Multigenerational living: plan privacy and access

A separate garden home can let family members live close by while keeping their own front door and daily routine. The useful starting point is the household’s needs: privacy, access, care, services and how both homes will share the garden. A detached layout still involves work around the main property.

Agree what independence means

• Discuss visiting, shared meals, quiet hours and when each household needs privacy.
• Consider views between windows, outdoor seating, lighting and the route past each front door.
• Decide how deliveries, bins, parking and shared garden use will work.
• Talk about changing care needs and who can offer practical help.

Use a sketch of the actual garden to test these decisions. A door facing the main kitchen may suit one family and feel intrusive to another. No standard floor plan can decide that preference.

Plan access for everyday life

Walk the route from the street to the proposed home, including gates, changes of level and wet-weather surfaces. Discuss mobility aids, a buggy or care equipment before settling doors, circulation and bathroom layout. Ask the designer to check your actual requirements; a concept marked with furniture is not an individual accessibility assessment.

The named concept plan library helps compare one-bedroom and two-bedroom arrangements. Open the room notes and standards notes as well as the image. Consider whether a second bedroom is more useful than extra living or storage space.

Services and site work can affect the main house

Do not assume the existing home will stay untouched. Discuss trench routes, connection points, access for equipment, temporary interruptions and reinstatement. Ask where the garden home will connect to existing services and whether the wastewater system has sufficient capacity.

The Class 3A conditions 12 and 13 address utilities and wastewater. Ask the project team to assess these against your site rather than promising a separate new connection. The design and written scope should explain the work and responsibilities.

Check planning before committing to a layout

Condition 7 of Class 3A sets a 32–45 m² external-footprint band, counted together with earlier Class 3 garden structures. S.I. No. 340/2026, Class 3A.

That area test is only part of the exemption. The complete planning guide explains the remaining garden, access, residence and other conditions. Choosing a detached home does not automatically establish eligibility.

A Class 3A auxiliary dwelling follows the normal Building Control process, including a Commencement Notice, design and assigned certifiers, a competent builder and a Certificate of Compliance on Completion. Department Circular BC07-2026.

The planning notification and Building Control submission are separate. Lodge the BCMS Commencement Notice 14–28 days before starting work; allow at least 14 days after the council notification too. Start with the BCMS submission, then the council notification, so the periods can run together. Check the pre-start paperwork guide for current council forms and professional responsibilities.

Agree scope, comfort and programme

Discuss heating, ventilation, storage, lighting and controls with the future occupant. Compare the home specifications and VAT-inclusive prices alongside separate site works, connections and professional fees. Put payment stages, warranty terms and responsibilities in writing.

Nua Living’s A0 energy rating is a design target, not a BER certificate. SEAI BER Advertising Guidelines, July 2026.

The Department’s guidance says a BER is not legally required for a standalone building under 50 m². Department auxiliary dwelling guidance.

Primestructures carries out the on-site ICF structural build in 5–10 days once foundations are ready. This is a structural stage, not a move-in promise: design, site preparation, statutory processes, fit-out and service connections need their own programme.

Discuss your garden

Tell us about the people who will use the home, their access needs and the privacy you want to preserve. Request a callback and a free, no-obligation site visit. We can discuss site eligibility and prepare a written scope and quote.