The Irish Government plans to allow people to build homes in their back gardens without planning permission and rent them out privately, with the new regulations set to be reviewed within 18 months
Cillian Sherlock and Gráinne Ní Aodha Press Association
17:50, 21 Apr 2026
Modular house being built inside a factory (Stock)
A plan to permit garden homes to be constructed without planning permission and made available for private rental is set to be reviewed within 18 months.
The revised regulations, which received Cabinet approval on Tuesday, are designed to provide “an added layer of potential supply” in the rental market and to “free up the planning system” from an over-concentration on smaller developments, Taoiseach Micheál Martin said. Housing Minister James Browne confirmed that the units would not be counted towards the Government’s annual housing figures.
The Government intends to exempt units ranging between 32 and 45 square metres situated in rear gardens from the requirement for planning permission. Under the new regulations, it is anticipated that 25 square metres of garden must remain untouched, and side access to the property will be mandatory.
Housing Minister James Browne(Image: Grainne Ni Aodha/PA Wire )
The Government plans to permit the homes to be privately rented out, though tenants would not be afforded protection under the Residential Tenancies Acts 2004–2026. As part of Budget 2027, the Government will explore bringing the regulations under the Rent-a-Room Relief scheme, which enables homeowners who rent out a room to earn up to 14,000 euros tax-free.
Housing advocacy group Threshold has raised concerns that “substandard” garden units could be let without adequate inspections, while planners warned that making them available for private rental “risks unintended consequences for residential amenity, infrastructure, access, parking and enforcement etc”. Additional proposed exempted development regulations for residential properties include provisions for dormer roof lights and rear extensions, with the permitted size increasing from 40 to 45 square metres.
The Department of Housing noted that the exempted development regulations have not been significantly updated in nearly 25 years.
Speaking as he arrived at Cabinet on Tuesday morning, Mr Browne indicated that the proposal would be reviewed within 18 months of the new regulations coming into effect.
When questioned about projected figures on the number of units expected to be built under this exemption, Mr Browne said: “It’s about simplification, it’s not about trying to extrapolate how many there’s going to be.”
Mr Martin acknowledged there were “very serious challenges in housing”, particularly regarding the supply of rental accommodation. “This is just an added layer of potential supply to the market, which is very, very important,” he said.
“We have to pull out all the stops to deal with housing because the younger generation need access, and anything that takes pressure off the rental market is a positive in my view.
“I think there’s a broader conversation about rental protections and tenancy protections for people who are in a licensed agreement outside the traditional tenancy agreement. That’s not a reason not to go ahead with this and people have been waiting a long time for this.”
Tánaiste and finance minister Simon Harris declared on Tuesday: “I think it’s important that we take the planner out of the back garden, and that we enable planners to be freed up to work on critical infrastructure, to work on major housing developments, and provide people in this country with a degree of flexibility around what they choose to do with their own garden.
“Obviously, they’ve got to operate within regulations, building standards and the like, but I think this is a positive measure in a housing emergency, but also I think it’s a positive planning reform measure too.”
He went on to say: “There is a housing emergency, and we have to, and I believe this instinctively, we have to remove bureaucracy and administration and red tape and make it as easy as possible for people to be able to have homes, have shelters, use their own garden space as well.
“But it is also important we look at this and keep it under tight review. So built into the proposal today will be a review within 18 months and I think that is important.”
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