Germany Frees Forest Owners From Tree Checks Around Benches and Rest Areas
Germany's Bundestag passed an amendment to the Federal Forest Act on 12 November, so forest owners no longer need extra tree inspections at benches and rest areas. The aim is to reduce liability risks and stop such facilities from being removed.
The Bundestag, Germany's federal parliament, adopted an amendment to the Federal Forest Act (Bundeswaldgesetz) on 12 November that eases forest owners' liability for visitor safety. Owners are no longer required to secure benches and rest areas against natural forest hazards such as falling branches or toppling trees. Lawmakers hope this will help keep such facilities in the woods.
Why the change was needed
Fearing liability and costly tree inspections, forest owners and municipalities had increasingly been dismantling benches and rest areas in forests. Under the new rules, anyone who sets up or tolerates simple recreational facilities such as benches, rest stops or information boards in a forest does not have to carry out additional tree checks for natural hazards. Staying at these facilities is, with respect to natural forest hazards, at the visitor's own risk. For owners, this means less effort, lower costs and a smaller liability risk.
What remains in force
The law does not release forest owners from their safety duties entirely. Existing obligations continue to apply along public roads and next to neighbouring properties, where dangerous trees must be inspected and, if necessary, secured. Owners can still be held liable for atypical or self-created hazards, such as unsecured timber piles or dangerous barriers. Playgrounds and climbing forests remain subject to special safety requirements. The facilities themselves must also be safe: a damaged or unstable bench can still trigger safety obligations.
Lawmaker's view
The amendment was adopted as part of the Bundeswehr Infrastructure Acceleration Act. Hermann Färber, a Bundestag member from the Christian Democratic Union (CDU), called the change long overdue. He said owners should not be held responsible for natural forest hazards they can neither fully control nor prevent, and that, given growing climate-related forest damage, constant tree checks around simple recreational facilities are unreasonable.
