In this section

Minimum Room Height by Bundesland: Germany Land by Land

Germany sets no single ceiling height. Some Länder ask 2.40 m, some 2.30 m, and a few drop the rule for small homes. Here's the figure for each Land we could confirm.

Clause DE LBO BW 34 Clause DE BayBO Art 45 Clause DE HBauO 47 Clause DE HBO 50 Clause DE LBauO MV 47 Clause DE LBO SL 45 Clause DE LBO SH 47 Clause DE BauO LSA 46 Clause DE BauO Bln 47 Clause DE BbgBO 47 Clause DE MBO 47

The requirement

Germany has no one room height. Each Land sets its own. Most of the Länder we checked ask 2.40 m for a room you live in. Four ask 2.30 m. Some drop the rule for small homes. The table below has the figure for each Land we could confirm.

The rule covers a room people live or work in, an Aufenthaltsraum. A bedroom or a living room counts. A store room does not. The height in the code is the clear height. That is floor to finished ceiling.

LandRoom you live inRoom in the roofHome with up to two units
Baden-Württemberg2.30 m2.20 mno let-off
Bavaria2.40 m2.20 mrule does not apply
Berlin2.40 m2.20 mrule does not apply
Brandenburg2.30 m2.20 mno let-off
Hamburg2.40 m2.30 m2.30 m
Hessen2.40 m2.20 mno let-off
Mecklenburg-Vorpommern2.40 m2.20 m2.30 m
Saarland2.30 m2.20 mrule does not apply
Sachsen-Anhalt2.40 m2.20 mrule does not apply
Schleswig-Holstein2.30 m2.20 mno let-off

Rooms in the roof

Most of these Länder let you go lower in the roof. The lower height must be met over at least half the floor area. Bavaria words this as more than half of the usable area. Parts of the room up to 1.50 m clear are left out of that count. Bavaria leaves out only the parts under 1.50 m. Hamburg is the odd one. Its roof figure is 2.30 m, not 2.20 m.

Hessen sets 2.20 m in the roof and in a cellar storey. In the roof it wants that height over at least half the floor area.

Baden-Württemberg applies the roof figure to a room that sits wholly or mainly in the roof space. Its general 2.30 m figure covers every other case.

Small homes get a break in some Länder

Several Länder ease the rule for a home in building class 1 or 2 (Gebäudeklasse 1 und 2). The class turns on the number of units in the building. It covers a home with no more than two units. The building must be no more than 7 m high. Its units must add up to no more than 400 m². For class 1 the building must also stand free of other buildings.

Four Länder take these homes out of the height rule. In Bavaria, Berlin, Saarland and Sachsen-Anhalt the roof rule goes with it. That leaves no set height figure in the code at all. Hamburg and Mecklenburg-Vorpommern work it the other way. They keep a figure and drop it to 2.30 m.

Work in a building that already stands

Mecklenburg-Vorpommern allows 2.30 m in one more case. It applies where flats in a lawful old building are split up. It also applies where other space is turned into living space.

Hessen goes lower still. It allows 2.10 m where a lawful old building is added to, rebuilt or turned into homes.

Länder we could not confirm

We found no figure we trust for Bremen, Niedersachsen, Nordrhein-Westfalen or Sachsen. Do not read anything into that. Read the code on the Land’s own legal site instead. Rheinland-Pfalz and Thüringen set their own figures too, and we could not confirm those. Check them on the Land portal before you build.

Do not fall back on 2.40 m as a safe guess. Brandenburg asks 2.30 m. And some 2.40 m Länder drop the rule for small homes. Build to your own Land’s text, not to a rule of thumb.

The Musterbauordnung is a model code. The 16 Länder pattern their own codes on it. It binds nobody on its own. Its §47(1) asks 2.40 m. In the roof it asks 2.20 m over at least half the floor area. It drops both figures for a home in class 1 or 2. Read the model text on bauministerkonferenz.de.

Sources

  • Landesbauordnung für Baden-Württemberg (LBO) in der Fassung vom 16. März 2026, §34 Abs. 1 — 2.30 m for habitable rooms in all cases other than roof-space rooms, with no Gebäudeklasse-based exemption; 2.20 m over at least half the floor area for rooms wholly or mainly in the roof space, disregarding parts up to 1.5 m clear. landesrecht-bw.de
  • Bayerische Bauordnung (BayBO) i.d.F. der Bekanntmachung vom 14. August 2007, Art. 45 Abs. 1 — 2.40 m generally; 2.20 m in the roof storey over more than half the Nutzfläche, disregarding parts under 1.50 m clear; the rule does not apply to habitable rooms in residential buildings of Gebäudeklassen 1 und 2. gesetze-bayern.de
  • Hamburgische Bauordnung (HBauO) vom 6. Januar 2025 (HmbGVBl. 2025, 93), zuletzt geändert durch Artikel 3 des Gesetzes vom 18. November 2025 (HmbGVBl. S. 679), §47 Abs. 1 — 2.40 m generally; 2.30 m for habitable rooms in residential buildings of Gebäudeklassen 1 und 2; 2.30 m in the roof space over at least half the Netto-Raumfläche. Note this is a new HBauO, and habitable rooms now sit at §47. landesrecht-hamburg.de
  • Landesbauordnung Mecklenburg-Vorpommern (LBauO M-V) i.d.F. der Bekanntmachung vom 15. Oktober 2015, zuletzt geändert durch Artikel 15 des Gesetzes vom 8. Juli 2026 (GVOBl. M-V S. 719, 732), §47 Abs. 1 — 2.40 m generally; 2.30 m for Gebäudeklassen 1 und 2 residential buildings; 2.20 m in the roof space over at least half the Netto-Raumfläche; 2.30 m by derogation on subdivision of dwellings in a lawfully existing building or on change of use. landesrecht-mv.de
  • Landesbauordnung (LBO) Saarland vom 18. Februar 2004, §45 Abs. 1 in der ab 26. April 2025 gültigen Fassung — 2.30 m generally; 2.20 m in the roof space over at least half the Netto-Raumfläche; sentences 1 and 2 both disapplied for habitable rooms in residential buildings of Gebäudeklassen 1 und 2. recht.saarland.de
  • Bauordnung des Landes Sachsen-Anhalt (BauO LSA) i.d.F. der Bekanntmachung vom 10. September 2013, zuletzt geändert durch Gesetz vom 17. Juni 2026 (GVBl. LSA S. 316), §46 Abs. 1 — 2.40 m generally; 2.20 m in the roof space over at least half the Netto-Raumfläche; both sentences disapplied for habitable rooms in residential buildings of Gebäudeklassen 1 und 2. Note the section is §46, not §47. landesrecht.sachsen-anhalt.de
  • Landesbauordnung für das Land Schleswig-Holstein (LBO) i.d.F. der Bekanntmachung vom 5. Juli 2024 (GVOBl. 2024, 504), §47 Abs. 1 — 2.30 m for all habitable rooms, with no Gebäudeklasse-based exemption; 2.20 m in the roof space over at least half the Netto-Raumfläche. gesetze-rechtsprechung.sh.juris.de
  • Bauordnung für Berlin (BauO Bln) vom 29. September 2005, §47 Abs. 1 — 2.40 m generally; 2.20 m in the roof space over at least half the Netto-Raumfläche; both sentences disapplied for habitable rooms in residential buildings of Gebäudeklassen 1 und 2. gesetze.berlin.de
  • Brandenburgische Bauordnung (BbgBO) in der Fassung der Bekanntmachung vom 15. November 2018 (GVBl. I/18 Nr. 39), zuletzt geändert durch Art. 2 des Gesetzes vom 29. Juni 2026 (GVBl. I/26 Nr. 20, S. 22), §47 Abs. 1 — 2.30 m generally, with no Gebäudeklasse-based exemption; 2.20 m in the roof space over at least half the Netto-Raumfläche. The “bbgbo_2016” string in the portal address is a URL slug, not the edition. bravors.brandenburg.de
  • Hessische Bauordnung (HBO) vom 28. Mai 2018, §50 Abs. 1, Fassung in force since 14 October 2025 — 2.40 m generally; 2.20 m in cellar storeys and roof storeys, and in roof storeys that height must be met over at least half the Netto-Raumfläche, disregarding parts up to 1.50 m clear; 2.10 m is enough where a lawfully existing building is added to, converted, extended or changed in use for residential purposes. rv.hessenrecht.hessen.de
  • Musterbauordnung (MBO), Fassung November 2002, zuletzt geändert durch Beschluss der Bauministerkonferenz vom 26./27. September 2024, §47 Abs. 1 — the non-binding model text the Länder pattern their codes on: 2.40 m generally; 2.20 m for habitable rooms in the roof space over at least half the Netto-Raumfläche, disregarding parts up to 1.50 m clear; sentences 1 and 2 disapplied for habitable rooms in residential buildings of Gebäudeklassen 1 und 2. bauministerkonferenz.de
  • Gebäudeklassen 1 und 2: MBO §2 Abs. 3 — class 1 is a freestanding building up to 7 m high with no more than two Nutzungseinheiten totalling no more than 400 m² (plus freestanding agricultural or forestry buildings); class 2 is a building up to 7 m high with no more than two Nutzungseinheiten totalling no more than 400 m². LBO BW §2 Abs. 4 and BauO LSA §2 Abs. 3 use the same wording. landesrecht-bw.de

Related building rules

Frequently asked questions

What is the minimum ceiling height in Germany by state?
It is set per Land. Bavaria, Berlin, Hamburg, Hessen, Mecklenburg-Vorpommern and Sachsen-Anhalt ask 2.40 m. Baden-Württemberg, Brandenburg, Saarland and Schleswig-Holstein ask 2.30 m. Several Länder ease the rule for a home with no more than two units. Check your own Land's code.
Is 2.40 m the minimum room height everywhere in Germany?
No. Brandenburg sets 2.30 m, and so do Baden-Württemberg, Saarland and Schleswig-Holstein. Even some 2.40 m Länder drop the rule for small homes. Never treat 2.40 m as a safe fallback. Read the figure in your own Land's building code before you build.
What is the minimum ceiling height for a loft conversion in Germany?
Most of these Länder allow 2.20 m in the roof, over at least half the floor area. Parts of the room up to 1.50 m clear do not count in that half. Bavaria counts out only parts under 1.50 m. Hamburg is the odd one out at 2.30 m.
Which German states have no minimum room height for a small house?
Bavaria, Berlin, Saarland and Sachsen-Anhalt take homes in building class 1 or 2 out of the height rule. No figure then applies in the code. Hamburg and Mecklenburg-Vorpommern keep a figure for those homes but drop it to 2.30 m.
What is the minimum room height in Baden-Württemberg?
2.30 m for a room you live in. That is set in §34(1) of the Landesbauordnung. In the roof, 2.20 m is enough over at least half the floor area. Parts of the room up to 1.50 m clear are left out. There is no small-house let-off here.