		HOME CONSERVATORIES GLASS BLINDS ACCESSORIES FURNITURE FLOORING HEATING Home Contact Us Advertise With Us Conservatory History Conservatories Sunrooms Conservatory Designs Orangery Planning Permission Building Regulations Conversions Sunrooms Conservatory Blinds Roman Blinds Pleated Blinds Roller Blinds Drapes Shutters Accessories Ceiling Fan Conservatory Plants Conservatory Lighting Conservatory Furniture Cane Furniture Contemporary Furniture Conservatory Flooring Conservatory Linoleum Conservatory Wood Flooring Conservatory Floor Tiles Conservatory Floor Laminate Conservatory Carpet Conservatory Stone Flooring Conservatory Flooring Vinyl Heating Radiators Open Fire Air Conditioning Conservatory Glass Double Glazing Thermal Glazing Self Cleaning Glass

Planning Permission

Small-scale domestic extensions, including conservatories, do not require planning permission if the extension is to the rear of the house and does not increase the original floor area of the house by more than 40 square metres under Irish planning law. That is 428 sq feet of internal floor space – little over 21’ x 21’ square. That’s a big room onto an average size house.

However, where there have been earlier extensions, this threshold is cumulative, so be careful you haven’t already added a porch or back hall that would eat into that 428 sq feet allowance.

The other main conditions are that the conservatory does not exceed the height of the house, and does not reduce the open space at the rear of the house to less than 25 square metres. So if you have a tight back garden do your measurements carefully.

There are also rules about the height allowed in such an extension. This is the section in the Irish Planning Acts referring to this:

These are that the walls of the extension (excluding any gable being built as part of the extension) shall not be higher than the rear wall of the house, but if the rear wall of the existing house has a gable, the walls of the extension (excluding any gable being built as part of the extension) shall not be higher than the side walls of the house, and in either case, no part of the new roof may exceed the highest part of the roof of the house, a gable is the upper part of a wall (normally triangular), between the sloping ends of a pitched roof.