What to do in case of soil contamination?

Soil contamination can significantly impact property value and pose health risks, making it crucial for prospective homeowners to conduct thorough inspections before purchasing. Understanding the implications of soil contamination and legal responsibilities can save you from unexpected liabilities and ensure a safer investment in your future home.

Soil contamination is always a nuisance. If you're considering buying a home, it's a good idea to have a building inspection performed. Homekeur is happy to assist you with this. A soil report is part of this inspection if the standards are within the acceptable limits.

Is the location suspect? Then we recommend having a more comprehensive soil investigation conducted. A supplementary report will be submitted, possibly accompanied by a remediation plan. This way, you'll always know exactly what to expect before you buy a home.

Various forms of soil contamination

Soil contamination occurs in several forms. Essentially, it naturally involves contaminated soil, but soil can be contaminated with various substances. These include construction waste, PAHs, household waste, oil, or asbestos , for example. If your home is located on contaminated soil, it can pose health risks.

In addition, you may face very high costs. The government may impose a remediation requirement. Naturally, the property also loses value if soil contamination is found.

Is the seller liable for the contamination?

Have you just bought a house and discovered the soil is contaminated? It's understandable that you'd want to hold the seller liable. However, in many cases, the seller isn't liable. In practice, it often turns out that a seller is unaware of the soil contamination, for example, because it was never discovered before. Furthermore, the party that caused the soil contamination is also liable. However, in many cases, the soil contamination occurred many years ago, and the actual polluter is no longer alive and/or can no longer be identified.

What if the seller was aware of this?

In practice, we often see that a seller of a property was unaware of the soil contamination at the time the property was sold. However, it certainly also happens that a seller was aware of this. The seller can be honest about this, allowing additional agreements regarding soil contamination to be included in the purchase contract. This is obviously disadvantageous for the seller, so sellers can also choose not to share the information with the buyer.

A seller has a duty to disclose information , but they won't always automatically comply. Has a seller deliberately withheld information? Then they violate their duty to disclose, and in most cases, this means they can be held liable.

Prevent high costs due to soil contamination

Prevention is always better than cure. It's always advisable to have everything about the property, including the land, thoroughly inspected before you decide to buy it. Homekeur is ready to assist you. You can schedule an appointment online for a building inspection , including preliminary soil testing. Would you like more information or sound advice first? Feel free to contact us.

Would you like to make an appointment for a building inspection?

The cost of a building inspection (up to 250 m²) is only €489 including VAT. We'll conduct a comprehensive building inspection and you'll receive a building report. Do you have any questions? We're happy to help and can schedule an appointment with an expert inspector right away if you wish!

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