The government is proposing to ease restrictions on the construction of standalone structures in the gardens of private dwellings to facilitate their use as habitable structures.
There have been a number of notable cases around the country over the years where the enforcement element of the current planning laws has been applied to people who have constructed standalone dwellings on land owned by them.
While outdoor structures are permitted, they cannot, under current regulations, be used as dwellings.
What are the current Planning Regulations relating to such cabins at present?
- No such structure shall be constructed, erected or placed forward of the front wall of a house.
- The total area of such structures constructed, erected or placed within the curtilage of a house shall not, taken together with any other such structures previously constructed, erected or placed within the said curtilage, exceed 25 square metres.
- The construction, erection or placing within the curtilage of a house of any such structure shall not reduce the amount of private open space reserved exclusively for the use of the occupants of the house to the rear or to the side of the house to less than 25 square metres.
- The external finishes of any garage or other structure constructed, erected or placed to the side of a house, and the roof covering where any such structure has a tiled or slated roof, shall conform with those of the house.
- The height of any such structure shall not exceed, in the case of a building with a tiled or slated pitched roof, 4 metres or, in any other case, 3 metres.
- The structure shall not be used for human habitation or for the keeping of pigs, poultry, pigeons, ponies or horses, or for any other purpose other than a purpose incidental to the enjoyment of the house as such.
Source: 2001 Planning and Development Regulations
In essence, current regulations permit the use of such structures for purposes ancillary to the main dwelling and not for full time habitation. The size is also quite restrictive making the vast majority unsuitable for full time use as a dwelling.
What is the Government proposing?
The Government is proposing to relax restrictions to allow for larger detached, standalone structures by increasing the scope of the current exempted development regulations. The current Minister for Housing wants new exempted development regulations which would remove the requirement for the extension to be attached to the main dwelling. However, it has been flagged that the proposed regulations will only permit such structures if there sufficient space to the rear of the property (25m2 minimum) is available.
The current maximum size of a ground floor, single storey extension that can be constructed without planning permission is 40m2 and it is likely that this is the maximum size of any structure that will be permitted under the changed regulations. The relaxation of the rules will apply, therefore, to rural areas and houses with larger rear gardens where such structures can be accommodated without reducing garden space to below an acceptable level. Other restrictions on height will also apply.
An update of the current 2001 Exempted Development Regulations with the proposed changes will take place following a public consultation.
Most examples of outdoor rooms that we have inspected as part of our pre-purchase surveys do not comply with current building regulations applicable to dwellings. There should be a parallel process to decide on minimum building regulation standards for such structures with regard to issues such as insulation, waste water disposal, materials and workmanship as well as structural considerations to ensure these buildings provide good quality accommodation. We have not come across any proposals in this regard.
Kelleher & Associates regularly provide Opinions on Compliance with Planning Regulations for outdoor rooms and cabins and can assess you property in terms of its suitability for the construction of a habitable cabin or other modular structure.