Setback areas
A setback area is the strip in front of a building wall that must remain free of development and must lie on your own plot. In almost every German state its depth is 0.4 of the wall height H, at least 3 m — the exceptions are listed below.
checked against the statutes
Choose a state
Which state applies to your plot?
Building regulation is state law in Germany. There is no nationwide rule — the Model Building Code is only a recommendation to the states and applies nowhere directly.
BW · § 5, § 6 LBO
Baden-Württemberg
0.4 H · min. 2.5 m
BY · Art. 6 BayBO
Bayern
0.4 H · min. 3. m
BE · § 6 BauO Bln
Berlin
0.4 H · min. 3. m
BB · § 6 BbgBO
Brandenburg
0.4 H · min. 3. m
HB · § 6 BremLBO
Bremen
0.4 H · min. 3. m
HH · § 6 HBauO
Hamburg
0.4 H · min. 2.5 m
HE · § 6 HBO
Hessen
0.4 H · min. 2.5 m
MV · § 6 LBauO M-V
Mecklenburg-Vorpommern
0.4 H · min. 3. m
NI · § 5 NBauO
Niedersachsen
0.4 H · min. 3. m
NW · § 6 BauO NRW 2018
Nordrhein-Westfalen
0.4 H · min. 3. m
RP · § 8 LBauO
Rheinland-Pfalz
0.4 H · min. 3. m
SL · § 7, § 8 LBO
Saarland
0.4 H · min. 3. m
SN · § 6 SächsBO
Sachsen
0.4 H · min. 3. m
ST · § 6 BauO LSA
Sachsen-Anhalt
0.4 H · min. 3. m
SH · § 6 LBO
Schleswig-Holstein
0.4 H · min. 3. m
TH · § 6 ThürBO
Thüringen
0.4 H · min. 3. m
Work it out yourself
Calculating setback areas — for every German state
Set eaves height, roof pitch, building depth and distance to the boundary, then switch states above — the same building under sixteen sets of rules. The difference shows most clearly in how the roof is counted.
Under Art. 6 BayBO
The setback area lies entirely on the plot. 3.00 m are required, 3.00 m are kept.
A symmetrical gable roof and level ground are assumed. The figure is geometric, not a statement about permissibility: a local by-law, a development plan or a building encumbrance can set different dimensions.
For the legal reference, boundary building and the particularities of a state: select it above or open the state's own page.
All 16 side by side
Depth, commercial zones, core zones and boundary building
| State | Provision | Factor | minimum | Commercial | Central area | Boundary: per / total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Baden-Württemberg | § 5, § 6 LBO | 0.4 H | 2.5 m | 0.125 H | 0.2 H | 9. m / 15. m |
| Bayern | Art. 6 BayBO | 0.4 H | 3. m | 0.2 H | – | 9. m / 15. m |
| Berlin | § 6 BauO Bln | 0.4 H | 3. m | 0.2 H | – | 9. m / 15. m |
| Brandenburg | § 6 BbgBO | 0.4 H | 3. m | 0.2 H | – | 9. m / 15. m |
| Bremen | § 6 BremLBO | 0.4 H | 3. m | 0.2 H | – | 9. m / 18. m |
| Hamburg | § 6 HBauO | 0.4 H | 2.5 m | 0.2 H | – | 9. m / 15. m |
| Hessen | § 6 HBO | 0.4 H | 2.5 m | 0.2 H | – | 25 m² / 15. m |
| Mecklenburg-Vorpommern | § 6 LBauO M-V | 0.4 H | 3. m | 0.2 H | – | 9. m / 15. m |
| Niedersachsen | § 5 NBauO | 0.4 H | 3. m | 0.2 H | – | 9. m / 15. m |
| Nordrhein-Westfalen | § 6 BauO NRW 2018 | 0.4 H | 3. m | 0.2 H | 0.25 H | 9. m / 18. m |
| Rheinland-Pfalz | § 8 LBauO | 0.4 H | 3. m | 0.25 H | – | 12. m / 18. m |
| Saarland | § 7, § 8 LBO | 0.4 H | 3. m | 0.2 H | – | 12. m / 15. m |
| Sachsen | § 6 SächsBO | 0.4 H | 3. m | 0.2 H | – | 9. m / 15. m |
| Sachsen-Anhalt | § 6 BauO LSA | 0.4 H | 3. m | 0.2 H | – | 9. m / 15. m |
| Schleswig-Holstein | § 6 LBO | 0.4 H | 3. m | 0.2 H | – | 9. m / 18. m |
| Thüringen | § 6 ThürBO | 0.4 H | 3. m | 0.2 H | – | 9. m / 18. m |
Bold marks anything that deviates from the common value: 3 states have a minimum depth other than 3 m, 2 a commercial factor other than 0.2 H, and 5 allow 18 m of boundary building instead of 15 m.
The most common error
How the roof is counted — four different systems
Guides almost always quote the same formula: "roof surfaces steeper than 70° count in full, steeper than 45° count one third." That rule applies in 4 of the 16 states. 4 states have no proportional allowance at all, 2 count a quarter rather than a third, and 6 count a third with no 45° step.
4 states
keine Anrechnung
Das Land kennt keine anteilige Dachanrechnung. Die Wandhöhe H wird stattdessen unmittelbar an der Dachhaut bzw. abschnittsweise ermittelt.
4 states
über 70° voll, über 45° ein Drittel
Dachflächen über 70° Neigung werden voll auf H angerechnet, Dachflächen über 45° zu einem Drittel. Das ist die Formel, die Ratgeber meist für ganz Deutschland behaupten – sie gilt in vier Ländern.
6 states
unter 70° ein Drittel, sonst voll
Dachflächen unter 70° Neigung werden zu einem Drittel angerechnet, ab 70° voll. Eine Zwischenstufe bei 45° gibt es nicht.
Bayern, Bremen, Hamburg, Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Sachsen, Sachsen-Anhalt
2 states
über 70° voll, über 45° ein Viertel
Dachflächen über 70° Neigung werden voll angerechnet, über 45° nur zu einem Viertel – günstiger als die verbreitete Drittel-Regel.
Terminology
Setback area, boundary distance, building on the boundary
Abstandsfläche (setback area) is the technical term used in the Model Building Code and in fifteen state building codes: the area in front of the wall that must remain free.
Grenzabstand (boundary distance) is the term used by the Lower Saxony building code — § 5 NBauO does not use the word "Abstandsfläche" at all. Colloquially it also simply means the distance from the building to the boundary.
Grenzbebauung (boundary building) refers to the special case where a building may stand directly on the boundary without a setback area — typically garages, carports and garden sheds below certain dimensions.
Limits of this information
What these tables do not answer
These figures reproduce the state building code. A local by-law, a development plan or a registered building encumbrance can set different dimensions — and there is no nationwide register of such by-laws. Only the building authority's own information is binding.
And the most common error in practice: exempt from a permit does not mean exempt from setbacks. A carport that needs no building application must still keep the setback areas.