Doing something for biodiversity – this idea motivates many people to set up feeding stations for birds on the windowsill or on the balcony. Regardless of whether the winter is mild or snowy. Parents who live in the city often wish that their children could experience tits, robins, starlings or thrushes up close and thus get to know nature a little better.
You don’t need permission from the landlord for a flexible bird feeder
But that can get you in trouble – with the landlord or with the neighbors. A whole series of restrictions apply to the bird buffet on the balcony. The good news: In principle, feeding birds is permitted on the balcony or on the windowsill. “Hanging up a few fat balls and placing a bird feeder on the balcony does not require a permit,” says Rolf Bosse, chairman and managing director of the tenants’ association in Hamburg. But that only applies if the house is not firmly anchored to the wall or floor; however, a stand is allowed. However, you are not allowed to drill into the walls for the feeding station yourself. In this case, tenants must first ask their landlord for permission, according to the lawyer. If the landlord says yes, you have to put the balcony back into its original condition when you move out. Even apartment owners cannot make feeding offers at a feeding station that is permanently attached to the building. This concern must be put on the agenda for the next owners’ meeting. “The applicant needs a majority decision there,” states attorney Bosse.
Whether it is worth making such an application at all depends on the situation: Inka-Marie Storm, chief legal officer of the Haus & Grund Germany association in Berlin, advises taking a look at the community rules and the respective house rules: “Both can specify in detail what is and isn’t allowed when it comes to the balcony.” Sometimes the requirements are strict. Many apartment buildings have steel pedestal balconies. For example, if you want to line the steel struts of your balcony with wooden boards or thatch in order to create an atmosphere that is close to nature and possibly attractive to birds, this can be prohibited from the outset.
Anyone who feeds pigeons must expect a fine
But who actually ends up on the balcony or the window sill to pick grains? “Feeding songbirds is okay until the first pigeons appear,” Rolf Bosse clarifies. “It is forbidden to attract animals known to be carriers of diseases.” A ban on offering food to pigeons may also be stipulated in the rental agreement. “In the Hamburg area, standard leases are common that prohibit feeding pigeons, but also seagulls,” says Bosse. If you don’t stop feeding pigeons from your apartment, then that entitles the landlord to terminate the contract without notice. This was the conclusion reached by the district court of Nuremberg (Az. 14 C 7772/15). Apart from that, municipalities can impose a fine for feeding pigeons. This is currently a maximum of 5000 euros.
Whether you are allowed to feed birds on the balcony sometimes depends on the individual case. As a general rule, others should not be unduly bothered by their neighbors’ sympathy for birds. A resident of an apartment building has to have a certain tolerance, even if songbirds that were fed by neighbors leave droppings on their balcony. In any case, you are not allowed to reduce the rent yourself: A tenant who tried to do so failed in court. The Berlin Regional Court argued that there is only a right to a rent reduction in the case of “very disproportionate pollution”. That is not the case here. The judges named the intensity and size of the affected area as criteria for this. In addition, feeding birds is “quite common” and “socially appropriate” as long as there is no health risk associated with it. According to the judges, it is part of a balcony that insects and birds also get there – and with them also bird droppings (Az. 65 S 540/09).
Whether you are allowed to offer food to birds on the balcony depends on the individual case
However, courts can also come to a different conclusion in this regard: a tenant from Frankfurt who had installed a bird house on his balcony may no longer feed his feathered friends there, the district court in Frankfurt/Main ruled. Food leftovers and the excrements of the birds had repeatedly fallen onto the balcony below and had also soiled the awning of the residents (Az. 33 C 3812/21).
But does feeding actually do anything for species protection? As a rule, this does not reach particularly endangered wild birds, according to the German Nature Conservation Union (Nabu). The good thing, however, is that people in the city can have positive experiences with nature in this way. However, bread and some types of berries, grains or seeds can harm birds – the Nabu has tips on what is good for them.
The author still remembers the plague of pigeons in her shared flat. Neighbors fed the birds meat every day.
(Photo: Bernd Schifferdecker (Illustration))