Ministerial guidelines
Design Standards for Apartments: Guidelines for Planning Authorities
Apartment floor areas, mix, dual aspect, storage and amenity space. Replaced the 2023 apartment guidelines.
Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage · July 2025 · 48 pages
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- In recognition of the wide range of unit types that are required to meet varying household needs, these Guidelines have increased the range of unit types when compared with previous guidelines relating to apartment development. The minimum size of a studio apartment is also set at 32 sq.m in recognition of the fact that the previous minimum studio size was only 8sq.m smaller than the minimum 1 bedroom apartment and to enable modularity or ‘mix and match’ form of construction delivered with 2-bedroom three-person apartments. Specific Planning Policy Requirement 2 The following minimum apartment floor areas shall apply and statutory plans shall not specify minimum floor areas that exceed the minimum floor areas set out below: • Studio apartment (1 person) 32sq.m • 1-bedroom apartment (2 persons) 45 sq.m • 2 bedroom apartment (3 persons) 63 sq.m • 2-bedroom apartment (4 persons) 73 sq.m • 3-bedroom apartment (4 persons) 76 sq. m • 3-bedroom apartment (5 persons) 90 sq.m The floor area parameters set out above shall generally apply to apartment schemes and do not apply to purpose-built and managed student housing. For the purposes of clarity, all apartment floor area measurements should be internal wallto-wall dimensions. These standards apply to units on one floor. Duplex accommodation shall provide the additional floor area required to provide for stairways and landings. In the interests of delivering sustainable and good quality urban development, these Guidelines should be applied in a way that ensures a good mix of apartment sizes. Accordingly, at least 25% of units within a development shall exceed the minimum sizes set out in SPPR2 by 10%, with the potential for more than 25% of units to exceed the sizes set out in SPPR2 to be provided as required on a scheme-by-scheme basis in apartment schemes in more suburban locations, social housing developments, social and affordable housing delivered under Part V10 and schemes to provide housing for older persons and/or persons with disabilities. The recommendation that 25% of all apartments in a proposed scheme shall exceed the minimum floor area standard for any combination of the relevant studio, 1, 2 or 3 bedroom unit types, by a minimum of 10%, does not apply to any proposal with: • less than ten residential units; • or to building refurbishment schemes on sites of any size; • or urban infill schemes on sites of up to 0.25ha. 10 Or part VII of the Planning and Development Act 2024, once commenced. Page 15Planning Design Standards for Apartments | Guidelines for Planning Authorities | Chapter 3
- Where between 10 to 49 residential units are proposed, the above shall generally apply, but in order to allow for flexibility, it may be assessed on a case-by-case basis and if considered appropriate, reduced in part or a whole, subject to consideration, by the Planning Authority or An Coimisiún Pleanála of the overall design quality. 3.4 Dual Aspect Ratios The amount of sunlight reaching the interior of an apartment, depending on design and layout considerations, can significantly affect the amenities of the occupants. Dualaspect apartments, as well as maximising the availability of sunlight, also provide for cross ventilation and should be provided where possible. In duplex-type or smaller apartment blocks that form part of mixed ‘compact housing’ housing schemes, dual aspect provision is generally achievable. For larger apartment schemes where there may be a terraced or perimeter block pattern wholly or partly fronting a street, this may not be the case. However the design, layout and orientation of living spaces should be optimised to promote as much access to natural daylighting and ventilation as possible. It is a policy requirement that apartment schemes deliver 25% of the units as dual aspect, with an emphasis on ensuring that the larger units within a development are dual aspect where feasible. Where single aspect apartments are provided, the number of south facing units should be maximised, with west or east facing single aspect units also being acceptable. Living spaces in apartments should provide for direct sunlight for some part of the day. North facing single aspect apartments may be considered, where overlooking a significant amenity such as a public park, communal space or some other amenity feature (subject to environmental considerations such the impact of lighting on natural habitats). Particular care is needed where windows are located on lower floors that may be overshadowed by adjoining buildings. For building refurbishment schemes on sites of any size or urban infill schemes on sites of up to 0.25ha, these requirements may be relaxed in part, on a case-by-case basis, subject to overall design quality. For clarity, dual aspect apartments can include corner units and units accessed from open-air walkways. Specific Planning Policy Requirement 3 In relation to the minimum number of dual aspect apartments that may be provided in any single apartment scheme, the following shall apply: (i) A minimum of 25% of units within a development shall be required to be dual aspect. Statutory plans shall not specify minimum requirements that exceed the requirements of this Specific Planning Policy Requirement. (ii) For building refurbishment schemes on sites of any size or urban infill schemes on sites of up to 0.25ha, planning authorities may exercise further discretion to consider dual aspect unit provision at a level lower than the 25% minimum outlined above on a case-by-case basis, but subject to the achievement of overall high design quality in other aspects.Planning Design Standards for Apartments | Guidelines for Planning Authorities | Chapter 3 Page 16
- 3.5 Floor to Ceiling Height Floor-to-ceiling height affects the internal amenities of apartments, in terms of sunlight / daylight, storage space, and ventilation. This is most significant at ground level, where the potential for overshadowing is greatest. Ground level floor to ceiling height will also influence the future adaptability of individual apartments for potential alternative uses, which will vary depending on location. In accordance with TGD F (Ventilation), the suggested minimum floor to ceiling height, consistent with good room design, the use of standard materials and good building practice is generally 2.4m. Ground floors, ground level apartment floor to ceiling heights should be a minimum of 2.7m. When combined with aspect, floor-to ceiling height can significantly affect the amenities of the individual apartment unit. While it is not generally possible to vary the floor-to-ceiling height of individual apartments, there may be some circumstances where the minimum floor to ceiling height of an apartment block or building (as opposed to the scheme as a whole), should be increased. For building refurbishment schemes on sites of any size or urban infill schemes on sites of up to 0.25ha, these requirements may be relaxed on a case-by-case basis, subject to overall design quality: Specific Planning Policy Requirement 4 Ground level apartment floor to ceiling heights shall be a minimum of 2.7m. For building refurbishment schemes on sites of any size or urban infill schemes on sites of up to 0.25ha, planning authorities may exercise discretion on a case-bycase basis, subject to overall design quality. 3.6 Lift and Stair Cores The number of lift and stair cores is principally governed by the dual aspect ratios and should be determined by balancing the financial cost of providing and maintaining lift and stair cores and with appropriate building circulation and compliance with Building Regulations, particularly in relation to accessibility and fire safety. Specific Planning Policy Requirement 5 There shall be no requirement within statutory plans or within an individual scheme in respect of a minimum number of units per floor per core. Page 17Planning Design Standards for Apartments | Guidelines for Planning Authorities | Chapter 3
- 3.7 Internal Storage As part of required minimum apartment floor areas, provision should be made for general storage and utility. Minimum requirements for storage areas are set out in Appendix 1 and are intended to accommodate household utility functions such as clothes washing and the storage of bulky personal or household items. Storage should be additional to kitchen presses or cupboards and loose bedroom furniture, but may be partly provided in these rooms. In such cases this must be in addition to aggregate living/dining/kitchen or bedroom floor areas. A store off a hallway or landing will facilitate access, but hot presses or boiler space/heat pump will not count as general storage. As a rule, no individual storage room within an apartment should exceed 3.5 square metres. Apartment schemes should provide storage for bulky items outside individual units. This form of storage may be used for equipment such as, for example, bicycles or bicycle equipment, children’s outdoor toys or buggies. However, such storage does not satisfy bicycle parking requirements11. Where secure, allocated storage is provided in addition to that provided within individual units, it may be used to satisfy up to half of the minimum storage requirement for individual apartment units, but shall not serve to reduce the minimum floor area required to be provided within each individual apartment unit, as set out in these Guidelines. This is intended to enable greater flexibility in apartment design, whereby more living or bedroom space may be provided within the apartment unit in lieu of a portion of required internal storage space where such storage space has been provided elsewhere in the building. For building refurbishment schemes on sites of any size or urban infill schemes on sites of up to 0.25ha, the storage requirement may be relaxed in part, on a case-by-case basis, subject to overall design quality. 3.8 Private Amenity Space Private amenity space shall be provided in the form of gardens or patios/terraces for ground floor apartments and balconies or terraces at upper levels. Where provided at ground level, private amenity space shall incorporate boundary treatment appropriate to ensure privacy and security. Private amenity space should be located to optimise solar orientation and designed to minimise overshadowing and overlooking. Balconies should adjoin and have a functional relationship with the main living areas of the apartment. In certain circumstances, glass-screened ‘winter gardens’ may be provided. The minimum required areas for private amenity space are set out in Appendix 1. A minimum depth of 1.5 metres is required for private amenity space, including balconies, in one useable length to meet the minimum floor area requirement under these Guidelines. While deeper balconies or terraces might be desirable in certain cases, this has to be balanced against the need to avoid overshadowing. It is preferable that private amenity space would be primarily accessed from living rooms, although larger apartments may include wrap around and/or secondary private amenity space, which should also include a screened clothes drying space. Part K of the Building Regulations requires that balconies be guarded to protect users from the risk of falling. Technical Guidance Document K (Stairways, Ladders, Ramps and Guards) provides guidance on the minimum provisions for such guarding and special considerations for the safety of children. 11 Refer to Section 5.2.5 of the SRDCSGs for bicycle parking requirements.Planning Design Standards for Apartments | Guidelines for Planning Authorities | Chapter 3 Page 18
- Vertical privacy screens should be provided between adjoining balconies and the floors of balconies should be solid and self-draining. The recommended private amenity space standards for apartments are set out in Appendix 1. Planning authorities may accept a reduced provision of balconies where high quality, usable communal open space is provided within the scheme or where their amenity value is negligible, such as: (a) where units front onto major sources of noise and air pollution, such as busy roads or; (b) on taller buildings/facades that are exposed to high wind conditions. The number of units without direct access to private amenity space within apartment schemes should not exceed 50%. Where the location and characteristics of the site allow for higher levels of private amenity space provision, for example on larger sites or in more suburban settings, higher levels of private amenity space should be provided. For building refurbishment schemes on sites of any size or urban infill schemes on sites of up to 0.25ha, private amenity space requirements may be further relaxed, on a case-by-case basis, subject to overall design quality. 3.9 Security Considerations Apartment design should provide occupants and their visitors with a sense of safety and security, by maximising natural surveillance of streets, open spaces, play areas and any surface bicycle or car parking. Accordingly, blocks and buildings should overlook the public realm. Entrance points should be clearly indicated, well lit, and overlooked by adjoining dwellings. Particular attention should be given to the security of ground floor apartments and access to internal and external communal areas. Where ground floor apartments are to be located adjoining the back of a public footpath or some other public area, consideration should be given to the provision of a ‘privacy strip’ of approximately 1.5m in depth. This should be influenced by the design, scale and orientation of the building and on the nature of the street or public area and if provided, subject to appropriate landscape design and boundary treatment. Privacy may also be achieved through partial elevation of the ground floor of the apartment building above the adjoining street or space, subject to compliance with Part M of the Building Regulations. An alternative arrangement may be to locate a maisonette style apartment on the lowest two floors of the apartment development, benefiting from a small privacy strip, and a ground floor open space towards the interior of the block. Page 19Planning Design Standards for Apartments | Guidelines for Planning Authorities | Chapter 3
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- 4.0 Communal Facilities in Apartments 4.1 Access and Services Apartment schemes should be designed so that they are easy for people to use and to reflect the fact that all people experience changes in their abilities as they progress through the different stages of life. It is important for designers to take all of the users of buildings into account in order to avoid the creation of a built environment that excludes certain groups from participating in normal everyday activities. Part M (Access and Use) of the Building Regulations aims to foster an inclusive approach to the design and construction of the built environment. Technical Guidance Document M sets out guidance on the minimum level of provision to meet the requirements of Part M to ensure that buildings are accessible and usable by everyone, including children, people with disabilities and older people. Within apartment buildings minimum provisions for circulation areas and common spaces are set out in TGD M. They should be well lit, with some natural light, where possible and adequate ventilation. Movement about the apartment building should be easily understandable by all users by keeping internal corridors or open-air walkways short with good visibility along their length. Service ducts serving two or more apartments should as far as practicable be accessible from common circulation areas to facilitate easy maintenance. Running services overhead, particularly above the ceiling of a different unit, should be avoided. To prevent demands for the installation of numerous individual satellite dishes on visible parts of the facades or roof of apartment buildings, provision should be made at design stage for locating communal or individual dishes on less visible parts of the building, such as at roof level. 4.2 Waste Management Provision shall be made for the storage and collection of waste materials in apartment schemes. Waste storage facilities shall be accessible to each apartment stair/lift core and designed with regard to the projected level of waste generation and ensure adequate containers can be provided for residual, recyclable and food waste, to comply with waste management legislation, at designated waste storage points. Within apartments, there should be adequate provision for the temporary storage of segregated materials prior to deposition in communal waste storage and in-sink macerators are discouraged as they place a burden on drainage systems. Section 5.3.6 of the SRDCSGs sets out that multi-unit refuse storage areas should be provided in open spaces that will not be taken in charge. Such facilities should be screened and integrated with surrounding structures/landscaping. Waste storage facilities may also be provided in basement areas, but must ensure adequate access and manoeuvring space for collection vehicles. Waste storage facilities should be designed so that they are adequately ventilated, well-lit and not accessible to the general public. The capacity for washing down waste storage areas should also be considered, with wastewater discharging to the sewer, as appropriate. Appendix C of the SRDCSGs also recommends that Operational Waste Management Plans be submitted in support of 30 or more residential units or 1,000 sq. metres of mixed-use development. Page 23Planning Design Standards for Apartments | Guidelines for Planning Authorities | Chapter 4
- 4.3 Communal Amenity Space The provision and proper future maintenance of well-designed communal amenity space will contribute to meeting the amenity needs of residents. In particular, accessible, secure and usable outdoor space is a high priority for families with young children and for less mobile older people. The recommended minimum areas for public communal amenity space are set out in Appendix 1. While private and communal amenity space may adjoin each other, there should generally be a clear distinction with an appropriate boundary treatment and/or a ‘privacy strip’ between the two. Communal amenity space may be provided as a garden within the courtyard of a perimeter block or adjoining a linear apartment block. Designers must ensure that the heights and orientation of adjoining blocks permit adequate levels of sunlight to reach communal amenity space throughout the year. Roof gardens may also be provided but must be accessible to residents, subject to requirements such as safe access by children. These facilities offer a satisfactory alternative where climatic and safety factors are fully considered, but children’s play is not passively supervised as with courtyards. Regard must also be had to the future maintenance of communal amenity areas in order to ensure that this is commensurate with the scale of the development and does not become a burden on residents. For building refurbishment schemes on sites of any size or urban infill schemes on sites of up to 0.25ha, communal amenity space may be relaxed in part or whole, on a case-by-case basis, subject to overall design quality. Appendix C of the SRDCSGs recommends that Operational Management Plan /Report (inc. Lifecycle Report) be submitted for all developments consisting of housing with communal access, facilities and areas open space. 4.4 Children’s Play The recreational needs of children must be considered as part of communal amenity space within apartment schemes. Experience in Ireland and elsewhere has shown that children will play everywhere. Therefore, as far as possible, their safety needs to be taken into consideration and protected throughout the entire site, particularly in terms of safe access to larger communal play spaces. Children’s play needs around the apartment building should be catered for: • within the private open space associated with individual apartments (see chapter 3); • within small play spaces (about 85 – 100 sq. metres) for the specific needs of toddlers and children up to the age of six, with suitable play equipment, seating for parents/ guardians, and within sight of the apartment building, in a scheme that includes 25 or more units with two or more bedrooms; and • within play areas (200–400 sq. metres) for older children and young teenagers, in a scheme that includes 100 or more apartments with two or more bedrooms. The perimeter block with a central communal open space is particularly appropriate for children’s play, especially if access from the street is controlled. The landscape design and orientation of play areas can contribute significantly to their amenity value. However, the noise from courtyard play areas can diminish residential amenity, particularly in smaller schemes, and designers must find solutions which balance all the factors involved.Planning Design Standards for Apartments | Guidelines for Planning Authorities | Chapter 4 Page 24
Source Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage: Design Standards for Apartments: Guidelines for Planning Authorities (July 2025) · Licence the publisher's termsText read from the publisher’s PDF; tables, maps and drawings do not survive as text, and page numbers are the PDF’s (its first page is 1). Check the original before relying on a passage.