20 The Ferns , Blackrock , Co.Louth

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• Planning permission for an extension in Ireland — the 45 m² exemption and a 94% grant rateDublin councils granted 94% of extension applications decided in the year to September 2026. Since 27 July 2026 a rear extension of up to 45 m² can be exempt. The conditions, when you still apply, the fee and the timeline.
• Planning enforcement in Ireland — 7,396 cases a year, the warning letter and the seven-year ruleCouncils opened 7,396 planning enforcement cases in 2024. What unauthorised development is, how a complaint becomes a s.152 warning letter and a s.154 notice, what the seven-year rule does and does not do, and how to report or answer one.
• Certificate of compliance with planning permission — what the architect's opinion covers and what it does notRetention applications were 17% of everything lodged in the GDA over 12 months, and a fifth of those decided were refused. What a certificate or opinion on compliance with planning permission says, who signs it, the Law Society and RIAI forms, and the gaps a buyer should close from the register.
• Where Dublin is building — commencement notices by local electoral area, 12 months3,366 commencement notices were lodged across the four Dublin councils in 12 months and geolinked to an electoral area; Pembroke led with 204 and Tallaght South trailed with 23. What a commencement notice is, why it is the signal that a permission is real, the ranking of all 31 electoral areas, and the month-by-month shape.