Change of Use from Commercial to Residential

The Planning & Development (Amendment) Regulations 2018 provides an exemption for a period of time, for the change of use, and any related works, of certain vacant commercial premises to residential without the need to obtain planning permission.  

The amendment relates to existing buildings that have a current commercial use and which fall under Class 1, 2, 3, and 6 as outlined in Part 4 of Schedule 2 of the Principal Regulations and as now extended to cover Class 12 - Use as a Public House, meaning a premises which has been licenced for the sale and consumption of intoxicating liquor on the premises under the Licencing Acts 1833 to 2018 by the Planning & Development (Amendment) Regulations 2022.

The change of use, and any related works, must occur between when the 2018 Regulation came into operation on 8th February 2018 and the 31st December 2025 as extended by the Planning & Development (Amendment) Regulations 2022 (SI 75 of 2022).  Therefore, while the exempted development will be permanent in nature, the notification of intention to rely on the exemption can only be availed of for a temporary period ending on the 31st December 2025.

A Planning Authority must be notified in writing of the details of the development at least 2 weeks prior to the commencement of the proposed change of use, and related works, and the notification must include information on the location including Eircode, existing permitted use and details of the number of residential units being developed.  The Planning Authority is required to maintain a record of any notifications received, make the record publicly available online and at the office of the Local Authority, and submit annual returns to the Minister detailing the notifications received.

Anyone proposing to avail of this exemption to change commercial to residential use, must fully complete the notification form included below and meet the relevant conditions and limitations set out in the form.

It should be noted that the provision of an exemption does not remove the requirement to comply with the building regulations or any other code.  Primary responsibility for compliance with the Building Regulations rests with the owners, designers and builders of buildings.

• PL 01-2018 Dept Circular Amendments to Exempted Development
• PL 02-2022 P D (Exempted Development) Regs 2022 ‌
• WCC Notification Form - Exempted Dev Change of Use Exemption
• Bringing Back Homes - Manual for the Reuse of Existing Buildings
• 2019 Notifications
• 2020 Notifications
• 2021 Notifications ‌
• 2022 Notifications