Leeds Township man discovers contamination after purchasing land – Kingston | 24CA News
When Greg Hayes purchased a property in Leeds Township, Ont., he had each intention of injecting some money and time into it
“Well, I figured I’d put another hundred thousand in the house to fix it up,” Hayes stated.
What he wasn’t anticipating, nonetheless, was to learn by the Ministry of the Environment that his new property on the location of a former gasoline station was contaminated and he must clear it up.
He says the fee is way over he was anticipating pay
“All said and done it’s gonna be between three and four hundred thousand dollars to clean up the mess,” Hayes stated.
He’s since employed a lawyer to assist him navigate this example since he believes the earlier proprietor was conscious of the contamination, however didn’t share the data. But based on a press release offered by the Ministry of the Environment, “Any party with an interest in a site is responsible for determining the environmental status of the property”
However, based on Queen’s University professor of legislation, Michael Pratt, there are some exceptions to this rule
“If a seller has misrepresented the environmental state of the land then that would make them liable,” Pratt stated.
Read extra:
Alberta investigates Red Deer County household’s lead contaminated water properly close to gravel mine
Hayes says this merely isn’t what he envisioned when he bought the land
“I bought this to retire in, not live in poverty for the rest of my life.”
And he hopes if nothing else, different patrons will be taught from his state of affairs.
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