On 4 November 2026, the Government launched the new National Planning Statement on Planning Design Standards for Apartments, with immediate application.
This National Planning Statement (“NPS”) replaces the Design Standards for Apartments, Guidelines for Planning Authorities published on 8 July 2025 as Ministerial Guidelines under Section 28 of the Planning and Development Act 2000 (the “2025 Guidelines”), which are now revoked.
For developers, the key message is continuity. The legal framework has changed, but the apartment design standards introduced in 2025 have largely been retained.
Key takeaways
- Design standards largely unchanged: The approach to design standards in the 2025 Guidelines is carried forward including in relation to apartment mix, floor areas, floor-to-ceiling heights and units per stair/lift core
- Applies immediately, including to live applications: The NPS applies to planning applications, appeals and direct applications determined after 4 November 2026, including those already in the planning system
- Local and regional plans must align: Regional assemblies and planning authorities have two months from the issue of the NPS to assess whether their existing statutory plans are materially consistent with the mandatory requirements of the NPS and to identify how any inconsistencies will be addressed
Why has a new NPS been introduced?
The NPS has been introduced against the background of an ongoing legal challenge concerning the validity of the 2025 Guidelines taken in McDonald and Ors v Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage (“McDonald”). The challenge is taken on the grounds that, in preparing the 2025 Guidelines, a Strategic Environmental Assessment (“SEA”) or screening claimed to be required under the EU SEA Directive was not carried out. The challenge involves questions that have been referred to the Court of Justice of the European Union, so that proceedings in the Irish courts have been adjourned. This has left uncertainty in the meantime surrounding the valid application of the 2025 Guidelines to planning applications for apartment development.
The NPS has successfully undergone an SEA and now applies to all applications, appeals and direct applications determined after 4 November 2026, including ongoing live applications and appeals. For developers and other stakeholders involved in housing delivery, this now provides greater clarity on the apartment design standards that apply to all projects currently moving through the planning process.
What does the NPS provide for?
The NPS is only the second national planning statement issued under the Planning and Development Act 2024 (“2024 Act”). National planning statements under the 2024 Act broadly provide for:
- National Planning Policies and Measures (NPPMs): These contain the principal policy requirements and national standards. Regional Spatial and Economic Strategies (RSES), development plans, planning schemes and planning frameworks must be “materially consistent” with them
- National Planning Policy Guidance: This provides more detailed guidance on the procedures to be followed and outcomes to be achieved. Relevant statutory plans must “take due account” of this guidance
The principal NPPM standards in the NPS are summarised below and should be read alongside the NPS itself.
| NPPM | Design feature | Standard |
| NPPM 1 | Apartment mix | Statutory plans generally cannot prescribe a particular mix of apartment types. Limited exceptions apply, including certain social and affordable housing and housing for older persons, where a specific mix may be required, for example following a Housing Need and Demand Assessment (HNDA). |
| NPPM 2 | Apartment floor areas | The 2025 minimum floor areas are retained: 32 sq.m for a one-person studio; 45 sq.m for a one-bedroom/two-person apartment; 63 sq.m for a two-bedroom/three-person apartment; 73 sq.m for a two-bedroom/four-person apartment; 76 sq.m for a three-bedroom/four-person apartment; and 90 sq.m for a three-bedroom/five-person apartment. Statutory plans cannot prescribe higher minimum floor areas. Separate standards apply to purpose-built student accommodation under NPPM 8. |
| NPPM 3 | Dual aspect | At least 25% of apartments in a development must be dual aspect. Statutory plans cannot require a higher minimum. |
| NPPM 4 | Floor-to-ceiling height | Ground-level apartments must have a minimum floor-to-ceiling height of 2.7 metres. Statutory plans cannot prescribe a higher minimum. |
| NPPM 5 | Apartments per stair/lift core | Statutory plans cannot prescribe the number of apartments per floor served by each stair/lift core. |
| NPPM 6 | Communal, community and cultural facilities | New communal, community or cultural facilities cannot be required simply because an individual apartment scheme exceeds a particular threshold. Such facilities may be required in specific locations identified in the development plan. |
| NPPM 7 | Shared accommodation/co-living | There remains a presumption against permission for shared accommodation or co-living unless it is required to meet specific demand identified by the local planning authority through the HNDA process. |
| NPPM 8 | Purpose-built student accommodation | Specific national standards apply to bedroom sizes, en-suite bathrooms and shared kitchen/dining/living spaces, limiting the ability of statutory plans to impose different or more onerous requirements. See further on this below. |
Purpose-built student accommodation
For purpose-built student accommodation (PBSA), statutory plans cannot impose requirements that differ from or exceed the following NPS standards.
- No requirement or restriction on the provision of en-suite bathrooms for single study bedrooms
- A minimum single study bedroom area of 8 sq.m without an en-suite and 11.5 sq.m with an en-suite
- Minimum kitchen/dining/living space of 3.6 sq.m per person where serving ten people, reducing to 3.3 sq.m per person where serving 12 people
What happens next?
Regional assemblies and planning authorities must now review their existing statutory plans against the new mandatory requirements.
Within two months of the NPS being issued, each regional assembly and planning authority must report to the Office of the Planning Regulator on whether its relevant RSES or development plan is materially consistent with the NPPMs. Where a material inconsistency is identified, the report must also set out the steps that will be taken to address it.
For developers, the immediate practical point is that the NPS already applies. Projects currently in the planning system and awaiting a decision will be considered against the new NPS.
For further information, please contact a member of our Real Estate Group.
