diff --git a/doc/makepkg.conf.5.txt b/doc/makepkg.conf.5.txt
index 4172d219..052b3429 100644
--- a/doc/makepkg.conf.5.txt
+++ b/doc/makepkg.conf.5.txt
@@ -231,6 +231,11 @@ Options
 	in the current directory. Many people like to keep all source package files
 	in a central location for easy cleanup, so this path can be set here.
 
+**LOGDEST=**"/path/to/folder"::
+	If this value is not set, log files are written to the current
+	directory. This centralizes the log location, facilitating cleanup
+	and compression.
+
 **PACKAGER=**"John Doe <john@example.com>"::
 	This value is used when querying a package to see who was the builder.
 	It is recommended you change this to your name and email address.
diff --git a/etc/makepkg.conf.in b/etc/makepkg.conf.in
index 0de85c95..1436042a 100644
--- a/etc/makepkg.conf.in
+++ b/etc/makepkg.conf.in
@@ -106,6 +106,8 @@ PURGE_TARGETS=(usr/{,share}/info/dir .packlist *.pod)
 #SRCDEST=/home/sources
 #-- Source packages: specify a fixed directory where all src packages will be placed
 #SRCPKGDEST=/home/srcpackages
+#-- Log files: specify a fixed directory where all log files will be placed
+#LOGDEST=/home/makepkglogs
 #-- Packager: name/email of the person or organization building packages
 #PACKAGER="John Doe <john@doe.com>"
 #-- Specify a key to use for package signing
diff --git a/scripts/makepkg.sh.in b/scripts/makepkg.sh.in
index 274aded2..e4e76cd1 100644
--- a/scripts/makepkg.sh.in
+++ b/scripts/makepkg.sh.in
@@ -1362,7 +1362,7 @@ run_function() {
 	local ret=0
 	if (( LOGGING )); then
 		local fullver=$(get_full_version)
-		local BUILDLOG="${startdir}/${pkgbase}-${fullver}-${CARCH}-$pkgfunc.log"
+		local BUILDLOG="$LOGDEST/${pkgbase}-${fullver}-${CARCH}-$pkgfunc.log"
 		if [[ -f $BUILDLOG ]]; then
 			local i=1
 			while true; do
@@ -2531,6 +2531,7 @@ trap 'trap_exit USR1 "$(gettext "An unknown error has occurred. Exiting...")"' E
 [[ -n ${PKGDEST} ]] && _PKGDEST=$(canonicalize_path ${PKGDEST})
 [[ -n ${SRCDEST} ]] && _SRCDEST=$(canonicalize_path ${SRCDEST})
 [[ -n ${SRCPKGDEST} ]] && _SRCPKGDEST=$(canonicalize_path ${SRCPKGDEST})
+[[ -n ${LOGDEST} ]] && _LOGDEST=$(canonicalize_path ${LOGDEST})
 [[ -n ${BUILDDIR} ]] && _BUILDDIR=$(canonicalize_path ${BUILDDIR})
 [[ -n ${PKGEXT} ]] && _PKGEXT=${PKGEXT}
 [[ -n ${SRCEXT} ]] && _SRCEXT=${SRCEXT}
@@ -2623,6 +2624,14 @@ if (( SOURCEONLY )) && [[ ! -w $SRCPKGDEST ]]; then
 	exit 1
 fi
 
+LOGDEST=${_LOGDEST:-$LOGDEST}
+LOGDEST=${LOGDEST:-$startdir} #default to $startdir if undefined
+if (( LOGGING )) && [[ ! -w $LOGDEST ]]; then
+	error "$(gettext "You do not have write permission to store logs in %s.")" "$LOGDEST"
+	plain "$(gettext "Aborting...")"
+	exit 1
+fi
+
 PKGEXT=${_PKGEXT:-$PKGEXT}
 SRCEXT=${_SRCEXT:-$SRCEXT}
 GPGKEY=${_GPGKEY:-$GPGKEY}