver and the payment deadline.

Keep the filing fee separate in your budget from professional services and later contributions. Ask for a pre-planning consultation before finalising an uncertain proposal, but remember that the advice does not guarantee permission. See one-off house planning for how that fits the process.

A €65 filing fee does not cover a development contribution attached to the permission. Section 48 of the Planning and Development Act 2000 allows contribution conditions and schemes with reductions or exemptions. Before setting your construction budget, ask the council for the calculation behind your condition and the applicable payment arrangements. Keep the response with your permission documents, and ask your solicitor or designer about any uncertainty rather than assuming the application payment has covered it.

Ask the council before you pay

1. Does the council take the fee online or by card at the counter, and what is the cut-off for same-day lodgement?
2. Is the newspaper I plan to use on the approved list?
3. How many paper copies, if any, do you need alongside the digital submission?
4. How do you measure gross floor space for the fee?
5. Do you have a fee calculator, and do I need to include its printout?

Include these early costs in your finance plan before construction begins. When permission is granted, arrange site and contract works cover.