Change of use planning permission is required when a property moves from one recognised use class to another in a way that is a 'material change of use' under the Planning and Development Act 2000, such as converting a shop to a house or a house to a business. Some changes between similar use classes, or minor changes, may fall within exemptions, but whether a specific change needs permission always depends on the two uses involved.
Irish planning law treats a 'material change of use' of land or a building as development requiring planning permission, separate from any physical building works involved. The Planning and Development Regulations 2001 group uses into classes, and moving from one use class to another, for example from retail to residential, from residential to commercial, or from agricultural to industrial, is generally regarded as material and needs permission, because different uses can have very different impacts on traffic, noise, parking, and neighbouring amenity.
Not every change of activity is a change of use in the legal sense. Moving within the same use class, such as changing from one type of retail shop to another broadly similar type of shop, is often not material and may not require permission. Similarly, some specific changes are explicitly exempted under Schedule 2 of the Regulations, subject to conditions, such as certain changes from agricultural use or specified small-scale home business activity. Because the line between 'material' and 'non-material' change can be genuinely unclear, this is one of the more common areas where a Section 5 declaration of exemption is used.
Applying for change of use permission generally involves a standard planning application to the local authority, addressing matters such as parking, access, impact on neighbours, and compliance with the area's zoning under the county or city development plan. Even where the physical building needs no structural alteration at all, the use itself can still require its own permission.