Downsize without leaving the people and the place you love.
Downsizing in Ireland usually means a hard trade: give up the family home, leave the area, move somewhere smaller and further from everyone. No wonder so many people put it off for years.
There's a gentler option now, and the Government is actively encouraging it. By 2030 there will be over a million people aged 65 and older in Ireland, up from around 780,000 in 2022, and the State is pushing "rightsizing" to free up larger homes for growing families. The Class 3A planning exemption, in force since 27 July 2026, makes it possible to do that without going anywhere at all.
Source: CSO, Population & Labour Force Projections 2023–2057.
Independence and privacy, with family a few steps away
A self-contained ~34 m² home, bedroom, bathroom, proper kitchen-living, in the garden of a family home. Single-storey, no stairs, a level threshold, and door widths built to the access requirements of the Building Regulations (TGD Part M).
It means independence and privacy, with family a few steps away rather than a drive across the county. The big house is freed up, for a son or daughter's growing family, or to let. And nobody has to leave the place they've spent a life in.
It can work either way round: a parent moves into the garden home while the family takes the main house, or the parent stays in the main house and a son or daughter takes the unit. Either is the same home.
This falls under the Class 3A auxiliary-dwelling exemption, in force since 27 July 2026, which requires 14 days' notice to your council before work starts. We review every site against the Class 3A conditions first, detail here.
The price, and why it's within reach
This matters more when you're not earning what you once did. The 20ft Expandable starts at €12,995 FOB China for a basic livable unit including simple furniture, and reaches a fully-fitted, compliant, A2 home at a fraction of the €110,000–€180,000 an Irish-built unit costs, well within reach of savings or the proceeds of freeing up the main house.
Your exact all-in installed figure is project-specific: our quote covers the unit FOB China, your own Irish freight forwarder and customs broker quotes shipping and customs, and your contractor prices the Irish-side site works. See the full cost breakdown →
It's funded comfortably without disturbing the family home's title in most cases, though because lenders treat a second dwelling on the same title carefully, we always recommend a quick word with your solicitor, and we provide a written briefing with every quote.
Warm, easy, and built to last
A home for later life has to be warm, easy and built to last. Every Ériu unit is specified to the Irish Building Regulations, achieves an A2 BER on a correctly installed unit with a heat pump (warm and cheap to run), is weatherproofed for the Irish climate, and carries a 30-year anti-corrosion warranty, given by the factory and carried by Ériu, so the cover is held here in Ireland. Single-storey throughout, with level access designed in.
And it's supplied by an Irish-owned company that inspects every unit in person and answers the phone here, which counts for a great deal when it's a home for someone you love.
What's involved
A foundation, services connected from the main house, a Commencement Notice and a BER on completion, carried out by your own Irish contractor and certifier, working from the compliance pack we supply with the unit. Typical time from order to a finished, occupiable home is a matter of weeks, not the long wait of a conventional build. We'll walk the whole family through every step before anything is decided.
Get a site review.
Tell us your site, your county, and who the home is for. We'll review the garden against the Class 3A conditions and come back with a factory-direct quote, the compliance pack, and a plain, kind explanation of how it all works. Direct reply from Noel within 24 hours.
Request a site review →