Apartment and build-to-rent planning applications in Dublin — the register's largest schemes, council by council

In the 12 months to 14 September 2026 the seven Greater Dublin registers received 399 applications whose description mentions apartments, duplexes or build-to-rent. One hundred and thirty-six have been granted and 41 refused, a 77% rate, and 72 are still open. The files that state a unit count add up to 7,666 homes. The keyword is broad on purpose: a change of use of a shop to one flat and a 900-home phase of a strategic development zone both say "apartment", and the table below carries both. The number that matters is not the count of files but where the homes are.

Where the homes are

South Dublin received 57 apartment applications in the year and they carry 3,382 homes, the most of any council: 886 at the Kishoge and Clonburris SDZ phase lodged on 30 September 2025 (SDZ25A/0013W, granted), 611 at Boherboy, Saggart (LRD25A/0012W, granted) and 588 on the former Chadwicks yard (LRD25A/0005W, granted). Meath's 55 files carry 2,210 homes, led by 757 at Moygaddy outside Maynooth, lodged on 31 March 2026 and undecided, 356 at Bennetstown and 314 at Dunboyne, both granted with conditions. Kildare's 51 files carry 896 homes, 581 of them at Railpark, Maynooth, granted with conditions. Dublin City received the most files, 162, but they carry only 901 stated homes: the city's register is infill, a floor added over a shop, and a four-storey block on a corner site. Wicklow's 60 files carry 277 homes.

Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown shows ten files and Fingal four, which understates both. Their registers carry a short description, so a large scheme whose 70 characters do not reach the word "apartment" is missed, and Fingal's feed does not state units at all. The Cherrywood guide uses the map rather than the keyword for that reason.

Where the refusals are

Kildare refused 10 of its 28 decided apartment files, the highest share of any council; Dublin City 13 of 54, Wicklow 6 of 25, South Dublin 4 of 38, Meath 5 of 24. The refusals split the way the most-refused-types guide describes. A small scheme is refused for too little, a mews of four units where the plan wants twenty on a serviced site, or for what it does to the neighbours: overlooking, daylight, a four-storey block against a two-storey terrace. A large scheme is rarely refused outright now, because the large-scale residential development procedure that replaced strategic housing developments in 2022 puts a mandatory pre-application meeting and a council opinion on the file before it is lodged, and a scheme that gets a negative opinion is redrawn or not made.

The council refusal is also not the end. Refused apartment schemes are appealed as a matter of course, and the appeals guide shows the Commission granting a large share of what the Dublin councils refused. For a neighbour, the practical point is that the five-week submission on the council file is the only way to be a party to the appeal that follows.

Build-to-rent and the 2025 standards

Build-to-rent as a separate class was closed off in the December 2022 amendment to the apartment guidelines, which is why the phrase has all but vanished from new descriptions; what remains on the register are amendments to earlier BTR permissions, usually converting them to standard apartments for sale. The July 2025 amendments to the apartment design standards moved the other way for developers: a lower minimum size for a studio, more one-bed and studio units allowed in a scheme, fewer dual-aspect units required, and no cap on the number of units per lift core. An application lodged after those amendments is decided on them, and the register will show over the next year whether the schemes got denser or just cheaper to build.

Frequently asked questions

How many apartment planning applications were lodged in Dublin this year?

Three hundred and ninety-nine applications mentioning apartments reached the seven Greater Dublin registers in the 12 months to 14 September 2026, with 7,666 homes in the files that state a count. South Dublin carries the most homes, Dublin City the most files.

Which council refuses the most apartment schemes?

By share of decided files, Kildare, at 10 of 28 in the last 12 months. Dublin City refused 13 of 54 and South Dublin 4 of 38. The refusals are mostly small infill schemes; the large LRD schemes are shaped by the pre-application opinion before they are lodged.

What is the difference between an SHD and an LRD?

A strategic housing development went straight to An Bord Pleanála with no council decision and no appeal; the procedure closed to new applications in early 2022. A large-scale residential development, 100 homes or more, is decided by the council after a mandatory pre-application stage, with a five-week submission window and an appeal to An Coimisiún Pleanála. The LRD guide sets out both.

Can I object to an apartment scheme near me?

Yes. A written submission with the €20 fee within five weeks of the council receiving the application, on planning grounds. Making the submission is what gives you the right to appeal the decision.

Every file in the table above opens on its own page with the council's document link. The LRD guide covers the procedure the big schemes use; the most-refused-types guide puts apartments beside houses and extensions. See the Clonburris phases on the Explorer.

Figures from the register on 14 September 2026 (live callouts refresh hourly); law checked 14 September 2026. Check with the council or a planning consultant before relying on this.