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Garden Office Planning Permission in Ireland

Most garden offices in Ireland do not need planning permission. An office is exempt when it sits behind or beside the house, all the garden buildings together are no more than 30 m², 25 m² of private open space is left, it is no higher than 3 m (4 m with a tiled or slated pitched roof), and it is not lived in. The 30 m² limit was 25 m² until 2026.

The six conditions, the three things that catch people, and how to get the council's answer in writing.

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  • 30 m²all garden buildings together
  • 3 mhigh, or 4 m with a tiled or slated pitch
  • 25 m²of open garden left
  • €80for the council's answer in writing

The six conditions

  • Behind or beside the house. Never forward of the front wall.
  • 30 m² in total. The office plus every shed, garage and greenhouse already in the garden. It was 25 m² until 2026.
  • 25 m² of open space left. Private garden to the rear or side, after the office goes in.
  • 3 m high at most. 4 m if it has a tiled or slated pitched roof.
  • At the side of the house, the finish has to match the house.
  • Not lived in. No bedroom, no letting. The use has to go with the house.

The limits are Class 3 of the planning exemptions, as amended by S.I. No. 338 of 2026, which raised the total from 25 m² to 30 m².

A long, low building in black metal cladding with a cedar-lined porch, on a lawn
A long, low building with a flat roof on a lawn. Under 3 m high and behind the house, a building like this is within the exemption if the areas add up.

Three things that catch people

  • The 30 m² is a total. A 10 m² shed that has been there for years leaves 20 m² for the office. Garages and greenhouses count too.
  • The 25 m² of open space. In a small town garden this bites before the 30 m² does. Measure what is left once the office is in.
  • The height is measured to the top. A 2.5 m building on a raised base on sloping ground can pass 3 m at the low side.

Working from it, and who calls

The exemption covers a use that goes with living in the house. Your own desk, your own calls and your own screen are that kind of use, and it is what most garden offices are built for.

Staff working there, or clients and customers calling to the door, is a business run from a house. That is a different planning question from the building itself. If that is the plan, ask the council before you build, not after a neighbour does.

Nobody can live in it. A bed, a letting or a granny flat takes it out of the exemption.

When you do need permission

  • The garden buildings together would pass 30 m².
  • Less than 25 m² of open garden would be left.
  • It is higher than 3 m, or 4 m with a tiled or slated pitched roof.
  • It would stand in front of the house.
  • The house is a protected structure, or the area's rules have taken the exemption away. Ask the council.
  • The planning permission for your estate has a condition that removes exemptions. It is rare, and worth a look at the grant.

Getting it in writing

Not sure? Ask the council for a section 5 declaration: its answer in writing on whether your office is exempt. The fee is €80. You send a drawing with the sizes, a site plan showing where it goes and a short description of the use. It is the council's formal answer, and it is worth having when you sell the house.

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Size your garden office

Four taps: what it's for, the garden, the finish and what's there already. You see the size that fits, our price for it and whether it needs planning permission. Your number is only asked for at the end, if you want one garden office company that covers your county to ring you.

What is the office for?

Pick the nearest. It decides the size.

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Questions people ask

Do I need planning permission for a garden office in Ireland?

Usually not, if it is behind the house, under 3 m, the garden buildings total 30 m² or less and 25 m² of garden is left.

What size garden office can I build without planning permission?

30 m² at most, less the floor area of any shed, garage or greenhouse already in the garden.

Can I run a business from a garden office?

Your own desk work is what the exemption is used for. Staff or customers calling is a different question: ask the council first.

Does a garden office with a toilet need planning permission?

A toilet is not named in the exemption. Living in the building is ruled out, so a toilet and a sink are a safer ask than a shower room. See offices with a toilet.

Can I put it in the front garden?

Not without planning permission. The exemption stops at the front wall of the house.

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