The German Federal Environment Agency (Umweltbundesamt) commissioned the Department of Environmental and Planning Law of the Helmholtz Centre for Environmental Research - UFZ to analyse the capacity of spatial planning law to reduce land consumption, particularly inquiring into the specific shortcomings of the applicable provisions and making recommendations as to how the legal frame could be made more effective. This article summarises the results of the analysis and the recommendations for a more effective spatial planning law according to the reduction of land consumption.