Before any ground is broken in Ireland, confirm the project’s planning status, building-control route, commencement notice, site risks and safety responsibilities. Starting work first and trying to regularise it later can create enforcement, redesign, delay and financing problems.
This checklist is a practical starting point, not a decision on your particular site. Requirements depend on the location, proposed use, scale, construction type and start date. Your local planning authority, Building Control Authority and suitably qualified professionals can confirm what applies.
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1. Freeze the project scope before checking permissions
Regulatory decisions are made against what you actually intend to build, alter or use. Prepare a written scope before relying on an existing permission, an exemption or a contractor’s estimate. Include the site address, drawings, floor areas, height, number of units, intended use, access arrangements, demolition, extensions, services and the proposed start date.
Compare the work with the planning permission
If permission has been granted, compare the intended development with the permission notice, conditions and approved drawings. A change that appears minor commercially can still differ from the development that was assessed. Check whether the permission covers the precise building, use, access and site works you plan to undertake.
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Ask the relevant planning authority to clarify any mismatch before signing an irreversible construction contract or drawing down project finance. Keep a controlled copy of the permission and drawings so the design team and builder are working from the same documents.
Check validity and remaining duration
Confirm the permission’s validity period and the time remaining with the planning authority. Do not assume that a permission remains available simply because a site has not changed. The Planning and Development (Amendment) Act 2025 introduced a specific route for certain uncommenced housing permissions to receive an extension, subject to conditions and limited application timing. That provision is not a general extension for every project or every type of permission, so establish whether your permission falls within the statutory class and whether an application window is still open.
If you think an exemption applies
Planning exemptions are fact-specific. Have the proposed works and their dimensions checked through an appropriate planning channel before treating an exemption as permission to start. This is especially important where there are previous extensions, protected structures, conservation issues, changes of use or restrictions attached to the property. Keep the written basis for the decision with your project records.
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Planning permission and building control are separate checks. Department guidance says building-control rules generally cover new buildings and existing buildings subject to an extension, material alteration or material change of use. The procedure and documents depend on which category your work falls into.
Classify the work
| Project description | What to establish | Why it matters |
|---|---|---|
| New building | Applicable Building Regulations, commencement-notice route and certification requirements | New-build work normally engages the full design, inspection and completion process relevant to its use and construction |
| Extension | How the extension affects the existing building and which technical requirements apply | Connections to structure, fire safety, access, energy performance and moisture protection may need coordinated design |
| Material alteration | Whether the proposed change is material and which parts of the regulations are triggered | A substantial internal or structural change can require more than ordinary maintenance |
| Material change of use | The consequences of the new use for fire, access, structure, services and other requirements | Changing how a building is occupied can trigger controls even where the physical work appears limited |
This classification is a starting point, not a universal test. Confirm it with the local Building Control Authority and the design professional responsible for the project.
Use the live technical guidance
The Department describes minimum performance requirements in Building Regulations Parts A–M. Do not rely on an old summary or assume that one project’s specification transfers to another. Check the guidance applicable to the work and its commencement date, including structural safety, fire safety, site preparation, moisture, ventilation, drainage, conservation of fuel and energy, access and electrical or communications provisions where relevant.
Find out which certificates and appointments apply
Depending on the project, you may need a Fire Safety Certificate, Disability Access Certificate, statutory design certificate, assigned certifier, builder assignment, inspection plan and completion certification. The Department’s guidance discusses these instruments, but none should be treated as automatically universal. The Building Control Authority can identify the route for your building type, scale and use.
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Put appointments in writing. Define who is responsible for design, inspections, records, changes, testing and certification. A low initial professional fee is not a saving if unclear responsibility leads to rework or an unoccupiable building.
Register parties and documents on BCMS early
The Building Control Management System (BCMS) is the online system used for relevant building-control notices and documentation. Register the owner, builder, design professionals and certifiers early enough to check identities, permissions and document formats. Leave time to correct rejected or incomplete submissions before the planned start date.
3. Schedule the commencement notice correctly
A commencement notice is a legal building-control step, not a courtesy email to the council. The Department’s Residential Commencement Notices Background and Methodology, published in February 2026, states that the notice is submitted 14 to 28 days before work begins. It also states that construction must start within 28 days of council acceptance.
Use a dated pre-start sequence
- Set a realistic construction start date. Coordinate the date with finance, site access, utility arrangements, insurance, the builder and the inspection plan.
- Identify the correct notice type. Confirm the route with the local Building Control Authority rather than copying an old web article or a form from another project.
- Prepare the attachments. Depending on the route, these may include owner signatures, design or builder and assigned-certifier information, inspection planning and other completion or certification documents described by the Department.
- Submit through BCMS 14–28 days before the planned start. Treat the filing date as a controlled project milestone. A late submission can force a change to the site programme.
- Monitor council acceptance. Keep the acceptance record and check whether the authority requests corrections or additional information.
- Start within 28 days of acceptance. If the programme slips, ask the Building Control Authority what action is required instead of assuming the accepted notice remains usable indefinitely.
Confirm the current forms, notice categories and attachments directly with the Building Control Authority. Rules and forms can change, and older guidance may describe routes that no longer match the current system.
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Budget for the compliance work
Include design coordination, surveys, certification, inspection visits, testing, application charges and possible redesign in the project budget. These are not optional extras when the chosen regulatory route requires them. Keep a cash reserve for authority queries or site conditions rather than committing the full budget to visible construction items.
4. Check ground, moisture and radon risks before excavation
Site preparation is a design issue as well as a construction task. Technical Guidance Document C, including its 2023 Amendment, covers site preparation and resistance to moisture. The Department says the amendment applies to new buildings and extensions commencing from 1 October 2023.
Establish what the ground can support
Obtain the level of geotechnical and site information appropriate to the project before finalising foundations, retaining walls or drainage. Review made ground, groundwater, slopes, neighbouring structures and the proposed excavation sequence with a competent designer. The exact investigations depend on the site; there is no single survey package that suits every project.
Control moisture pathways
Design the ground-floor build-up, damp-proofing, drainage and junctions so that moisture is managed from the outset. Check how the new work connects to existing walls and floors, where water will discharge, and how construction will be protected during the build. A visually dry site at the start does not prove that the completed building will resist rising moisture, rain penetration or groundwater pressure.
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Technical Guidance Document C references the Environmental Protection Agency’s updated radon map and gives guidance on radon-resistant measures in high-radon areas. The Department says the amendment provides for a radon-resisting membrane in the circumstances covered by the guidance. Use the map as an input to design, not as a substitute for a site assessment or professional advice. Confirm the required membrane, detailing, seals and service penetrations for your building and location.
Record the assumptions behind the design. If the use, floor construction or site conditions change, ask the designer whether the moisture and radon strategy must change too.
Investigate other site constraints where relevant
The checks below are not automatic approvals for every project, but they are common reasons a programme or budget changes:
- Flood risk and surface-water routes.
- Contaminated land or unusual fill.
- Protected habitats, trees or waterways.
- Archaeology or protected structures.
- Vehicle access, traffic management and rights of way.
- Location and capacity of water, wastewater, electricity, gas and telecommunications services.
- Boundary, party-wall and neighbouring-property effects.
Ask the appropriate authority or specialist which checks apply to your site. Do not assume that planning permission alone resolves them.
5. Put construction-safety responsibility in place before site work
Safety duties begin before workers arrive. SI 291 of 2013 is the cited Irish construction-safety framework. The Department of Enterprise, Tourism and Employment describes the regulations as designed “to clarify and strengthen the general duties of all parties as regards securing occupational safety, health and welfare in construction work, including those of Clients, Project Supervisors, Designers, Contractors and Employees.”
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Identify the parties and their duties
For the project, identify the client, designers, contractors and the relevant project supervisors. Confirm who is responsible for coordinating design-stage safety and construction-stage safety, and who has authority to stop unsafe work. A homeowner who commissions work is still a client for the purposes of duties that may apply; do not assume that appointing a builder transfers every responsibility.
Prepare the safety arrangements
- Confirm appointments and competence in writing.
- Coordinate designers so foreseeable construction and maintenance risks are addressed in the design.
- Require the contractor to plan, supervise and coordinate the works for the actual site.
- Set out site access, welfare, emergency, traffic, temporary-works and public-protection arrangements.
- Keep risk assessments, method statements, inductions, inspection records and changes under document control.
- Check whether project-specific notifications or plans are required under the regulations and current Health and Safety Authority guidance.
Requirements vary with the project’s characteristics. A small domestic alteration should not be treated as having an identical paperwork burden to a large commercial development, but neither should its risks be dismissed.
6. Make the pre-start finance and contract checks
Permission and compliance decisions affect when money can safely be committed. Before releasing a deposit or fixing a start date, align the following items:
| Financial or contractual check | What to verify |
|---|---|
| Scope and drawings | The price, programme and payment schedule refer to the same approved or intended design |
| Regulatory allowances | Fees for surveys, design, certification, inspections, testing and authority submissions are included |
| Ground-risk allowance | The contract explains how unforeseen rock, groundwater, contamination or unsuitable ground will be valued and approved |
| Change control | No design or material substitution proceeds without checking planning, building-control, safety and cost effects |
| Evidence of cover | Confirm the insurance and warranties relevant to the client, contractor, professionals and works |
| Payment triggers | Payments are tied to verifiable stages and documents, not simply calendar dates |
| Completion and handover | The contract identifies certificates, test results, manuals, drawings and records needed before final payment or occupation |
Keep a single project register containing permissions, notices, acceptance records, drawings, appointments, inspections, changes, invoices and certificates. It helps the project team answer questions consistently and gives the lender, insurer or future purchaser an auditable record.
7. A practical final check before mobilisation
- Planning: The intended work matches the permission and conditions, or a documented planning check supports the claimed exemption.
- Validity: The permission remains valid for the planned start, with any extension issue addressed by the planning authority.
- Building control: The project is classified as a new building, extension, material alteration or material change of use, and the applicable procedure is confirmed.
- Certificates: Required fire, access, design, builder, assigned-certifier, inspection and completion arrangements are appointed and documented.
- Commencement notice: The correct BCMS route and attachments are ready, filing is scheduled 14–28 days before work and the 28-day post-acceptance start limit is understood.
- Site: Ground, moisture, drainage and radon risks have been assessed and reflected in the design.
- Safety: Client, project supervisors, designers and contractors know their roles, with project-specific plans and notifications checked.
- Money: The budget includes professional, authority, testing and contingency costs, and the contract controls changes and stage payments.
- Records: Everyone is using the current drawings and the project register is ready for inspections, certification and handover.
When to stop and obtain specialist confirmation
Pause mobilisation and seek written advice if the permission does not clearly match the work, the site has unusual ground or flood conditions, the building’s use is changing, a protected structure or habitat may be involved, the commencement-notice route is uncertain, or no one has accepted the safety-supervisor responsibilities. The planning authority, Building Control Authority and competent architect, engineer, building surveyor, quantity surveyor or safety professional can each answer different parts of the question. Getting the right answer before work starts is usually less disruptive than redesigning after excavation or an inspection.
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