Property Advice: How big or high can we extend?
We have just gone ‘sale agreed’ on an 800 sq ft, mid-terraced, 1950s city home and we love the setting and the west-facing aspect at the back.The neighbours either side have done rear extensions, one of which is single-storey and was exempt from planning for being under 40 sq m.The other is two-storey and had planning permission granted, but has a kitchen window (above head height) overlooking our patio. What are our rights, and duties, if we want to extend?We want to get on with our new neighbours, but it looks like they have limited our options.Brian and Sarah, LimerickCongratulations to you both on going sale agreed. Finding a property with the right aspect is hard, and the chances reduce when you are looking at houses in estates. Often, the houses with the right amenity space are kept, because the owners know what they have. Who wants to sit out in the front garden to catch the evening sun?It would become exhausting saying ‘Hi’ to all the neighbours and having to go through small talk every other minute when all you want to do is get back to that book or have a sneaky snooze.The good news? You’re far from alone. Many homeowners in similar situations have successfully extended and improved their homes, respectfully, legally, and often with fantastic results. So, let’s break this down and get you clear on what your rights and duties are when it comes to extending your home.As potential homeowners of a mid-terraced house, you have a right to improve and extend your property within the legal framework of the planning regulations. Most domestic extensions fall under two categories: Exempted development and developments that require planning permission.Exempted development means you don’t need planning permission, provided you meet certain criteria (like staying within 40 sq m of additional floor space and not exceeding height limits or taking up too much of your garden). Planning permission required means your plans exceed the thresholds of exempted development or involve changes that affect neighbouring properties, the street scene, or protected structures. Your neighbours have each gone down their own path here.An exempt, single-storey extension may sit where the patio is placed and you will then need to push the patio further down the garden.So, what are your options for extending? To be fully informed, please look at Planning and Development Regulations 2001, as amended, Schedule 2, Part 1 Exempt Development – General, Class 1. Print this out or put it on your tablet and walk around your property. This will help you make an informed decision and both of you can discuss how to comply, while still satisfying your need to extend.You refer to the neighbour’s kitchen window and how it may negatively impact your patio area. I have to make an assumption here that this window is on the rear extension as opposed to the side elevation. Were it on a side elevation, the authority would likely have conditioned the window to have obscured glazing.You might go online and look up the drawings and read the conditions to see if the building is compliant. No one wants to row with neighbours, but if they have not followed the grant of permission, you might be able to persuade them to do so and protect your amenity. But let’s move off the negative and view this from a perspective that all is official and legal. Let’s look at being clever and creative.An exempt, single-storey extension may sit where the patio is placed and you will then need to push the patio further down the garden.With good design, this may become obscured, protecting your private space from your neighbour’s gaze. You might even decide to put your patio indoors, by building a ‘lightbox’ extension, where you can maximise the heat gain and use well-placed, obscured glazing or walls to prevent anyone seeing in.This might be fully sealed, or you might decide on an unheated space where you can leave permanently open sections for easy access into the garden. With the incredible range of outdoor tiles and flooring options, there are no limits to how visually warm you could make the space.I recall sitting in an unheated, single-storey rear extension, when I was a child. The property was a B&B and I thought it was paradise. It had door openings between the piers that held the roof, but there were no doors, so you stepped straight into the garden. It had a ‘cathedral ceiling and lantern rooflight in the ridgeline, white floor tiles with coloured floral tiles dotted here and there.Big, potted plants were everywhere. The owner was an old lady and she sat with a rug on her lap while reading the newspaper in the early morning. The rain was torrential, but we were dry and, to be honest, it was magical.You could also apply for a two-storey extension, but via planning permission. Your neighbour has set a precedent, and local planners will take that in to account. Be mindful that the more significant the impact on neighbours (in terms of overshadowing, overlooking, or loss of light/privacy), the more scrutiny it will receive from the planners.That window your neighbour added above head height has likely satisfied the planners by being high-level or may have obscure glazing to protect your privacy. A similar approach might work for you.There is great merit in getting a professional designer to tease out the challenges. When you see a design you like, you could make enquiries and check if you can engage that same designer. Or take as many pictures as you can and instruct your designer as to your wish list. They will factor in the regulatory allowances and bring to bear their experience in such things. Between you all, you will get a good result.You may decide that you are capable of designing yourself and that is your choice. But when it comes to the build, please ensure that you have a professional to liaise with the builder.I have seen so many extensions where drainage was not considered, first-floor windowsills were cut into or removed, and what remained was not properly detailed, resulting in water ingress.I have seen gaps between the original building and the extension, poorly supported roofs, poorly flashed rooflights. The list goes on and on. There are construction professionals for a reason. Please consider engaging a reputable one.I wish you the very best with your plans.Brigid Browne is a chartered building surveyor and chair of the Southern Region of the Society of Chartered Surveyors Ireland. She is the owner/ managing director of Cashel-based Fortress Planning which offers a range of services including assigned certifier, design certifier, building surveyor, and conservation consultancy to clients all over the country — www.fortressplanning.ieIf you have a property related query or issue you would like to raise with Brigid, please emailirishexaminerpropertyqueries@scsi.ie
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