You want to sell an Austrian plot of land. On an online map you do not recognise a relevant area and would like to write “altlastenfrei” in the exposé. However, you know little about earlier use. A missing hit is not a sufficient basis for such a statement. The following procedure prepares an objective clarification, without replacing a soil investigation or a legal case-by-case review.
What the query actually depicts
The Altlastenportal explains that since 1 January 2025 there is no longer a suspect sites cadastre and that the published inventory of sites has changed. An empty map excerpt does not mean that no corresponding sites exist there. [ALTLAST-ABFRAGE] An old guide to the former query should therefore not be used uncritically as a description of the present state of information.
The FAQ explicitly clarifies that a property without a displayed polygon cannot therefore be regarded as uncontaminated. It names historical use and investigations as other bases for clarification. [ALTLAST-FAQ] The article has not performed a query for a specific property.
Describe your own state of knowledge precisely
Our editorial recommendation: Keep source, retrieval date, exact property allocation and the result actually visible separate. An address can indicate an area; for advice the concrete object should be unambiguous. Mark which statement only relates to the map view.
Write down internally, for example, that a particular query showed no designated area. Do not extend this yourself into the unproven statement that the entire subsurface is free of pollutants. Which public description is appropriate on your specific position will be agreed professionally and legally if necessary.
Collect evidence of earlier uses
What known activities took place on the property, at which locations and during which period? Collect existing plans, official documents, older findings and verifiable indications. A family story is marked as such and not turned into a reliable contamination diagnosis.
In the hypothetical case a seller only knows of the more recent garden use. An older plan points to an area previously used for commercial purposes. She has this indication professionally assessed in a targeted manner, instead of deriving a comprehensive all-clear from an empty map. Conversely, the plan alone does not yet prove a specific contamination.
Align an investigation to the right question
If a professional clarification is required, describe the planned sale, known earlier uses and open questions. The responsible experts determine which investigation is suitable for the statement actually required. This article does not name a sampling plan, limit values or remediation costs.
Ask about the area examined, the date and the remaining scope of a result. A finding for a part area is not used as confirmation for every other area without professional grounds. Likewise, a general geotechnical report does not automatically replace every specific contamination question.
Incorporate the checked result into the sale
Provide relevant new findings in full to the appropriate contractual advice and factually responsible sales support. There the concrete handling of description, evidence and open questions will be determined. The article does not establish general liability exemption by a disclaimer.
This keeps the map a useful information tool with a recognisable scope. You must not turn a missing hit into an approval, nor a single historical indication into a finished damage diagnosis. The description follows the state actually clarified.