Pre-purchase Assessments of potentially contaminated land

We can carry out contamination assessments (desk study or intrusive) to support land transactions by assessing the potential for contaminated land liabilities that may impact upon asset value, and therefore inform a sale and purchase agreement.

In New Zealand, it is the property owner who is responsible for historical land use impacts. Therefore if you don’t do your due diligence at the purchasing stage, you could unwittingly find yourself liable for historical land use activities.

Similarly if you intend to purchase a business for ongoing use it’s important to confirm that it is functioning in accordance with relevant planning rules and policies. For example an unknown fuel leakage could be causing an unconsented discharge to ground, which you as the new owner would be responsible for. For some larger commercial property transactions, contamination assessments are becoming increasingly important and are sometimes required by banks and financial institutes prior to arranging finance.