Who is liable for contaminated land?
The party operating or having operated the activity is liable for remediation. Absent an operator, a purchaser who knew of the contamination may become liable.
What the source says
- Chapter 10 section 2: operator liability.
- Chapter 10 section 3: the owner's subsidiary liability.
- Chapter 26 section 9: orders from the supervisory authority.
Source rows
- MiljöbalkenSFS 1998:808 · County boards and municipal environment committees, with the Environmental Protection Agency centrally · Retrieved 2026-08-20
- JB 4 kap.SFS 1970:994, 4 kap. · The general courts decide disputes · Retrieved 2026-08-20
For the owner, landlord or seller
An environmental survey before acquisition often decides where liability lands.
For the tenant, buyer or client
Liability cannot be contracted away towards the authority, only between the parties.
Next step
Read the source row for the Environmental Code.
The page states what the source says under the stated conditions. It is not advice in an individual matter.
Next step
Three ways to put the register to work in your own practice.
Start with your task
Litigation
Find support in a judgment
Search guiding decisions, see what became final and follow changes in the law.
In-house, deals
Map the rules in a transaction
Move from theme to act and on to the article that carries the duty.
Compliance
Assess the risk in a process
Risk scoring per legal area, with the sources behind every score.