Co. Dublin · Fingal County Council area

Granny Flats & Garden Homes in Swords, Co. Dublin

Nua Living designs and builds ICF granny flats and garden homes in Swords, in north County Dublin, and in nearby Malahide, Balbriggan and Blanchardstown. A garden home gives a parent or a grown-up child a place of their own, close by. Every size has a fixed price, and the on-site structural build takes 5–10 days once your foundations are ready.

Check If My Garden Qualifies See fixed prices

Granny flats from: €93,900 + VAT
On-site build: 5–10 days
Exempt home sizes: 32–45 m²
Council to notify: Fingal County Council

S.I. No. 340/2026 · Class 3A

Building a garden home in Swords: local planning notes

Swords has one Architectural Conservation Area in the Fingal Development Plan 2023–2029: the Church Road Historic Ecclesiastical Core, centred on the monastic enclosure St Colmcille founded above the Ward River, with its round tower. Main Street is not an ACA, but Swords Castle, the Court House and the former Carnegie Library are protected structures. Under sections 57 and 82 of the Planning and Development Act 2000, works that would materially affect a protected structure, which includes the land within its curtilage, or the character of an ACA are not exempt, so for houses in the ecclesiastical core we confirm the position with Fingal County Council first.

Swords is the administrative capital of Fingal, with County Hall on Main Street. The plan records residential growth continuing to the west and south of the town, at Oldtown–Mooretown and Ridgewood, with the land bank at Lissenhall for the longer term.

Swords is served by the Swords wastewater treatment plant, sized for 70,000 population equivalent with tertiary treatment, which Uisce Éireann’s April 2026 register shows as green. The plan notes network issues in some areas, and in January 2026 Uisce Éireann began a major upgrade of the sewer along Balheary Road. Class 3A allows no separate connection, so a garden home links into the main house’s existing services.

Swords and Swords South are both OPW CFRAM Areas for Further Assessment, on the Ward and Broadmeadow rivers. The OPW records an existing scheme in place for Swords South, and no scheme proposed for the rest of Swords, either because the risk is low or because a scheme was not viable; the Gaybrook stream was widened at Aspen in 2011. Much of the town is in the Dublin Airport noise zones: the Swords Demesne, Swords Glebe, Townparks, Mooretown, Brackenstown and Seatown West townlands are listed in Zone D, and the plan’s noise controls are written for development that needs permission. Swords is in the Swords local electoral area.

Sources for Swords

Checked 21 October 2026. Plans and designations change; we confirm what applies to your site at the free site visit.

The national conditions, which apply in Swords too

The national Class 3A exemption applies in Swords as it does across Ireland. A garden home of 32–45 m² can go ahead without planning permission when all of these hold:

It is a detached home of 32–45 m², measured on the external footprint, in the rear garden of your main house — counted together with any earlier Class 3 garden structures.
At least 25 m² of private garden remains for the main house.
It sits at least 0.6 m from every boundary, and its windows are at least 0.6 m from the boundary they face.
It has its own pedestrian access within the garden, with no new entrance onto the road.
It is no higher than 3 m (4 m with a tiled or slated pitched roof).
You live in the main house as your sole or main residence, and the garden home is never sold separately or let short-term.
Fingal County Council is notified at least 14 days before work starts, with the location and Eircode of the property.
Work starts and finishes by 31 December 2030.

We check your site against every condition at the free site visit. Sizes above 45 m² need standard planning permission from Fingal County Council, which we apply for on your behalf.

How the S.I. No. 340/2026 exemption works →

Fixed prices nationwide

Granny flat sizes & fixed prices in Swords

A build in Swords costs the same as anywhere we work: one fixed price per size, including design, build and full project management. Prices exclude site works, connections and professional fees. We quote those after your free site visit.

Swords price list: fixed prices for every size
Size & model	Fixed price	Bedrooms / use	Planning
33 m²1 Bed Granny Flat	€106,577incl. 13.5% VAT€93,900 + VAT	1 bedroom	Can be exempt*
45 m²1 or 2 Bed Granny Flat	€143,578incl. 13.5% VAT€126,500 + VAT	1 bed (2 bed possible)	Can be exempt*
48 m²2 Bed Granny Flat	€152,658incl. 13.5% VAT€134,500 + VAT	2 bedroom	Standard permission
25 m²Garden Studio	€78,315incl. 13.5% VAT€69,000 + VAT	Garden room · not for sleeping in	Exempt as garden room†

The 25 m² Garden Studio is a Class 3 garden room, not a home. It is for use with your home — an office, studio, gym or hobby room — and cannot be lived in or slept in without planning permission.

*Subject to site eligibility under S.I. No. 340/2026, Class 3A (32–45 m² in the rear garden, owner living in the main house, at least 25 m² of garden remaining, own access within the garden, 14-day notice to the council) — confirmed at your free site visit. Build time refers to the on-site structural build once foundations are ready; excludes design, planning and connections lead-time. Prices exclude site works, connections and professional fees. †Garden Studio: Class 3, Part 1, Schedule 2, Planning and Development Regulations 2001, as substituted by S.I. No. 338/2026. Not forward of the front wall; finishes to match the house if built to the side; not for human habitation. May not apply where planning conditions restrict exempt development. Counts towards the 45 m² Class 3A limit if you later add a garden home. Confirmed at your free site visit.

Full price list & what each price includes →

Concept floor plans

Layouts for Swords gardens

Our 10 concept floor plans run from 32 to 45 m², each drawn to scale so you can print it and mark it out in your garden. Every home is custom designed, so a plan is a starting point, not a limit.

For a long, narrow garden

Browse every floor plan

Swords FAQ

Garden homes in Swords: your questions

Do I need planning permission for a granny flat in Swords?+

In most cases, not for a garden home of 32–45 m². Swords follows the same national rules as everywhere else: under S.I. No. 340/2026 (Class 3A), a detached home of 32–45 m² in the rear garden of your main house is exempt from planning permission if at least 25 m² of garden remains, it sits 0.6 m from every boundary, it has its own access within the garden, you live in the main house, and Fingal County Council is notified 14 days before work starts. The 33 m² 1 Bed Granny Flat and the 45 m² 1 or 2 Bed Granny Flat fit the band; the 48 m² 2 Bed Granny Flat needs standard permission, which we handle. The exemption runs until 31 December 2030, and we check your site free of charge.

Which council do I notify for a garden home in Swords?+

Swords is in the Fingal County Council area, so that is the planning authority you notify. The Class 3A notification must reach the council at least 14 days before work starts, giving the location and Eircode of your property. Email specialapps@fingal.ie, or post to County Hall, Main Street, Swords, Co. Dublin K67 X8Y2. Fingal County Council publishes its own notification form, linked on this page, and we prepare and file it for you as part of every exempt build. It is separate from the building control Commencement Notice, which goes on BCMS because a garden home is a new dwelling.

How much does a garden home cost in Swords?+

Our prices are fixed nationwide, so a build in Swords costs the same as anywhere else: €93,900 (€106,577 incl. 13.5% VAT) for the 33 m² 1 Bed Granny Flat, €126,500 (€143,578 incl. 13.5% VAT) for the 45 m² 1 or 2 Bed Granny Flat and €134,500 (€152,658 incl. 13.5% VAT) for the 48 m² 2 Bed Granny Flat (+ VAT @ 13.5%), including design, build and full project management. The 25 m² Garden Studio, a garden room rather than a home, is €69,000 + VAT @ 13.5% (€78,315 incl. 13.5% VAT). Prices exclude site works, connections and professional fees. We quote those after your free site visit in Swords.

How long does a garden home build take in Swords?+

Once your foundations are ready, the on-site structural build takes 5–10 days. Primestructures’ own crew builds every home, with 10 years of ICF construction behind them. Design, planning and connections come before that: for an exempt size, the 14-day notification to Fingal County Council and the building control Commencement Notice have to go in before work starts, and a larger size needs planning permission first. We give you a full timeline at your free site visit.

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Start with your name and number so we can get back to you. Then check your garden and add any site details you know for your quote — the extra questions are optional. You deal with Nua Living throughout: one point of contact from your first call to handover. Primestructures’ own crew builds every home, with 10 years of ICF construction behind them.