Sunrooms and conservatories in Limerick: planning, Newtown Pery and builders

Quick answer: a single-storey rear sunroom in Limerick is normally exempt from planning up to 45 m² including earlier extensions, if it leaves 25 m² of rear garden. Limerick City and County Council protects more than 2,000 structures and has ten architectural conservation areas in the Metropolitan District, including Georgian Newtown Pery, O’Connell Avenue and the Ennis Road. If you do need permission, its 2025–2031 contribution scheme exempts the first 60 m² of a house extension, and the application fee is €34.

A note on words: in Ireland a sunroom usually means a builder’s extension with big windows and a solid, insulated roof; a conservatory is mostly glass; an orangery has solid piers and a roof lantern. Planning law treats all three alike. Our Irish costs guide explains how the choice changes the price.

The national rule: 45 m² to the rear, since 27 July 2026

Most single-storey sunrooms at the back of a house are exempted development under Class 1 of Schedule 2 to the Planning and Development Regulations 2001 (S.I. 600 of 2001). For more than 20 years the limit was 40 m². The Planning and Development (Exempted Development (Act of 2000)) Regulations 2026 (S.I. 338 of 2026) raised it to 45 m² from 27 July 2026. The main conditions are:

Class 1 condition	Limit from 27 July 2026
Where it can go	To the rear of the house only (the exemption expressly includes a conservatory)
Floor area	Not more than 45 m², counting every earlier extension built after 1 October 1964, including ones that had planning permission
Above ground floor	Not more than 12 m² (terraced or semi-detached) or 20 m² (detached), and at least 2 m from any boundary
Height	Not higher than the house, with further rules on height, windows near boundaries and roof use
Garden left behind	At least 25 m² of private open space must remain at the back of the house

Sources: S.I. No. 338/2026 (irishstatutebook.ie); Planning permission for altering your house, updated 27 July 2026 (citizensinformation.ie); Circular PLR 02/2026 (gov.ie).

The exemption can be lost for a protected structure (works are exempt only if they would not materially affect its character), in an architectural conservation area (ACA), where exterior works are restricted, or where an earlier permission removed exempted development rights. For a written answer, ask the council for a Section 5 declaration (Section 57 for a protected structure). Our guide to planning permission in Ireland: existing extensions, boundaries and exemption checks walks through the questions.

One council for city and county

Limerick City and County Council is the planning and building control authority for the whole of Limerick. The Limerick Development Plan 2022–2028 was adopted on 17 June 2022 and came into effect on 29 July 2022. Its Volume 3 holds the architectural conservation areas and the Record of Protected Structures, split by municipal district; the city is in the Metropolitan District of Limerick (Volume 3A).

Protected structures and conservation areas in Limerick

The council says more than 2,000 structures across the city and county are protected structures. Protection covers the interior, the land around the building and other structures on that land. The council explains that minor works which are normally exempt can be carried out on a protected structure without permission only if they would not affect its character, and it invites owners to ask for a Section 57 declaration to find out which works are exempt.

The draft plan’s Volume 3 lists ten ACAs in the Metropolitan District:

ACA	Area
ACA 1	South City Centre and Newtown Pery (the Georgian core)
ACA 2	South Circular Road, New Street and the Mary Immaculate College campus
ACA 3	O’Connell Avenue
ACA 4	John’s Square and parts of Gerald Griffin Street and John’s Street
ACA 5	Ballinacurra Road
ACA 6	Ennis Road and part of Lower Shelbourne Road
ACA 7	Part of Thomondgate, Castle Street and part of Nicholas Street
ACA 8	Clare Street and the School of Art and Design campus
ACA 9	Castletroy-Dromore
ACA 10	Castleconnell

Source: Draft Limerick Development Plan 2022–2028, Volume 3: Architectural Conservation Areas (limerick.ie). Check the adopted maps for exact boundaries.

If your house is in Newtown Pery or one of the other city ACAs and is also a protected structure, both layers apply. A glazed rear room can still work, but expect the council to look closely at its scale, materials and how it meets the original rear wall.

Limerick development contributions

The council’s members made the Development Contribution Scheme 2025–2031 on 22 September 2025. It is more generous to extensions than most:

Item	Limerick 2025–2031 scheme
House extensions	First 60 m² exempt; area above 60 m² charged at the residential rate
Residential rate, Band 1 (city, town and village centres, infill sites)	€25 per m²
Residential rate, Band 2 (regeneration areas and derelict sites)	€12.50 per m²
Residential rate, Band 3 (all other areas)	€35 per m²
Extensions to protected structures	Charged at the appropriate rate
Example: 70 m² extension in Band 3	10 m² x €35 = €350 (our arithmetic)

Source: Development Contribution Scheme 2025–2031 (limerick.ie).

Building control, BCAR and fees

Exempt or not, every extension must meet the Building Regulations, including energy (Part L) and safe glazing. A commencement notice, filed on the Building Control Management System 14 to 28 days before work starts, is needed where the work needs planning permission; an exempt sunroom does not normally need one. From 27 July 2026 (S.I. 359 of 2026) the BCAR certification rules apply to extensions to a dwelling over 45 m² (40 m² before): compliance documents, a design certificate, an Assigned Certifier and a builder’s undertaking, unless the owner signs an opt-out declaration. The notice costs €30 per building. If you need planning permission, the national fee is €34 for a house extension, or €102 (or €2.50 per m², if greater) to retain one already built.

Sources: Building Control Regulations 1997, article 9 as revised (revisedacts.lawreform.ie); Commencement Notices FAQs (corkcoco.ie); Planning fees payable (clarecoco.ie). Some council pages still show the old 40 m² figure.

Typical private prices

We have not found a reliable sunroom price survey for Limerick alone, so use the national ranges in our Irish costs guide: Property Blueprint Co. (August 2026) puts an insulated warm-roof sunroom at €18,000–€35,000 and a basic uPVC conservatory at €8,000–€15,000, and Norman Pratt Conservatories uses €1,000–€2,000 per m² as a rule of thumb for a builder’s sunroom. Bases, electrics, heating and flooring are often extra; see what to include in a realistic budget.

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How to choose a builder in Limerick

Check the register. The Construction Industry Register Ireland (CIRI) is becoming a statutory register under the Regulation of Providers of Building Works Act 2022, phased in from 2026 starting with larger housing builders, so a small extension builder may not be on it yet. Ask, and check the register.
Electrics and gas. New circuits should be installed and certified by a Safe Electric registered electrical contractor, and any gas work done by a Registered Gas Installer.
Who signs off? Over 45 m², ask who will be Assigned Certifier, or whether you are being asked to opt out, and whether the price includes VAT, the base, electrics, heating and flooring.
Cooling-off. Under the Consumer Rights Act 2022 you generally have 14 days to cancel a contract signed away from the builder’s premises, for example at your kitchen table. The CCPC explains the exceptions.
Pay in stages. Tie payments to finished stages rather than paying most of the price up front. Our guide to surveys, contracts and payment stages has a checklist.
Riverside sites. Parts of the city sit beside the Shannon and Abbey rivers. Ask how the base and drainage are designed, and check your home insurance before you build.

Conservatory, sunroom and glazing firms serving Limerick

These businesses appear in public business listings for the Limerick area. We found fewer dedicated sunroom builders here than in Dublin or Cork, so the list includes window firms and general builders. We have not checked their work, prices, registrations or insurance, and they have not paid to appear.