With a new build, the garden comes at the end, and by then money is often tight. Yet you can estimate early on roughly what it will cost. General prices for the patio, lawn, beds and fence, plus three fully calculated example gardens, are in the article How much does garden design cost?. This article is about what's different with a new build: which costs come on top, how to include the garden in the cost breakdown for the house from the start, how to spread it over stages and which running costs your decisions trigger.
All euro figures are price-portal figures with a date, or examples calculated from them. They show an order of magnitude, not a quote. Prices and rules refer to Germany.
At a glance
- Outdoor works are a separate cost group in the cost breakdown for a house. They are often missing from the building contract, entirely or in part.
- A 400 m² example garden at a new build comes to around €19,100 to €35,700 in our calculation, excluding planning, driveway and technical installations.
- A new build adds items: topsoil, excavated soil, loosening compacted ground, driveway and parking space, pipes and cables, and rainwater.
- Building in stages works well if the basic framework comes first.
- The German tax reduction for tradespeople's services is not available for the first creation of a garden at a new build, according to the tax authorities.
Why the garden often gets short shrift with a new build
In cost planning for a building, outdoor works are a group of their own. The German standard DIN 276 lists them as cost group 500 “Outdoor facilities and open spaces”, with sub-groups such as earthworks, sub-base and surfaces, structures such as walls, technical installations, planted areas and water areas. If you only look at the price of the house, you don't see this group.
Then there's the building contract. In Germany's statutory minimum list for a building specification, outdoor works appear only “where applicable” (Art. 249 Section 2 EGBGB). So check what your contract actually includes: earthworks, putting the topsoil back, access path, patio, drainage of the paved areas? Whatever is missing belongs as a separate line in your cost breakdown. What else you should clarify there is in the checklist for home builders.
What a new-build garden can cost: an example
In the article How much does garden design cost? we calculate a 400 m² family garden at a new build item by item: natural stone patio, paths, excavation, lawn, perennial beds, gravel, topsoil, fence and two trees. The prices come from price portals with a date; the quantities are assumptions. Result: around €19,100 to €35,700, or roughly €48 to €89 per m². Planning, driveway, special earthworks and technical installations such as lighting or irrigation are not included.
Flat per-square-metre prices for a whole garden should be read with caution. The two portals we checked give €30 to €100 per m² (Aroundhome, 10 Oct 2025) or, depending on the standard, €30 to €80, €80 to €150 or €150 to €250 (Clean Invoice, 5 Mar 2026). What your garden costs depends above all on how much area is paved and how much earth has to be moved.
What can come on top with a new build
These items are not in the example, or only in part. With a new build they often arise.
| Item | Range | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Topsoil, supplied and spread | €8–15/m² | Portal B |
| Disposal of excavated soil | €15–30/m³ | Portal B |
| Disposal of excavated soil | €10–50/m³ | Portal A |
| Concrete paving, laid (e.g. driveway) | €80–130/m² | Portal B |
| Hourly rate, landscaping | €45–65 net | Portal B |
Portal A: Aroundhome, Kosten Gartenbau, updated 10 Oct 2025. Portal B: Clean Invoice, Garten anlegen: Kosten, updated 5 Mar 2026. Both accessed on 14 Oct 2026. Neither names a survey on which the figures are based.
- Topsoil. If it was properly stored during construction, it's already there. If it's missing or mixed with rubble, new soil has to be delivered. The example allows for 280 m².
- Excavated soil. Whatever was dug out during construction and isn't needed again has to be taken away. If, for example, 30 m³ is left over, that would be €450 to €900 according to Portal B. How much it is in your case, the building contractor will know.
- Compacted soil. Where construction vehicles stood, the soil is often compacted. We didn't find a reliable price for loosening it. The Bremen leaflet on soil protection on construction sites says that loosening it later is “usually associated with high costs”. It's cheaper to put the vehicle routes from the start on areas that will be paved anyway.
- Driveway and parking space. If they aren't in the building contract, they add to the garden. A driveway with 40 m² of concrete paving would be €3,200 to €5,200 according to Portal B. Areas that cars drive on need a stronger sub-base than a garden path. Ask for this to be shown in the quote.
- Pipes, cables, conduits, outdoor water and power. We didn't find reliable prices for this work. One thing is certain: as long as the trenches are open, no extra digging is needed. Later it comes on top, plus lifting and relaying the surfaces.
- Rainwater. The development plan may require a rainwater tank or a soakaway. The cost depends on size and soil. Get a quote from the groundworks contractor while the building pit is still open.
- Planning. If your municipality requires an outdoor design plan with the building application, its preparation comes on top. What planning costs is covered in Having your garden planned.
Building in stages: what has to be paid for first
After building the house, the budget is often exhausted. Then it helps to build the garden in stages. The rule: first comes whatever can later only be changed with an excavator or by tearing it out, and whatever you need every day. What can be added without heavy equipment can come later.
Using the 400 m² garden as an example:
| Stage | What | Range |
|---|---|---|
| 1 Framework | Excavation, topsoil, paths, patio | €10,390–17,700 |
| 2 Usable | Lawn, fence, two trees | €3,900–9,640 |
| 3 Later | Perennial beds, gravel area | €4,800–8,400 |
| Total | €19,090–35,740 |
Calculated from the items of example 2 in How much does garden design cost?. The total is the same; only the order is new.
A few things stand out:
- The first stage is the most expensive. Around half of the total goes into soil, paths and patio. The natural stone patio is the largest item in it. With concrete paving instead of natural stone, the first stage would drop to around €7,940 to €13,500.
- The trees go in early. They take years to grow. Once their place is fixed, it's worth planting them in the second stage rather than at the end.
- The bed areas already get their soil in the first stage. Until they are planted, sow them with grass or a green manure. Then they don't lie bare.
- Pipes and cables always belong in the first stage, including for lighting or water that only comes in stage 3.
Running costs: the rainwater fee
Many German municipalities charge a separate fee for rainwater that runs from paved areas into the sewer. It depends on the size of the connected area and often on the type of surface. That turns the choice of surface into a question of running costs.
One example is the city of Karlsruhe (leaflet, as of December 2022). It counts areas with a factor:
| Surface | Factor |
|---|---|
| Asphalt, concrete, paving with sealed joints | 1.0 |
| Paving, slabs, interlocking pavers | 0.8 |
| Grass pavers, grit joints, gravel turf | 0.3 |
| Gravel, crushed stone | 0.0 |
Areas not connected to the sewer at all are fee-free there. Rates and factors differ in every municipality. Ask yours before deciding whether the driveway will be paved or built with grass pavers.
Can I deduct the costs from my taxes?
In Germany, for tradespeople's services in an existing household you can deduct 20 % of the labour costs from your income tax, up to a maximum of €1,200 a year (Section 35a EStG). With a new build this usually doesn't help: according to the tax authorities, work as part of a new-build project is not eligible, and that includes the first creation of the garden (Federal Ministry of Finance letter of 9 Nov 2016). Moving in doesn't automatically end the new-build project. The Berlin-Brandenburg Finance Court, for example, counted the first paving of the driveway after moving in as still part of the new build (judgment of 7 Nov 2017, 6 K 6199/16). If in doubt, ask your tax adviser.
Quotes: building contractor or landscaping firm?
Some building contractors offer outdoor works too, often as a package. A landscaping firm usually prices item by item. The quotes only become comparable when both quote on the same list: area, quantity, unit price, what's included in the price, gross or net. How to compare quotes in detail and what a cost estimate means legally is covered in the section on comparing quotes in How much does garden design cost?.
See what you're paying for beforehand
GardenPilot doesn't calculate construction costs and doesn't replace a quote. It helps with the step before: you upload a photo of your plot and see design ideas on your own space, with your house. That way you can compare whether it should be a large patio or more beds before you get quotes. The first image is free. If you build yourself, the implementation planning breaks the work down into steps and estimates materials and costs for your own labour. This estimate is non-binding. How it works and what it costs is shown in AI garden design with a photo.
A patio, or more green? Upload a photo of your plot and compare ideas before you get quotes. The first image is free. Start free with your photo
Frequently asked questions
What does a garden for a new build cost per square metre?
Price portals give €30 to €100 per m² (Aroundhome, 10 Oct 2025) or €30 to €250 depending on the standard (Clean Invoice, 5 Mar 2026). Our example for a 400 m² garden at a new build comes to around €48 to €89 per m², excluding planning, driveway and technical installations. Surfaces and earthworks make the biggest difference.
What does topsoil cost if there's none left after construction?
Clean Invoice gives €8 to €15 per m² for supplying and spreading it (5 Mar 2026). It's cheaper to secure your own topsoil during excavation. In Germany, the Federal Building Code requires this anyway (Section 202 BauGB).
Can I deduct garden costs from my taxes with a new build?
For the first creation of the garden as part of a new build, not according to the German tax authorities. For later work in an existing household, yes, with 20 % of the labour costs up to a maximum of €1,200 a year (Section 35a EStG). If in doubt, ask your tax adviser.
What can I do myself to save money?
Many people can manage planting, sowing lawn and simple fences themselves. Sub-base and surfaces, drainage and retaining walls are better left to a specialist contractor, and in Germany only a registered electrical contractor may work on the electrical installation. An overview by trade is in Redesigning your garden: step by step.
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What would this look like in your garden?
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