Bike or bin store without planning permission

A structure for storing bicycles or bins needs no planning permission if it is no bigger than 3.5 m² and no higher than 1.4 m. It can go in the front garden too, with two extra conditions. This exemption is new since 27 July 2026.

The limits

The rule is Class 62, added to the Planning and Development Regulations 2001 by S.I. No. 341 of 2026. It covers a structure built or placed within the grounds of the house to store bicycles or bins.

Condition	Limit
Area of the structure	3.5 m² at most
Height	1.4 m at most
In front of the house: gap from the front wall	at least 0.6 m
In front of the house: reduction of the share of the front garden kept as open space	no more than 50%

The gap from the front wall is there, in the words of the regulation, for access and maintenance or to keep daylight reaching a nearby window.

The Department's circular on the 2026 changes says the exemption gives enough space for 3 to 4 adult bicycles, 2 cargo bikes or 3 wheelie bins.

Before you build

An exemption does not apply in some cases, for example if the work would break a condition of an earlier planning permission or extend an unauthorised structure (article 9 of the Planning and Development Regulations 2001). Work that does not fit an exemption needs planning permission (fees), applied for through your council or at planning.localgov.ie. Larger structures behind the house have their own rule: sheds and garden structures.

Back to the drawing of the house.