Ministers Browne and Cummins issue new Planning Standards for Apartments
- Published on: 8 July 2025
- Last updated on: 8 July 2025
- new guidelines to make apartment building more viable
- improvements won’t compromise disability, fire safety, or environmental requirements
The Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage, James Browne, and the Minister of State with responsibility for Planning, John Cummins, today issued guidelines aimed at striking a balance between ensuring that apartment development meets the needs of society in terms of standards and quality, while promoting an increased level of delivery overall.
The ‘Planning Design Standards for Apartments, Guidelines for Planning Authorities (2025)’ set out revised standards for apartment development in relation to matters including apartment mix; internal space standards for different types of apartments; dual aspect ratios; floor to ceiling heights; stair/lift core ratios; storage spaces; and amenity spaces including balconies/patios.
Issuing the Guidelines, the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage James Browne said:
“The revised National Planning Framework sets out the need to plan for approximately 50,000 additional households per annum to 2040, and reaffirms the government’s commitment to compact growth in our urban areas as our population changes and further grows.
“If we are to achieve a serious acceleration in housing delivery, we have to engage every mechanism available to achieve our ambition for people to have the homes they need to grow up and grow old in.
“Today we are publishing the new Planning Design Standards for Apartments. They are timely given the urgent need to increase housing supply and to address the viability issues relating to the delivery of apartments. The supply of apartments is critical to meeting the needs of our people, forming a crucial part of the overall mix of homes that are needed, particularly in locations that are close to existing facilities and services. The minimum standards I am introducing today compare favorably with European norms.
“The changes being made, when compared to the previous Guidelines, will likely result in some cases in an average of €50k and up to €100k cost reduction per unit and get will get apartment building moving. Crucially, this will be done without compromising on disability, fire regulations, or environmental requirements.”
Minister Browne has also today received government approval to bring forward amendments to the Planning and Development Amendment Bill (2025) to enable a development schemes which currently benefit from planning permission but have not been commenced to be altered without the need for a new planning application.
Minister of State Cummins added:
“Rising construction costs have had a major impact on the delivery of apartments. The reforms being brought forward today, coupled with recent measures, demonstrate the government’s commitment to ensure that apartment development can be realised in our cities and towns.
“Both Minister Browne and I are moving at speed to implement a wide suite of measures and reforms which will assist us in increasing the delivery of all forms of housing across the country.
“A key consideration in bringing forward these changes was a desire to ensure we did not see apartment schemes going back to the start of the planning process for redesign. That is why government approval has been received today to bring forward amendments to the Planning and Development Amendment Bill (2025) to enable development schemes which currently benefit from planning permission, but have not been commenced, to be altered without the need for a new planning application.
“This is a common sense and practical time bound measure, which is carefully calibrated to ensure changes can be made to the internal layout of a permitted structure which may assist with the viability of proposed schemes that have not been commenced.
“The introduction of these revised planning standards will further incentivise construction - ensuring that high standards of accommodation for future occupants will be retained while addressing the under-supply of apartments.”
Further information
Background
The National Planning Framework (NPF) was revised in 2025, setting out the need to plan for approximately 50,000 additional households per annum to 2040, and reaffirming the government’s commitment to compact growth.
Fulfilling these commitments will require a substantial increase in housing output of all types, and in particular apartments at central and accessible urban locations.
Viability presents an ongoing challenge to housing delivery, and in particular the delivery of 'build-to-sell' apartments where a considerable gap has emerged between the cost of delivering apartment development and comparable general housing market prices.
Increased costs also present an ongoing challenge to the delivery of social and affordable housing schemes.
The overall purpose of these Guidelines is to strike an effective regulatory balance; ensuring that apartment development meets the needs of society in terms of standards and quality, while promoting an increased level of output overall.
Planning Design Standards for Apartments, Guidelines for Planning Authorities (2025)
The Guidelines replace the Sustainable Urban Housing: Design Standards for New Apartments Guidelines for Planning Authorities, last issued in 2023 (and all preceding updates), as Ministerial Guidelines under Section 28 of the Act.
Among the key issues addressed include:
- sustainable and compact growth: Increased densities at locations that are central to urban centres and/or accessible by good quality public transport services, which are particularly suited to apartment development
- changing household needs: Ongoing demographic and societal changes mean that a greater variety of apartment types need to be made available to house those that may wish to be accommodated in apartments
- viability: More flexible planning design standards relating to unit mix, apartment sizes, private open space provision, car parking and the internal configuration of apartment schemes will significantly reduce the cost of delivery
- reducing vacancies and dereliction: Additional flexibility is provided with regard to planning design standards for building refurbishment schemes on sites of any size and small urban infill schemes
- student accommodation: Policies for purpose-built student accommodation that promote greater consistency and cost savings
- the Guidelines address in detail:
- Apartment Mix: recognising that the unit mix requirements are impacting on the delivery cost of apartment schemes and that the mix may not support the best outcomes in terms of the units delivered
- Apartment Floor Areas: Ongoing demographic and societal changes mean that a greater variety of apartment types/sizes are required to house those that may wish to be accommodated in apartments, and a reduced space standard for studio apartments is provided
- Dual Aspect Ratios and Lift/Stair Cores: Greater certainty is required to allow greater standardisation in building design, flexibility and ultimately viability
- Private Open Space: Planning authorities may accept a reduced provision of private open space in certain circumstances where their value would be negligible
- Communal, Community and Cultural Facilities: The need for these facilities are not to be required as mandatory for individual apartment schemes and are to be determined at a broader level on a plan-led basis
The Guidelines are issued under Section 28 of the Planning and Development Act 2000, as amended. Section 28 of the Act provides that planning authorities and An Coimisiún Pleanála shall have regard to Ministerial guidelines in the performance of their functions. Where the guidelines contain specific planning policy requirements (SPPRs), planning authorities and An Coimisiún Pleanála are required to apply these requirements in the performance of their functions.
Additional notes on comparable apartment sizes
Minimum apartment sizes throughout Europe are regulated in a variety of ways, including via planning standards and/or building regulations. These regulatory arrangements may apply to an apartment as a whole (such as in Ireland and parts of the UK), to parts of an apartment, or to particular spaces or rooms within an apartment (as is common in continental Europe). Minimum standards may be fixed or based on the number of inhabitants and may vary from region to region, or from city to city, within a country.
As such the ability to provide a direct or 'like-for-like' comparison between minimum apartment sizes throughout Europe is limited. Some general estimates are as follows:
- France - the minimum living area is 33 sq. m for four people and 9 sq.m per bedroom. This would equate to 60-65 sq. m for a 2 bedroom 4 person unit.
- Spain - the minimum living space is 20 sqm (including living room and kitchen), 6 sq. m for single room and 8 sq. m for a double room. This would equate to 45-50 sqm for a 2 bedroom 4 person unit.
- Netherlands - the minimum area is 18 sq. m per person. This would equate to 75-80 sqm for a 2 bedroom 4 person unit.
The most direct comparison with Ireland be made with the UK Minimum Standards (NDDS 2015) that apply to London and all other cities:
| Number of bedrooms | Number of bed persons | UK NDDS standard UK NDDS standard 1 storey dwellings (sq. m) |
Ireland 2025 Apartment Guidelines (sq. m) |
| Studio | 1 | 37 | 32 |
| 1 | 2 | 50 | 45 |
| 2 | 3 | 61 | 63 |
| 4 | 70 | 73 | |
| 3 | 4 | 74 | 76 |
| 5 | 86 | 90 | |