Buying a modular home for Ireland?

1Why modular?

Three things make modular different from stick-built construction: factory control, fixed timeline, and a known number on day one.

Built in a factory, your house gets to skip the worst parts of Irish construction — six-month timber drying delays, weather, sub-contractor scheduling, on-site theft. The frame, insulation, windows and most of the interior are done before the modules ever leave the factory floor. Installation on your site is days, not months.

It does not fix planning permission, site costs, foundations, services, or VAT. Those still apply whether your house came on a truck or grew out of the ground.

2Pick your use case

The same 30m² box can be a granny flat, a starter home, a garden office or a glamping pod. Each comes with different planning rules and different shopping criteria.

• Granny flat for a family member — under the right setup, Revenue treats the second dwelling as part of the existing home. You'll need full planning permission unless you're below 25m² exempt and meet the "ancillary use" tests.
• Starter home on your own land — full planning needed. Look for A-rated insulation, 1-year-plus warranties, and an Irish-installed reference build you can actually visit.
• Holiday or weekend cabin — fewer compliance hoops if you're staying under 25m² with no kitchen/bathroom (though most useful builds will exceed this). Self-catering rental requires its own planning category.
• Garden office or studio — typically exempt under 25m² and not for sleeping. The easiest entry path, often the cheapest models work fine.
• Self-build site office, kennels, gym — usually exempt. Cheapest Bulgarian/Baltic models fit the brief.

3Understand pricing

"From €25,000" rarely means €25,000 lands on your site. There are at least three layers.

Factory price (or shell price) — what the builder publishes. Usually ex-VAT. Sometimes "factory package" means walls and roof; "full package" means interior finished. Read the spec sheet.

Delivered price — factory price + transport to your site in Ireland. Lithuania → Ireland via Klaipeda ferry is the cheapest route. Estonia is the priciest because most loads cross via Sweden or Germany.

Turnkey price — delivered + foundation + connections + sign-off. Add €8k–€20k depending on site conditions.

Our comparison table separates these explicitly: each row shows the factory price, the transport overlay, and the combined delivered band. For quote-only models, we apply an ourhouse estimate based on peer products at the same size and build type.

4Plan permission in Ireland

Three categories matter: exempt development, full planning, and granny-flat exemption.

• Exempt development — under 25m², single-storey, not used as sleeping accommodation, behind the existing dwelling line, not visible from a public road. Garden offices, studios, gyms, store rooms.
• Full planning permission — most modular homes used for living. Application to your local authority (Dublin City, Cork County, etc.). Allow 2–6 months. Pre-planning meeting is free and worth doing.
• Granny flat exemption (Section 5) — Section 5 declarations can confirm a granny flat as exempt if it's genuinely ancillary to the main dwelling, connected internally, and used by family. Local authorities vary in interpretation — get a written Section 5 declaration before building.

VPN gotcha: many Irish planning portals block non-IE traffic. If you're researching from abroad, use an Irish VPN endpoint or you'll get blank pages.

5Site preparation & services

The factory delivers a finished box. The land needs to be ready to receive it.

• Foundation — most modulars sit on screw piles (€2k–€4k for under 60m²), a strip foundation (€4k–€8k), or a concrete slab (€5k–€12k). Manufacturer will specify which is required.
• Access — can a low-loader truck or HGV with a crane reach your site? Country lanes with hedges or low bridges are common blockers. Get the route inspected by the delivery company before contract.
• Water connection — Irish Water connection charges (€2k–€4k) plus the trench work to the house. Wells are an option but need testing.
• Electricity — ESB Networks connection to a new build is €2k–€10k depending on distance from the nearest pole. Apply early.
• Sewage — mains connection if available, septic tank otherwise (€4k–€9k installed, plus EPA percolation test).

6Delivery & installation

Most installations take a single day. The complications are upstream of that day.

• Manufacturing window — typically 8–14 weeks from order confirmation. Spring orders may push into autumn.
• Shipping — Lithuania → Ireland via the Klaipeda → Dublin ro-ro ferry is the most direct. Latvia and Estonia route via Stockholm, Rotterdam, or German ports — adds a week and ~€1.5k.
• Crane day — usually 4–10 hours. Local crane operator hired by the manufacturer or by you. Site must be dry enough for the truck.
• Connection — water, electricity, sewage hooked up in days 2–5 by local trades.
• Sign-off — most providers have a 7–14 day snag window after delivery. Inspect carefully, take photos.

7Contract & sign-off

The contract pattern across most Baltic and Polish providers is similar: staged payments tied to manufacturing milestones.

• 10% on contract signing — books your manufacturing slot.
• 40–50% on production start — when materials are committed.
• 30–40% on completion — before shipping.
• 10% on delivery and sign-off — your snag-list leverage.

Things to verify in writing before you sign:

• VAT treatment (do they charge Irish VAT 23%, or you self-account on import?)
• What "delivery" means — to your site gate, or installed on foundation?
• Warranty length — structural (10–25 years standard) and finishes (1–5 years).
• Termination clauses and what happens to your deposit if you cancel.
• Force majeure — what if your site isn't ready when the house is built?