What happens to property in Beligium once it is "blacklisted?"

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Request for Question Clarification by belindalevez-ga on 29 Apr 2004 00:57 PDT

By blacklisted, do you mean properties that have been declared uninhabitable?

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Clarification of Question by luciny-ga on 29 Apr 2004 06:10 PDT

"By blacklisted, do you mean properties that have been declared uninhabitable?"

Yes, due to contamination or other environmental issues, the
government has declared the land blacklisted. The answer can be land
in Europe, but specifically regarding Beligium.

thanks!

<According to the OVAM website, in Belgium, only Flanders has a legal
framework for dealing with contaminated land. The policy is
administered by OVAM (Openbare Afvalstoffenmaatschappij voor het
Vlaamse Gewest -Public Waste Agency of Flanders).

Polluted soil is listed in a public register which details the
identity of the owner and user of the ground, the origin of the
pollution, the seriousness and if there is a clean-up obligation.

The condition of the soil must be investigated when property is
transferred. The action required depends on whether there is
?historical? soil pollution or ?new? soil pollution. New pollution
must be cleaned-up as soon as the soil clean-up values are exceeded.
The level of clean-up depends on what the land is used for.
The clean-up obligation rests on the operator or owner of the land
where the pollution actually entered the soil. New pollution must be
immediately cleaned up. Historical pollution is required to be
cleaned-up after order by the government.
There is no obligation to clean-up if the owner can prove  that he did
not cause the pollution himself (by his fault or otherwise) and that
when acquiring the property, he was not and should not have been aware
of the pollution. There is no clean-up obligation if the land was
acquired prior to 1993 and was since then exclusively used for a
non-professional use although he had prior knowledge of the pollution.
Further information.
OVAM (Public Waste Agency of Flanders)
Department of Remediation
Kan. De Deckerstraat 22-26
B-2800 MECHELEN  Belgium
http://www.ovam.be/jahia/Jahia/cache/offonce/pid/13;jsessionid=3CAF50DAFADC5191393D20829C797C10

Belgium also has legislation affecting empty buildings or buildings in
disrepair. If a building is placed on the list of uninhabitable
buildings, the necessary repairs must be carried out to remove the
building from the list. For empty buildings at least 50% of the
building must be used before it is removed from the list.

Buildings on the lists are taxed on a yearly basis. The tax is based
on the Kadastraal income of the building. There is a minimum tax of at
least 495.78 Euros if the building is on one list and a minimum tax of
991.57 Euros if the building is on both lists.

On the anniversary of the building being entered on the list, the tax
is increased as follows:
Year 2 - double the initial sum.
Year 3 - three times the initial sum.
Year 4 - four times the initial sum.
Year 5 - five times the initial sum.

This explanation has been translated from the following site which is in Dutch.
http://www.leuven.be/showpage.asp?iPageID=1487

<Search strategy:

<ovam>
<://www.google.com/search?hl=en&lr=&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8&q=ovam>

<onbewoonbaar verklaarde>
<://www.google.com/search?hl=en&lr=&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8&q=onbewoonbaar+verklaarde>

<Hope this helps.