Short answer. Ireland's room minimums are set in planning guidelines for new homes, mainly apartments. The Planning Design Standards for Apartments (2025) recommend at least 11.4 m² (123 sq ft) and 2.8 m (9 ft 2) wide for a double or twin bedroom, and 7.1 m² (76 sq ft) and 2.1 m (6 ft 11) wide for a single. A whole apartment must be at least 32 m² for a studio, 45 m² for one bedroom, 63 or 73 m² for two and 76 or 90 m² for three. For houses, the 2007 Quality Housing for Sustainable Communities guidelines give the same bedroom figures as best practice, with a main bedroom of 13 m² in a home for three or more people. The rules for rented homes set no room sizes. The average Irish home with a BER is 118 m².
Will a double bed fit your bedroom?
An Irish double is 135 × 190 cm. In a double bedroom at the 2.8 m minimum width, it leaves 72.5 cm on each side; the bed with 60 cm walkways on both sides needs 2.55 m. A single bedroom at the 2.1 m minimum takes a 90 cm single against one wall with 1.2 m beside it.
| Bed | Size in cm | Size in feet and inches | Good to know |
|---|---|---|---|
| Single | 90 × 190 | 3 ft × 6 ft 3 | The "3ft bed" |
| Small double | 120 × 190 | 4 ft × 6 ft 3 | Also called a "4ft bed" or a "three-quarter bed" |
| Double | 135 × 190 | 4 ft 6 × 6 ft 3 | The most popular size in Ireland, the "4ft6" |
| King | 150 × 200 | 5 ft × 6 ft 6 | The "5ft bed": 15 cm wider and 10 cm longer than a double |
| Super king | 180 × 200 | 6 ft × 6 ft 6 | The width of two singles |
Room sizes in Ireland
| Room | Size (m², W × L) | Minimum and the rule | Good to know |
|---|---|---|---|
| Double bedroom | 11.4 m² (123 sq ft) at the minimum, for example 2.8 × 4.1 m (9 ft 2 × 13 ft 5) | 11.4 m² and 2.8 m wide: recommended in the Planning Design Standards for Apartments (2025), and best practice for houses in Quality Housing for Sustainable Communities (2007) | The 2007 guidelines ask for a main bedroom of 13 m² (140 sq ft) in a home for three or more people. A twin room has the same minimum as a double. |
| Single bedroom | 7.1 m² (76 sq ft) at the minimum, for example 2.1 × 3.4 m (6 ft 11 × 11 ft 2) | 7.1 m² and 2.1 m wide: the same two documents | Takes a 90 × 190 cm single against a wall, with 1.2 m beside it. |
| Living room | No national figure for the area | Main living and dining room recommended at least 3.3 m (10 ft 10) wide with one bedroom, 3.6 m (11 ft 10) with two, 3.8 m (12 ft 6) with three: the 2025 apartment standards, and the same widths in the 2007 guidelines | In a studio, the living, dining and sleeping space together should be 25 m² (269 sq ft) and 4 m (13 ft 1) wide. |
| Kitchen | No national figure | No minimum area in the 2025 apartment standards. The 2007 guidelines ask for at least 1.5 m (4 ft 11) between floor units and the opposite wall or units | The rented-housing regulations do not count a kitchen under 6.5 m² (70 sq ft) as a habitable room. |
| Bathroom | No national figure | No minimum floor area in either set of guidelines | Measure the wall for the bath or shower you want before you buy. |
| Hallway | At least 0.9 m (2 ft 11) wide in new homes | At least 900 mm unobstructed, 800 mm (2 ft 7) past a radiator: Technical Guidance Document M (2022), on the entrance floor of a new home | Off a 900 mm hall, room doors need 800 mm of clear opening; a 775 mm door needs a 1050 mm (3 ft 5) hall. |
| Ceiling height | No national figure | 2.7 m (8 ft 10) for ground-floor apartments: SPPR 4 of the 2025 apartment standards. On other floors, 2.4 m (7 ft 10) is generally the suggested minimum, citing Technical Guidance Document F (Ventilation) | Older homes vary; measure your own. |
| Studio apartment | 32 m² (344 sq ft) at the minimum | 32 m², required by SPPR 2 of the 2025 apartment standards | Includes 3 m² (32 sq ft) of storage. |
| One-bed apartment | 45 m² (484 sq ft) at the minimum | 45 m² for two people, SPPR 2 | Includes 3 m² of storage. |
| Two-bed apartment | 63 m² (678 sq ft) for three people, 73 m² (786 sq ft) for four | SPPR 2 | Includes 5 or 6 m² of storage. |
| Three-bed apartment | 76 m² (818 sq ft) for four people, 90 m² (969 sq ft) for five | SPPR 2 | Includes 6 or 9 m² of storage. |
| Apartment, average | 67 to 73 m² (721 to 786 sq ft) for apartments with a BER | Not a rule | CSO figures by BER category: ground-floor and mid-floor apartments 67 m², top-floor 71 m². |
| House, average | 112 m² (1,206 sq ft) for a semi-detached house with a BER | No national minimum. The 2007 guidelines set a target gross floor area of 92 m² (990 sq ft) for a two-storey, three-bed, five-person house | Detached houses average 169 m², mid-terrace houses 93 m². |
Who the rules bind: the 2025 apartment standards are ministerial guidelines under Section 28 of the Planning and Development Act 2000, and planning authorities and An Coimisiún Pleanála must apply their Specific Planning Policy Requirements (SPPRs), such as the overall apartment sizes. The bedroom and living room figures are "recommended minimum" widths and areas, and designers may go up to 5% below them if the whole apartment still meets its minimum. In schemes of ten or more apartments, at least a quarter must be 10% bigger than the minimum, with some exceptions such as refurbishment. Apartments planned before July 2025 followed earlier editions.
How floor area is measured in Ireland
- New apartments: internal, wall to wall, in square metres. Planning drawings show each room's main dimensions and its area. A duplex adds the floor area its stairs and landings need.
- BER certificates: measured between the inner surfaces of the outside and party walls, without taking out the internal walls.
- Surveyors and agents: the Society of Chartered Surveyors Ireland's measuring notes use gross internal area for homes, measured to the inside face of the outside walls. It includes internal walls, stairwells, a garage and a conservatory, and areas with less than 1.5 m of headroom. The notes ask for metric figures only.
So the same home can have different floor areas, depending on who measured it and how. If a figure is in square feet, divide by 10.76 to get square metres.
The overcrowding rule
Ireland's legal test for an overcrowded house is in section 63 of the Housing Act 1966. A house is overcrowded if two people aged ten or more, of opposite sexes and not a couple, have to sleep in the same room, or if a bedroom gives any sleeper less than 400 cubic feet of free air space. Height counts up to 8 feet (2.44 m), so in a room at least that high, 400 cubic feet is about 50 sq ft (4.6 m²) of clear floor per person.
Common mistakes
- Taking the minimum for the typical size. 11.4 m² is the lower limit for a double bedroom in a new apartment, not what an older house has. Measure the room.
- Reading the area, not the width. A 2.8 m wide double bedroom fits a double bed with walkways on both sides; a narrower room of the same area may not.
- Expecting the rooms to add up to the total. A BER area and a gross internal area both include internal walls and stairs, and a gross internal area can include a garage, so the rooms you can furnish add up to less.
- Assuming the rules cover your rental. The 2019 rented-housing regulations set no room sizes.
See your rooms in 3D
In Flatwalk you upload the floor plan as a photo, a screenshot or a PDF, or draw it yourself, and walk through it in 3D. Furniture from real shops stands at its true size, so you can see whether a double bed leaves room for the wardrobe door, and the tape measure reads any gap in metres or in feet and inches.
What it does not do: Flatwalk does not check a plan against the Irish guidelines or tell you what the rules require, and your plan is only as true as the numbers you gave it. Measure the real room with a tape measure.
Also for Ireland: door widths.
What Flatwalk does that older planners skip
Lights
Add ceiling lights, lamps and LED strips and see each room lit, not only measured.
Your home in its town
Give the address and the street and buildings around you appear in 3D where the map has them.
Sun for your address
Real sunlight through the windows, by date and hour, and how long each room gets direct sun.
One piece, in your own room
Through the live camera or in a photo of the room, stand a sofa on your own floor at its true size before you buy.
Detail
Dozens of door and window types, and kitchens, wardrobes and bathrooms built piece by piece.
Made for a thumb
Tap a wall the plan got wrong and type its real length.
Swipe for more. Every picture is the app itself.
One home, free
Most people plan one home. For that, Flatwalk costs nothing: no trial clock and no card. Reading your floor plan picture is an AI tool with one free try, and drawing, exact wall sizes, furniture, lights, sun and walking are all part of planning one home for nothing. A membership is for people who want more homes or more AI.
Questions people ask
What is the minimum bedroom size in Ireland? For new apartments, the 2025 planning standards recommend 7.1 m² and 2.1 m wide for a single bedroom and 11.4 m² and 2.8 m wide for a double or twin. The 2007 housing guidelines use the same figures, and 13 m² for the main bedroom in a home for three or more people.
What is the average bedroom size in Ireland? We found no published national figure. The CSO publishes whole-home averages from BER certificates: 118 m² for all homes with a BER, 112 m² for a semi-detached house and 67 to 73 m² for an apartment.
What is the minimum apartment size in Ireland? Under the 2025 standards: 32 m² for a studio, 45 m² for a one-bed, 63 m² for a two-bed for three people, 73 m² for four, and 76 or 90 m² for a three-bed.
What is the minimum ceiling height in Ireland? In new apartments, the ground floor needs at least 2.7 m; on other floors, 2.4 m is the generally suggested minimum.
Will a double bed fit in a single bedroom? At the 2.1 m minimum width, a 135 cm double leaves 75 cm in total, so only one side can have a walkway. A double bedroom at 2.8 m wide leaves 72.5 cm on each side.
Flatwalk turns your floor plan into a home you can walk through at eye level, with real furniture at its true size, so you can see what fits before you buy, free for one home. It is coming soon to Google Play; join the waiting list at flatwalk.app.
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