Property sector fears buyers of polluted land will soon have to pay for the clean-up themselves

The Beroepsvereniging van de Vastgoedsector (BVS), the property sector association, is sounding the alarm over the planned reform of the Flemish Soil Decree. According to the sector, the Flemish government may scrap the protection for owners and buyers who acquire polluted land in good faith, Business AM reports. The current principle is that the polluter pays. Anyone who did not cause the pollution and knew nothing of it at the time of purchase can be exempted, and if no polluter can be held liable, the waste agency OVAM can take over the clean-up.

The BVS sets out an example. For a 600 square metre plot where the top metre has to be dug out, at 100 to 150 euros per cubic metre, the cost comes to 60,000 to 90,000 euros, Bouw & Wonen reports. On a new home costing 400,000 euros, that is 15 percent or more. Redactie24 stresses that this is an expensive scenario and that actual costs depend on the type and depth of the pollution. Chairman Rikkert Leeman, who is also chief executive of Immobel, fears developers will add a risk premium or drop projects.

The office of Flemish Environment Minister Jo Brouns (CD&V) plays down the concern. According to his office, abolishing the current exemption has not been discussed at government level, and the aim is not to saddle Flemish people with extra costs, Redactie24 reports, citing HLN. The draft submitted to the Flemish Parliament in October mainly concerns parent companies becoming jointly liable if a subsidiary cannot pay for a clean-up. The BVS supports that stricter enforcement but is asking for consultation on the rest of the reform.