Clearance of unexploded ordnance when purchasing land

Hello dear forum members,

we are currently looking for a plot of land to build a single-family house in the Lake Constance region, ideally Friedrichshafen.

Since Friedrichshafen and the surrounding area were heavily bombed during World War II, the question arises how to best ensure before purchasing the plot that no unexploded ordnance is present on the property? The seller apparently has no information on this.

If during the planning phase a suspicion of unexploded ordnance arises or even is confirmed, but the purchase contract made no mention of the matter of unexploded ordnance: can the seller be held legally and financially responsible here (keyword: hidden defect)?

Thank you very much for your answers
Myselfix

In Baden-Württemberg, aerial image analysis for explosive ordnance is "partially privatized," meaning you have the choice to commission the KMBD or a private company. The KMBD is somewhat cheaper but has long processing times currently at 32 weeks (as of July 2018). For urgent aerial image analysis for explosive ordnance, simply contact us.

I found this on the website of bullinger GmbH. As far as I know, there are several providers, but I have no personal experience with it yet. I would also appreciate a tip on the specific procedure. From the explosive ordnance portal, I understand that as a builder, you need a so-called "Kampfmittelfreigabebescheinigung."

I dare to doubt that a seller would agree to a clause in the contract that could later make him liable for such things. If you don’t like to gamble, then you have no choice but to pay for the certainty of [Kampfmittelfreiheit] or contamination. Sometimes even geologists require confirmation of [Kampfmittelfreiheit] before they start their exploratory drilling. Likewise, civil engineering companies, etc. So this is not only relevant for the purchase but also specifically for the later construction. If it turns out that there is a high probability of [Kampfmittelbelastung], at least you have the option to back out and continue searching in another area of Friedrichshafen.

It behaves like a soil survey report: either the seller offers it along because it helps them sell the property more easily. Or it is simply the buyer’s responsibility, because there are enough buyers who would purchase a property without a report and rent control check. Such clauses would not be accepted, because you as the buyer can have it inspected yourself.

Hi!

Regarding explosive ordnance, the buyer will only write in the contract that they have no knowledge of any... understandably, they probably won't give a guarantee.

We had a construction with explosive ordnance survey and also construction supervision (without findings), if you want to know something more specific about that, let me know.

Regards

And even if... there is no guarantee that there are no bombs there if the KMBD says there is nothing there. It doesn't have to be a bomb... well, that's rather unlikely in the south, but in the last days of the war, soldiers also liked to bury ammunition to get rid of it. Or there was fighting, then all sorts of things can lie in the ground there.

Therefore, no one will give you a 100% guarantee that there is nothing there. Just like you don’t get any guarantee otherwise that 100m³ of construction rubble or something similar hasn’t been buried there. ;)