Can you sleep in a garden room in Ireland?

What the rules say

A garden room built without planning permission relies on the Class 3 exemption. One of its conditions is that the building is not used for human habitation, only for purposes connected with enjoying the house. An office, gym or hobby room qualifies. A bedroom doesn't.

This applies however well the room is built. A fully insulated garden room with heating and a toilet is still a Class 3 building if that's how it was built, and still can't be slept in.

Guests, sofa beds and teenagers

This is where most questions come from. A few points help:

• The use matters, not the furniture. A sofa in a garden office is fine. Regularly sleeping there is a change of use.
• Councils have taken a firm line. Where garden rooms have been granted permission, councils have attached conditions restricting their use for guest or sleeping accommodation.
• A teenage den is fine by day. A teenager's bedroom is habitation.

Your options for a bedroom

If it will be slept in

Whichever route you take, a room for sleeping needs more than an office:

• Fire safety: smoke and heat detection, and an escape route.
• Ventilation to prevent condensation, which builds up quickly overnight in a small timber room.
• Year-round heating and insulation to house standards.
• A toilet nearby, which adds plumbing and drainage costs. See garden rooms with a toilet.