The contaminated land register in Berlin

What the register contains

Berlin no longer keeps a register under the name Altlastenkataster. Starting in 1986, the authorities collected information on proven and suspected soil contamination, initially for the western districts and from 1991 for the eastern part as well. In 2001 this became the Bodenbelastungskataster (contaminated land register). The legal basis is § 6 of the Berlin Soil Protection Act (Berliner Bodenschutzgesetz) of 2004; it is maintained jointly by the district environmental offices and the Senate Department.

The Act names seven groups of sites, including contaminated sites (Altlasten), sites suspected of contamination (altlastverdächtige Flächen), suspected sites (Verdachtsflächen) and sites with harmful soil changes (§ 6 para. 2 Bln BodSchG). Plots that have been investigated and cleared of suspicion also remain listed. So do remediated sites, because residues cannot be entirely ruled out.

What constitutes a contaminated site is governed by federal law: closed landfills and other plots on which waste was stored (old deposits, Altablagerungen), as well as sites of closed facilities where environmentally hazardous substances were handled (old industrial sites, Altstandorte), in each case if they give rise to hazards (§ 2 para. 5 BBodSchG). In Berlin, however, the register also covers operating sites used for production, services and infrastructure that are still in use today, provided contamination appears possible.

More than 11,650 sites are currently recorded, in Tempelhof-Schöneberg alone more than 900. As a rule, a register site is no smaller than a plot. The State does not publish a list or map, because the data are personal data.

Applying for the information

The information is provided by the district office (Bezirksamt), not the land registry. The State of Berlin's details at a glance:

The office states whether the plot is listed, what information is recorded there and whether it has any further findings. The reply reflects the position on the day it is processed, as the register is continuously updated. If the Senate Department is responsible for the site, the district forwards the application.

The data may only be passed to persons outside the administration if they credibly demonstrate a legitimate interest (§ 7 para. 6 Bln BodSchG). For the online application, the State requires a power of attorney from anyone who is not the owner. For prospective buyers, it is therefore usually simpler if you obtain the information and pass it on.

What an entry means

An entry is a pointer, not a finding. If the authority has indications of contamination, it investigates the facts (§ 9 para. 1 BBodSchG). Technically this happens in stages: a preliminary investigation (Vorerkundung) using old plans, aerial photographs and information from authorities (§ 18 BBodSchV, Federal Soil Protection and Contaminated Sites Ordinance), then an exploratory investigation with on-site measurements, and only if the suspicion is substantiated, the detailed investigation (§§ 12, 13 BBodSchV). Once there is reasonable suspicion, the authority can order owners and other liable parties to have the investigations carried out themselves (§ 9 para. 2 BBodSchG).

Measurements are assessed against trigger values (Prüfwerte). If the values remain below them, there is no longer any suspicion in that respect (§ 15 para. 2 BBodSchV). Which threshold applies depends on the use permitted on the plot under planning law (§ 4 para. 4 BBodSchG):

For lead, the trigger value on commercial sites is 5 times the value for residential areas, and on children's play areas it is half. A commercial plot that is unremarkable as such can therefore be too heavily contaminated for housing. In the Ordinance, benzo(a)pyrene stands for the typical PAH mixtures (polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons) of former coking plants, gasworks and tar stores (Annex 2 BBodSchV).

Who is liable for a contaminated site

Those obliged to remediate are the polluter and their universal successor, the owner of the plot and whoever has actual control over the plot (§ 4 para. 3 BBodSchG). As the owner, you are therefore under this obligation even if a previous business caused the contamination.

A sale does not always end this obligation. Anyone who transferred their plot after 1 March 1999 and knew or should have known of the contaminated site at the time remains obliged to remediate it as a former owner (§ 4 para. 6 BBodSchG). This does not apply to anyone who, when acquiring the plot themselves, trusted that there was no contaminated site and whose trust deserved protection.

Berlin also requires notification. Anyone who may be liable for remediation under § 4 BBodSchG, including owners and former owners, must notify the competent authority without delay of any indications of a contaminated site; during construction work this also applies to the developer (Bauherr) and the site manager (Bauleiter) (§ 2 para. 1 Bln BodSchG).

Investigations that have been ordered are paid for by whoever has to carry them out. If the suspicion is not confirmed, the costs are reimbursed, provided the person called upon is not responsible for the circumstances giving rise to the suspicion (§ 24 para. 1 BBodSchG). If several parties are obliged, they settle among themselves according to their share in causing the contamination, unless they have agreed otherwise. This claim becomes time-barred after three years; the period only begins once the measures have been completed and the party liable to pay compensation is known. It becomes time-barred at the latest 30 years after the measures end (§ 24 para. 2 BBodSchG).

Land register and value

The land register (Grundbuch) says almost nothing about the soil. Public charges are only entered where a law provides for it (§ 54 GBO, Land Register Code). There is one such case: if the public sector has paid for a remediation and the market value (Verkehrswert) has risen more than insignificantly as a result, the owner owes value compensation (Wertausgleich), up to a maximum of the funds used (§ 25 para. 1 BBodSchG). The amount rests on the plot as a public charge; at the authority's request, the land registry enters a soil protection charge note (Bodenschutzlastvermerk) under § 93b of the Land Register Ordinance (Grundbuchverfügung). If the authority does not set the amount by the end of the fourth year after completion of the remediation, the obligation lapses (§ 25 para. 3 BBodSchG).

For valuation purposes, soil contamination counts as one of the special property-specific characteristics (besondere objektspezifische Grundstücksmerkmale), which are taken into account with customary market premiums or discounts (§ 8 para. 3 ImmoWertV, Real Estate Valuation Ordinance). The standard land value (Bodenrichtwert) does not include it: it applies to a notional plot without special features that affect only individual plots (§ 16 para. 1 ImmoWertV). The guide Valuation shows how the methods work out the figures.

Special case of eastern Berlin: exemption

Under the Environmental Framework Act (Umweltrahmengesetz) of 1990, owners, occupiers and purchasers of commercially used plots in the eastern part of Berlin and in West-Staaken could be exempted from responsibility for contaminated sites that had arisen before 1 July 1990. Applications could only be submitted until 30 March 1992; more than 3,900 were received. So far, the State has approved a contribution to the remediation costs in 68 cases, i.e. for around 1.7 per cent of applications. For this, Berlin has entered into commitments of around 280 million euros.

Where such an exemption exists, the value compensation does not apply either (§ 25 para. 1 BBodSchG). If there is an exemption notice (Freistellungsbescheid) for your plot, present it to prospective buyers together with the other documents.

What this means for your sale

Apply for the information before you advertise. With a processing period of four weeks, it will then be available when buyers ask for it, and not just shortly before the notary appointment. With your power of attorney, your estate agent can also submit the application.

Pass on the result in full, even if it is inconvenient. Whether contamination constitutes a defect is measured by the law against the condition that is usual for comparable plots and can be expected (§ 434 para. 3 BGB, German Civil Code). The buyer cannot later claim as a defect anything they knew of when the contract was concluded (§ 442 BGB). The usual exclusion of liability in the purchase contract, however, does not apply if a defect was fraudulently concealed (§ 444 BGB).

If the plot is in the register, the allocation of risk belongs in the purchase contract. Seller and buyer may agree how they share remediation costs between themselves (§ 24 para. 2 BBodSchG); clarify the wording with the notary's office. For building land and commercial plots, the future use also matters, because stricter trigger values apply to residential areas than to commercial use, for example for lead and arsenic. For an owner-occupied flat, an entry concerns the plot of the whole owners' association.

Which other papers belong to a sale is shown in the guide Documents for selling a property; the procedure at the notary is described in Notary appointment and land register.

Sources

• Senate Department for Mobility, Transport, Climate Protection and the Environment: contaminated land register (Bodenbelastungskataster, BBK), history since 1986, content, data protection, more than 11,650 sites
• Service Berlin: applying for information from the contaminated land register, requirements, documents, fees, processing time
• Senate Department: specific questions as a developer or garden owner, information before buying a plot, initial investigation
• Senate Department: exemption procedure, Environmental Framework Act (Umweltrahmengesetz), application deadline, number of applications
• Tempelhof-Schöneberg district office: contaminated land register in the district, more than 900 sites
• § 2 Berlin Soil Protection Act (Bln BodSchG), duty to notify
• § 6 Bln BodSchG, soil information system and contaminated land register
• § 7 Bln BodSchG, disclosure to private individuals with a legitimate interest
• § 2 Federal Soil Protection Act (BBodSchG), contaminated sites, suspected sites
• § 4 BBodSchG, parties liable for remediation, former owner
• § 9 BBodSchG, risk assessment
• § 24 BBodSchG, costs, settlement between several liable parties
• § 25 BBodSchG, value compensation
• § 18 Federal Soil Protection and Contaminated Sites Ordinance (BBodSchV), preliminary investigation
• §§ 12, 13 BBodSchV, exploratory investigation, detailed investigation
• § 15 BBodSchV, assessment
• Annex 2 BBodSchV, trigger values, Table 4
• § 54 Land Register Code (GBO), public charges
• § 93b Land Register Ordinance (Grundbuchverfügung), soil protection charge note
• § 434 German Civil Code (BGB), material defect
• § 442 BGB, buyer's knowledge
• § 444 BGB, exclusion of liability
• § 8 Real Estate Valuation Ordinance (ImmoWertV), soil contamination as a special property characteristic
• § 16 ImmoWertV, characteristics of the standard land value reference plot

All sources accessed on 9 October 2026.