Before you buy a site in Ireland, check that you can get planning permission for a home, that the ground can treat wastewater if there is no sewer, and that access, services and title are in order. A site bought without a connected building agreement attracts 7.5% stamp duty. Section 83D can refund up to eleven-fifteenths if you meet its conditions, including starting building work within 30 months of buying the site and by 31 December 2030.
The site decides more about your project than any other choice: whether you can build, what you can build and what the groundworks will cost. Most problems can be found before you sign, if you know where to look. This guide sets out the checks to make, the stamp duty you will pay and the refund you can claim once building starts.
What should you check before buying a site?
- Planning: the zoning and policies in the county development plan, including any rural housing policy on who may build. Ask the council for a pre-planning meeting.
- Wastewater: if there is no public sewer, a site assessment under the EPA Code of Practice to confirm the ground can take a treatment system.
- Access: a safe entrance with the sightlines the council requires, and room for delivery lorries and a crane.
- Services: the cost and route of an ESB connection, a public water supply or a well, and broadband.
- Title: the Land Registry folio and map, rights of way, wayleaves and boundaries, checked by your solicitor.
- Ground and risk: flood maps, ground conditions for the foundations and the local radon level.
Make the purchase conditional on the checks that could stop the project, such as planning permission and the site assessment, or complete them before you commit. Our guides to planning permission and septic tanks explain those two steps in detail.
How much stamp duty do you pay on a site?
A site bought without a connected building agreement is non-residential land, so the stamp duty rate is 7.5%. If the site sale depends on a connected agreement to build a home, residential stamp duty instead applies to the combined site and building cost, excluding VAT (Revenue, buying a site). For a site taxed at 7.5%, the section 83D scheme repays up to eleven-fifteenths of the duty if you meet its conditions, bringing the effective rate down to 2% on the qualifying land (Revenue, residential development refund).
Example: you buy a site for €80,000 and pay €6,000 in stamp duty. If the whole site qualifies and you meet the scheme's conditions, you can reclaim €4,400 once building starts, leaving €1,600 in duty.
| Refund condition | What it means for a one-off house |
|---|---|
| Land acquired | On or after 11 October 2017, with stamp duty paid in full at the non-residential rate |
| Area covered | The footprint of the house plus up to 0.4047 hectares (one acre) of curtilage |
| Start of building | Within 30 months of acquiring the land, and by 31 December 2030, after a valid commencement notice |
| Completion | All building work completed within 30 months of the commencement notice |
| Claim | Online through myAccount or ROS, within four years of the commencement notice being acknowledged |
Source: Revenue, repayment conditions, published 29 September 2026. Revenue claws back the refund if the conditions are not met.
The refund rewards a fast start. Line up planning, the design and your builder so that work can begin within 30 months of buying the site, and finish within 30 months of the commencement notice.
How do you fund the site?
Self-build mortgages release funds in stages as the build progresses, and a site you own can count towards the deposit: AIB's self-build mortgage, for example, accepts a secured site as the deposit. The First Home Scheme does not fund the site, but equity in a site you own can count towards its 10% deposit requirement. See our guides to the First Home Scheme and financing a modular home.
What does the site mean for a BioBuilds home?
A BioBuilds home arrives in factory-built sections and is installed on prepared ground screws, so access for the delivery lorries and the crane is part of the site check. BioBuilds' Irish prices include transport. You arrange on-site assembly with BioBuilds' local partners at no extra cost. The Exterior Finished Wanderlust starts at €105,000, including 23% Irish VAT. Foundations, crane hire, connections and development contributions are site costs, covered in modular homes in Ireland and our guide to development contributions. Price your home in the configurator.
