What am I allowed to open here?
Pick your city, enter the address and the use you have in mind — LocalCheck checks it against the Flächennutzungsplan (land-use plan), the binding Bebauungsplan (development plan) and the Baunutzungsverordnung (BauNVO, the federal use ordinance) to tell you whether your shop, office or warehouse is permitted there under planning law. Currently for Köln, Düsseldorf and the Ruhr area (Essen, Bochum, Gelsenkirchen, Herne, Mülheim, Oberhausen).
What a listing looks like on LocalCheck
With the use traffic light right on the property — one example from each of the eight cities.
Ehrenstraße 27
Köln
WB — Besonderes Wohngebiet (§4a BauNVO)
Floor area and rent are made up · traffic light and Baugebiet are real
Check this address yourself →Schadowstraße 50
Düsseldorf
MK — Kerngebiet (§7 BauNVO)
Floor area and rent are made up · traffic light and Baugebiet are real
Check this address yourself →Kettwiger Straße 30
Essen
MI — Mischgebiet (§6 BauNVO)
Floor area and rent are made up · traffic light and Baugebiet are real
Check this address yourself →Kortumstraße 80
Bochum
MI — Mischgebiet (§6 BauNVO)
Floor area and rent are made up · traffic light and Baugebiet are real
Check this address yourself →Hochstraße 50
Gelsenkirchen
MI — Mischgebiet (§6 BauNVO)
Floor area and rent are made up · traffic light and Baugebiet are real
Check this address yourself →Bahnhofstraße 60
Herne
MI — Mischgebiet (§6 BauNVO)
Floor area and rent are made up · traffic light and Baugebiet are real
Check this address yourself →Schloßstraße 30
Mülheim an der Ruhr
MI — Mischgebiet (§6 BauNVO)
Floor area and rent are made up · traffic light and Baugebiet are real
Check this address yourself →Marktstraße 60
Oberhausen
MI — Mischgebiet (§6 BauNVO)
Floor area and rent are made up · traffic light and Baugebiet are real
Check this address yourself →No real listings yet. In these examples the address, Baugebiet and traffic light are real — they come from each city's Flächennutzungsplan or Bebauungsplan and from the BauNVO (checked on 2026-08-20). floor area, rent and storey are made up and only show what a listing looks like. Real listings will follow with the first local agents.
Founders
Find out with data instead of gut feeling whether your idea is permitted under planning law at this exact address.
Estate agents
Show for every property which use is permitted — fewer wasted viewings, faster deals.
Architects & engineers
Start the Bauantrag with the planning check (Baugebiet, BauNVO, B-Plan reference) already done.
LocalCheck provides the planning-law starting point (Baugebiet, conditions, notes under BauNVO §§2–11). It does not replace the qualified professional who files the Baugenehmigung or Nutzungsänderung. The legally binding Bebauungsplan prevails.
Data: Stadt Köln (Flächennutzungsplan, Bebauungspläne) · Landeshauptstadt Düsseldorf, Vermessungs- und Katasteramt (Bebauungspläne) · Stadt Essen / Regionalverband Ruhr (Gemeinsamer Flächennutzungsplan) · Baunutzungsverordnung (BauNVO, Bundesrecht).