Jurisdiction(s):
United Kingdom

Related legal acts

Key definition

Land contamination definition

What does Land contamination mean? Land contamination describes the presence of pollutants, hazardous substances or waste in, on or under land that may present risks to human health, controlled waters, buildings or the wider environment, typically identified through environmental due diligence, Phase 1/Phase 2 site investigation and risk assessment. It is a descriptive expression used in planning, environmental liability and transactional contexts, rather than a term defined in legislation or case law. The expression is broader than the statutory concept of “contaminated land”: in England and Wales and in Scotland that defined term arises under Part 2A of the Environmental Protection Act 1990 (with associated...

Contaminated land risk in secured lending: lender liabilities, due diligence, facility agreement protections and insurance (England and Wales)

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Practice notes

Land contamination Liabilities

The principal liabilities linked to land contamination and water pollution are outlined below.

Regulatory action: Part IIA contaminated land regime under the Environmental Protection Act 1990 (EPA 1990); Environmental Damage Regulations—EDR (England) SI 2015/810 and EDR (Wales) SI 2009/995; anti‑pollution works notices under sections 161–161D of the Water Resources Act 1991 (WRA 1991); Environmental Permitting Regulations 2016 (EPR 2016), SI 2016/1154.
Third‑party liabilities: Private and public nuisance claims; personal injury claims; negligent professional advice; misrepresentation; lease Disputes.
Contractual liabilities: Planning obligations and development conditions; agreements for lease disputes; licence to enter indemnity claims; remediation agreements; insurance policy disputes.
Other liabilities: Clean‑up, investigation and monitoring costs; landfill tax; loss of property value; delay or aborted transactions; accounting provisions; negative publicity.

For more detail, see the Practice Notes on land contamination—potential liabilities and water pollution—potential liabilities.

When is a lender at risk?

Reduction in the value of the lender’s security—contamination and water pollution can depress the land’s market value.

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Web page updated on 26/05/2026

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