Garden house building permit
You are planning to open your own Wooden garden house to build? Then you should find out before buying whether you need a building permit or not. This is because when erecting outbuildings in the garden, the general regulations of building law and the provisions of the respective state building code must be observed.
Important: The following information only reflects the basic guidelines and conditions (as of 09/2024) and is without guarantee. This makes it easier for you to Planning your garden house taking into account building law. Individual information on the building permit for the garden house in your specific case can only be given to you by the locally responsible building authority.
Is a building permit required for a garden shed?
Whether a building permit is required for a garden shed depends on the building regulations of the federal state and the development plan of the municipality. The regulations of the respective municipality take precedence over those of the state. The following criteria are decisive for the necessity of a building permit:
- Size of the garden house
- Planned location (indoor or outdoor)
- Type of foundation
- Desired form of use
- Distance to the property line
Hint: By the term "outdoor area", building law means the locations that are outside developed building areas. Accordingly, your garden house at home is a planned "interior" building.
Which garden sheds do not require a building permit?
In the respective state building code you will find information on so-called "procedure-free projects". These are construction projects that do not have to be approved in advance. Each federal state determines for itself the size (in cubic metres or square metres) from which a garden house falls into this category.
Garden owners in Bavaria, for example, are allowed to build a garden house of up to 75 cubic metres without a building permit. In other federal states - such as Berlin - a permit is required from a volume of 10 cubic meters. As the list of decision criteria in the previous section shows, other aspects are decisive in addition to size.
For example, a permit is always required for a garden house as a recreation room, even if the building complies with the size that does not require a permit. An outbuilding is considered a recreation room in the sense of building law if, among other things, there is a toilet, shower or heating.
Good to know: Even for a previously permit-free garden house, a building permit may still be required later. This is the case, for example, if you turn a garden shed used as a tool shed into a party room or a Outdoor sauna .
State Building Code: This is what is meant by the volume
The gross volume – still called "enclosed space" in earlier DIN standards – defines the volume of a building. It is calculated on the basis of DIN 277 edition 2021-08 on the basis of the outer boundary surfaces. The outer edges of the walls, the surface of the roof coverings (including dormers and skylights) and the underside of the subfloor or floor slab (not the foundation) are decisive for the determination.
For a garden house without a permit, the following maximum gross volume applies (as of 09/2024):
| State | In the built-up area | Outside built-up areas |
|---|---|---|
| Baden-Württemberg | 40 m³ | 20 m³ |
| Bavaria | 75 m³ | Only with permission |
| Berlin | 10 m² | Only with permission |
| Brandenburg | 75 m³ | Only with permission |
| Bremen | 10 m² | Only with permission |
| Hamburg | 30 m³ | Only with permission |
| Hesse | 30 m³ | Only with permission |
| Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania | 10 m² | Only with permission |
| Lower Saxony | 40 m³ | 20 m³ |
| North Rhine-Westphalia | 75 m³ | Only with permission |
| Rhineland-Palatinate | 50 m³ | 10 m³ |
| Saarland | 10 m² | Only with permission |
| Saxony | 10 m² | Only with permission |
| Saxony-Anhalt | 10 m² | Only with permission |
| Schleswig-Holstein | 30 m³ | 10 m³ |
| Thuringia | 10 m² | Only with permission |
Building a garden house in an allotment garden
You don't want to build the building in your own garden, but in an allotment garden colony? Then the provisions of the Federal Allotment Garden Act are binding. According to § 3, an arbor of up to 24 square meters of floor space, including a terrace, may be built without a building permit. However, the arbor may not be inhabited permanently. Detailed information on this can be obtained from the board of your allotment garden association.
Other legal factors: distance to the neighbor and height of the house
Regardless of whether you have to have a house approved according to the state building law or not: Always consider the other legal aspects - such as distance areas or the permissible height of the garden house. You can obtain binding information from the responsible building authority.
Tip: Inform your neighbour in advance about the planned construction of your garden shed, even if you have already clarified all legal points. This way, you can clarify possible concerns in a face-to-face conversation. This prevents disputes and contributes to a good neighbourly relationship.
Building a garden house in accordance with the law: A look at the development plan
If your residential area was built in the past 80 years, there is usually a development plan in place. Before buying your garden shed, take a look at the document to find out about possible restrictions at an early stage. The provisions on ancillary facilities are decisive. Are they even possible outside the buildable area of the property or is development excluded?
Answers to these and many other important questions can be easily clarified with the help of the local guidelines. For example, in many places, ancillary facilities may only be built within the existing building boundaries. The boundaries to be observed are set out in the development plan.
Submit a building permit for a garden shed
If you have any questions or are unclear, you can always ask your responsible building authority about the applicable local regulations. When you submit an application for a building permit, it must contain precise information about
- the size of the garden house
- the materials from which the house is built
- the location on the property – all distances and boundaries must be shown in a detailed site plan
Plan for additional costs for the building permit for your garden shed. Depending on the federal state and the size and value of the garden house, the additional financial outlay can amount to several hundred euros.