June 2, 2026, 5:23 am | Read time: 4 minutes
Quickly take out the trash before heading to work or taking the child to school. Not so fast! If the trash can is far from the apartment building, taking out the trash turns into a little walk. This raises the question of whether there are regulations on how far the trash bin is allowed to be from the apartment. myHOMEBOOK investigated.
Is There a Legal Maximum Distance?
There is no nationwide uniform regulation on how far trash cans may be from an apartment in Germany. This is confirmed by Carsten Brückner, attorney and specialist in rental and condominium law from Haus und Grund Berlin e. V., in response to myHOMEBOOK’s inquiry: “There are no binding distance regulations for trash cans in rental law.”
Instead of a specific number of meters, the general rule for tenants is that the trash can must be at a reasonable distance from the apartment. In larger residential complexes or new housing developments, longer distances to central trash stations are common. As long as the route can be managed without disproportionate effort, it is usually legally permissible. The attorney adds: “We are not aware of a maximum length for the path to the trash area.”
Reasonable Distance–What Does That Mean?
What is considered reasonable depends on the individual case. Brückner explains: “The decision on the reasonableness of trash areas in rental law is primarily dependent on the actual conditions on site and the possibilities of the users.” He continues: “The containers must be placed far enough away so that they do not disturb tenants in the apartments (odors and noises), and they must be close enough to minimize the effort of accessibility.”
The following factors can be relevant for assessing reasonableness:
- Size and layout of the residential complex
- Number of apartments
- Accessibility of the trash cans
- Physical limitations of the residents
- Accessibility of the building
- Safety aspects, such as lighting or stairs
What Can Tenants Do if the Path to the Trash Can Is Too Far?
If the path to the trash can is too long, reasonableness is rarely helpful. The focus would be on whether tenants are not affected in their living quality by odors and noises from the trash cans. Therefore, Brückner recommends including an agreement in the rental contract that specifies the location of the trash cans. “Then it is a contractual agreement about the condition of the rental property, so reasonableness should no longer play a role.”
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Special Case: People with Disabilities
Stricter standards often apply to older people or residents with disabilities. “For people with physical impairments, higher demands will be placed on reasonableness,” says the expert. If the path to the trash can is hardly or not manageable, for example, because the entrance is not accessible, there may be a claim for adjustment.
However, landlords are generally not obliged to retrofit an apartment or house to be accessible. If a tenant needs measures for more accessibility, such as a ramp, they can refer to § 554 BGB, according to Brückner. This allows them to request the landlord’s consent to appropriate structural changes.
Why Trash Cans Should Not Be Directly Next to the House
In fact, the question is not only how far the trash bin may be from the apartment. Conversely, there may also be requirements that mandate a certain distance between trash cans and residential buildings. The primary reasons are fire safety and hygiene aspects.
The recommendation is not to place trash containers directly against facades or under windows, as fires can quickly spread to buildings. However, specific distance regulations are usually not found in nationwide rental law but in municipal statutes, fire safety regulations, or state building codes.