Universal Design Guidelines for Homes in Ireland.

The guidelines were produced by the NDA's Centre for Excellence in Universal Design to raise awareness of universally designed homes and to future-proof housing for changing needs. They are informed by research, a review of national and international guidance and a consultation process. They are free to download in sections: an introduction, then home location and approach, entering and moving around, spaces for living, elements and systems, floor plan examples, and appendices.

The guidance is set out at two levels, UD Home and UD Home Plus, and distinguishes between houses and apartments where it matters.

Section 4.2, Fit-Out Elements, includes a signage subsection. It expects signs in communal areas to be easy for everyone to use, which means thinking about positioning, accessibility, consistency and visibility. It names information, directional, identification and mandatory safety signs as the types you will find in domestic buildings, says signs should not obstruct movement, and includes a table relating viewing distance to recommended letter height. It also asks for signs to be properly lit, and for suspended signs to be set above 2000mm.

For build-to-rent, student accommodation and apartment schemes, this is the most direct Irish guidance on core, floor and apartment numbering signage.

The guidelines are best practice, not a statutory requirement. TGD M sets the requirement for dwellings and for the common areas of apartment buildings. The NDA has confirmed that these guidelines supersede the housing section of its earlier Building for Everyone series, and the Dementia Friendly Dwellings guidelines build directly on them. The document is NDA copyright, so we link to it rather than host it.