Find opportunities

Find the permissions nobody has built

Approved, not startedNew

778 live permissions for ten or more homes — 60,906 homes in all — with no sign that building has started. Every granted permission in the State, checked against the 157,224 commencement notices builders lodge before they start.

Planning decisions & refusal reasons

live permissions for 10+ homes, not started: 778; live permissions for 10+ homes, not started
homes in them: 60,906; homes in them
care homes approved, not started: 110; care homes approved, not started

Ask for the permissions you want

A permission is only an opportunity if nobody is building it. Precedent checks every one.

Not startedNew

No commencement notice names the permission, and none was lodged beside it after the grant.

10 or more homes

The number of homes is read from the permission itself, so one-off houses drop out.

Care homes

Approved nursing homes and residential care schemes that have not started.

Still live

Only permissions inside their life — five years, or longer where the permission says so — with the date each one runs out.

About to run outNew

Schemes of 10 or more homes whose permission ends within the next 12 months: 55 of them, 3,904 homes, not started. The owner has to start soon or apply again.

Where you find them

On the planning map

Planning decisions, Options, "Building started?" — every unstarted permission in view, by homes or care homes, or schemes that run out within 12 months.

In site sourcing

A "Has planning, not started" filter on every search, narrowed if you like to schemes running out. The "Approved, not started" preset finds 108 zoned sites of 2 ha and up, and "Planning about to run out" 8 of them.

On every site card

Each unstarted permission on the land: how many homes, when it runs out, and the case.

Part-built estatesNew

The "Part-built estates" preset finds 37 zoned sites of 2 ha and up where part of the site is built on and at least a quarter is still empty — 211 hectares beside the houses. The site card shows the building notices on the site, so you can see whether work has stopped.

Approved, not started: questions

How do I find land with planning permission that has not been built in Ireland?

Precedent checks every granted permission against the commencement notices builders must lodge before starting work. On the current figures, 778 live permissions for ten or more homes show no sign of a start. Filter the planning map or any site search for them, and open the case for the full permission.

How do you know a permission has not started?

Before work starts, a builder lodges a commencement notice that names the planning permission. The National Building Control Office publishes every one. Precedent treats a permission as started if a notice names it, names the permission it extends, or was lodged within 100 metres of it after the grant.

How do I find unfinished housing estates in Ireland?

Precedent measures every site zoned for new housing title by title, from Land Registry building outlines, and finds the ones where part of the site is built on and at least a quarter is still empty. On the current figures that is 37 sites of 2 ha and up, with 211 hectares of empty zoned land. It does not say why the rest is empty: some are still being built. The site card shows the building notices on the site and the latest one.

Can I find approved care homes that have not been built?

Yes. The planning map has a "Care homes — not started" filter: nursing homes and residential care schemes granted permission with no commencement notice — 110 of them on the current figures.

Built on official public registries

National Building Control Office: 157,224 commencement notices and completion certificates since 2014 (CC BY 4.0), refreshed daily
National planning applications register: 203,449 applications, all 31 authorities

“Not started” means no sign of a start: no commencement notice names the permission, and none was lodged within 100 m of it after the grant. A permission that runs out can still be extended, so check the council’s file.

All in one platform

Every feature works on the same map, against the same 31 planning authorities.

See it on your own patch

A short call with the founder, on real sites in the county you work in. About twenty minutes — you will know by the end whether it is any use to you.