FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

 Yes. SEAI offers grants for energy upgrades through schemes including the National Home Energy Upgrade Scheme and Better Energy Homes, which can include support towards a Building Energy Rating (BER) assessment. See seai.ie/grants for full, current details.

 SEAI's home energy grants now run mainly through the National Home Energy Upgrade Scheme, using a One Stop Shop model where a registered provider manages your assessment, grant application, contractor and final BER. Grants are available for insulation (attic, cavity wall, internal and external wall, floor), heating upgrades (heat pumps and heating controls), windows, doors, ventilation, and solar PV or solar thermal. There's also the Warmer Homes Scheme, which offers fully funded upgrades for eligible homeowners, and individual grants under Better Energy Homes for those not going through the full upgrade route. Because grant amounts change from time to time, it's best to check current figures directly on seai.ie/grants rather than rely on a fixed list.

 The procedure is normally as follows. A first meeting or consultation takes place with your architect to form a proposed brief for the project. A detailed fee proposal is then issued so you can consider it before deciding to proceed. A survey may be required to accurately assess the site and confirm dimensions. A series of sketches is produced and talked through, so the brief is fully understood before moving into further detail. Once you've settled on a scheme, contact is usually made with planners and road engineers before drawings are finalised. Planning drawings are prepared, a final review session is held with you, and there may be conversations with neighbours to flag the scheme and address any concerns. Planning permission is then lodged, the site notice is installed, and your architect monitors the application through the system.

 Yes, subject to the exemptions set out under the Planning and Development Regulations 2001 (as amended). The garage must be attached to the dwelling for this exemption to apply.

 Generally 8 weeks from the date a valid application is received by the local authority. The site notice must stay in place for 5 weeks from the date the application was lodged. If a Further Information request is issued, the local authority must decide within 4 weeks of receiving your response (or within 4 weeks of a clarification, if one is requested). If a decision is appealed, appeals now go to An Coimisiún Pleanála, which replaced An Bord Pleanála in 2025, and the Commission's target is to decide appeals within 18 weeks.

 On receipt of the final grant, a commencement notice must be submitted not less than 14 days and not more than 28 days before you intend to start work, along with the relevant fee (currently €30, or €30 for an entire apartment block regardless of the number of units). Work cannot begin on site until the notice has been validated.

 As of 2026, this exemption was increased: a single storey rear extension can now be up to 45 sq m (including any previous extensions) without needing planning permission, up from the previous 40 sq m limit. Two storey extensions still generally follow additional limits on the first floor area (commonly cited as up to 12 sq m for semi-detached or terraced houses, and up to 20 sq m for detached houses), and any part of an extension above ground floor level must be at least 2m from a party boundary. The rear garden remaining after the extension must not be reduced below 25 sq m. Because these rules changed this year, it's worth confirming the specifics with us or your local authority before finalising plans.

 No, provided it is at least 2m from a public road or footpath, no more than 2 sq m in area, and no taller than 3m for a flat roof or 4m for a pitched roof.

 Yes, this is not exempted development. An existing garage, however, may still be converted without permission, as above.

 Yes, this is not exempted development. A porch, however, can be exempted at the front, as above.

 Yes, provided the wall is no more than 2m high to the rear, and no more than 1.2m high to the front or forward of the front of the house.

 Yes, provided there is only one per house, it is no more than 1m in diameter, it is not erected on or forward of the front wall, and it is not on the front roof slope or higher than the highest part of the roof.