If you want to plant trees, you not only have to pay attention to a suitable location and the right planting distance. In addition, it is important to comply with the legal boundary distance to the neighboring property. This is important in order to keep the peace in the neighbourhood.
How close a tree may be planted to the property line varies slightly from state to state
The individual regulations for the German federal states in detail
The following overviews provide you with information about the legal regulations in the various federal states.
Bavaria
| tree species | Boundary Distance, Minimum |
| Trees taller than two meters | 2 metres |
| all other trees | 0.5 meters |
Baden-Wuerttemberg
| tree species | Boundary Distance, Minimum |
| Large trees (forest trees, conifers) | 8 meters |
| Medium-sized trees and grafted fruit trees | 4 meters |
| Pome and stone fruit trees, slow-growing | 2 metres |
| Trees and shrubs shorter than 1.8 meters | 1 meter |
| All other trees | 3 meter |
Berlin
| tree species | Boundary Distance, Minimum |
| Vigorous, large trees | 3 meter |
| Fruit trees without a standard | 1 meter |
| all other trees | 1.5 meters |
Brandenburg
| tree species | Boundary Distance, Minimum |
| For all trees: | at least a third of the growth height |
| fruit trees | 2 metres |
| all other trees | 4 meters |
Bremen and Hamburg
There are no corresponding legal regulations here, but Bremen repeatedly refers to the neighborhood law that applies in Lower Saxony.
Hesse
| tree species | Boundary Distance, Minimum |
| Oak, linden, poplar, walnut trees | 4 meters |
| strong trees | 2 metres |
| all other trees | 1.5 meters |
| vigorous pome fruit trees, sweet cherries and grafted walnut trees | 2 metres |
| all other fruit trees | 1.5 meters |
Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania
In this federal state, too, there is no uniform legal regulation as far as the required border distances are concerned.
Lower Saxony
| tree species | Boundary Distance, Minimum |
| Trees over 15 meters high | 8 meters |
| Trees up to 15 meters high | 3 meter |
| Trees up to 5 meters high | 1.25 meters |
| Trees up to 3 meters high | 0.75 meters |
| Trees up to 2 meters high | 0.5 meters |
| Trees up to 1.2 meters high | 0.25 meters |
North Rhine-Westphalia
| tree species | Boundary Distance, Minimum |
| Strong trees | 4 meters |
| All other ornamental trees | 2 metres |
| Vigorous pome fruit trees, sweet cherries, walnut trees, sweet chestnuts | 2 metres |
| medium-growing pome fruit trees, stone fruit trees (except sweet cherries) | 1.5 meters |
| slow-growing pome fruit trees | 1 meter |
Rhineland-Palatinate, Thuringia and Saarland
In these federal states, the Neighborhood Act prescribes the same distances as in Lower Saxony.
Saxony
| tree species | Boundary Distance, Minimum |
| Trees under 2 meters | 0.5 meters |
| Trees over 2 meters | 2 metres |
Saxony-Anhalt
| tree species | Boundary Distance, Minimum |
| Trees over 15 meters high | 6 meters |
| Trees up to 15 meters high | 3 meter |
| Trees up to 5 meters high | 1.25 meters |
| Trees up to three meters high | 1 meter |
| Trees up to 1.5 meters high | 0.5 meters |
Schleswig Holstein
Schleswig-Holstein stipulates a minimum distance of one third of the total height of the tree.
tips
In the development plans of many housing estates, not only are the architectural forms of the homes precisely defined, the tree species to be planted are also listed there.
