Kitchen Planning Permission Costs in Ireland: When You Need Approval and What It Adds to the Bill

Which Kitchen Projects Trigger Planning Permission in Ireland

Most kitchens inside an existing home do not need planning permission. Replacing units, worktops, appliances, or moving a sink a short distance along the same wall falls under exempted development under the Planning and Development Act 2000. The same applies to internal partitioning changes that do not alter the structure or fire safety of the house.

Planning permission becomes necessary when you change the footprint of your home. A rear or side extension for a kitchen, a garage conversion that increases floor area, or a substantial change to the roof structure all require it. Converting a shed or outbuilding into a kitchen is rarely exempt, because it changes the use of the building.

Your local authority decides whether your project qualifies as exempted development, not your builder or architect. If you are in doubt, the planning department's pre-planning consultation service gives a written opinion for a small fee, usually around €35-€70 depending on the county, before you commit to design fees.

• Internal kitchen refit with existing walls unchanged: exempt
• Rear extension under 40 sq m on a house over 250 sq m: may be exempt under specific conditions
• Any extension that increases the house floor area beyond 40 sq m: planning permission required
• Conversion of an attic into a kitchen: often requires permission due to fire escape rules
• Change of use of an outbuilding or garage into a kitchen: planning permission required

The Cost of a Planning Application for a Kitchen Extension

The planning authority fee for a domestic extension is calculated per square metre of new floor area. As of 2025, the standard fee is €65 per square metre, with a minimum charge of €65 and a maximum of €2,600 per application. A 25 sq m kitchen extension therefore costs €1,625 in application fees alone.

On top of the authority fee, you will pay for the drawings and the application pack. An architect or architectural technician typically charges €1,500-€3,500 for a domestic extension set, including site plan, floor plans, elevations, and the standard application forms. Some practices offer a fixed fee for the full planning submission, which includes responding to any requests for further information from the council.

Budget for other related costs. The planning application itself is one part; you may also need a site survey (€200-€500), an engineer's report for structural changes (€300-€800), and possibly a fee for the council's pre-planning opinion. Together these add roughly €500-€1,300 before the authority fee and design fees are even counted.

Building Control Fees and the Commencement Notice

Planning permission is separate from building regulation compliance. Even where exempt from planning, a kitchen extension that involves structural work, new drainage, or a change to the building's energy performance must be registered with the Building Control Authority. You submit a Commencement Notice (CN) through the Building Control Management System (BCMS) before work starts.

The CN itself does not carry a large fee - the online submission is free, though your architect or engineer will charge for preparing the compliance documentation. That documentation includes the Preliminary Fire Safety Assessment and confirmation that the design meets Part L (energy) and Part E (sound) regulations. The professional fee for this pack typically runs €800-€1,800.

Larger kitchen extensions often trigger a more formal route: Assigned Certification. Under the Building Control (Amendment) Regulations 2014, any extension over 40 sq m must have a registered design certifier and assigned certifier who inspect the works and certify that the finished building complies with regulations. Their combined fees for a domestic project usually fall between €1,500 and €3,500, depending on the number of inspection visits required.

Worked Example: A 30 sq m Rear Kitchen Extension in Dublin

To see how the costs stack up, take a typical scenario in Dublin: a semi-detached house gets a 30 sq m single-storey rear extension to open up the kitchen into a family dining space. This project clearly needs planning permission, because the extension makes the total floor area exceed the 40 sq m exempted limit once you count the existing house footprint.

Start with the planning application. The council fee is 30 sq m at €65 each - exactly €1,950. Your architect charges €2,800 for the full design pack and planning submission, and the pre-planning consultation costs €40. Add a site survey at €350 and an engineer's report at €600 because the rear wall is load-bearing. That brings the planning-stage total to €5,740.

Once permission is granted, the building control stage begins. The architect prepares the compliance pack for €1,200, and the assigned certifier charges €2,200 for inspections through the build. The council's development contribution for a new floor area in this Dublin council area comes to €960. The combined planning and building control costs for this extension: €10,100.

Timeline and Delays That Add Costs

The planning authority has 8 weeks to make a decision on a domestic application once it is deemed valid, though incomplete submissions stop the clock. If the council requests further information, you get a minimum of 4 weeks to respond, and the decision deadline resets. In busy periods, a simple extension can take 10-14 weeks from first submission to a grant of permission.

Each additional week of delay has a cost. If you are living in rented accommodation while the kitchen is being done, an extended planning phase pushes that rental bill up. Contractors and suppliers may hold stage payments or re-quote if materials prices change between the design and construction phase. Inflation in building materials between a 6-month and a 9-month overall timeline can add 1-3% to the build cost.

Appeals add the biggest cost. A third-party appeal against your permission to An Bord Pleanála typically takes 18-24 weeks and costs €220 to lodge. If you need professional help preparing the appeal response, an architect will charge another €1,000-€2,000. Most straightforward kitchen extensions on existing houses never reach this stage, but neighbours' objections during the initial submission can trigger an appeal.

• Initial decision target: 8 weeks
• Further information request: adds 4+ weeks
• Appeal to An Bord Pleanála: 18-24 weeks common
• Simple kitchen extension: budget 6-12 months from design to start of construction

When You Can Skip Planning Permission Entirely

If your kitchen project is purely internal and does not touch the building envelope, you avoid all planning authority fees. The only mandatory cost is the Commencement Notice if you are carrying out works that require it - for example, replacing a load-bearing wall with a steel beam. That Notice itself is free to submit, but you still pay an engineer to design the structural detail and complete the BCMS paperwork.

Side extensions on one-storey houses have special exempted development rules. Under current regulations, a side extension of up to 25 sq m is exempt from planning on a one-storey detached house, provided it is not wider than half the original house, does not come within 1 metre of the boundary, and the total floor area of the house stays under 250 sq m. This route saves the planning fee but still requires full building control compliance.

The cheapest compliant route is a modular or freestanding kitchen structure in the garden, such as a studio or garden room used as a kitchen annexe. If the structure is not attached to the main house and sits more than a certain distance from it, it may qualify as exempt under the same floor area limits. However, if you intend to cook in it, the building control regulations on ventilation, gas, and electrical isolation still apply strictly, so the professional fees never completely disappear.

What a Professional Quote Should Include for the Approval Process

When you request quotes from architects or design-build firms for a kitchen extension, ask them to itemise planning and building control costs separately from construction. A lump-sum figure that bundles approval with building work makes it hard to compare quotes and hides how much of the bill is for the regulatory side. A reputable firm will show the authority fee, their design fee, the engineer's costs, and the inspection fees as separate lines.

Be clear about who handles each step. A full design-and-build contractor will often manage the planning application, the building control submission, and the inspections for you, but they charge a project management margin on top - typically 10-15% of the construction cost. An architect-led route gives you more control but requires you to liaise with the certifier and the council yourself, which adds time rather than money.

Finally, check whether your mortgage lender or home insurance provider has conditions. Some lenders require a copy of the grant of planning permission before releasing a drawdown on a renovation loan, and many insist on a building control compliance certificate at the end. Failure to produce these documents can delay your funding or invalidate part of your insurance cover, so include this requirement in your project plan from the start.