Legal Advice on Asbestos Problems and Damage

Questioner

Recently, the housing association started major maintenance in our street. Everyone had to remove all the insulation from the attic because insulation would be placed from the outside. So we did that properly. And after they had started the 'renovation', asbestos was found in the roof boarding, near the central heating. Apart from the fact that we were exposed to it by them, we had to remove it from the housing association. After an investigation by a company, it turned out that the asbestos falls under class 3 (the highest class). And because of that, our entire attic was emptied without us being informed or giving permission. They spent a total of 5 days clearing out our attic and another 2 days cleaning it up. Except for a central heating boiler and 2 lamps, which according to them were not contaminated?? All our stuff is now stored in 2 containers. We have now been able to view 1 container to see what we want to keep and what can be thrown away. Of course we don't want to throw anything away. A lot of stuff in the first container was damaged or deliberately broken. For example a fan on a stand, which was bent otherwise it wouldn't fit in the bag. Broken figurines, damaged equipment, dents, scratches, etc. etc. etc. Now they have made us an offer. - €2000,- and then they clean what can be cleaned. And that is almost nothing. -€7000,- and then we can choose 5 things. -€9000,- and then the container remains closed. For us this is absolutely unreasonable, for that amount we could just about put in a new floor. And what about all the photos in it and all the other things that have sentimental value. We made them an offer of €17,500 ourselves. What can we do about this, cleaning is of course much more expensive for them. So they will never clean everything. And then something else, the housing association talks about major maintenance, but it looks suspiciously like a renovation. Which of course costs them a lot more money. What are we entitled to, what do you recommend?

Lawyer

If I understand correctly, you want everything to be cleaned. That is what you can demand from the housing association. The housing association apparently wants to do that too, but already indicates that €2,000 will be paid for everything that is not cleaned. That is not reasonable. If the cleaning costs are higher than the value of a certain utensil, the housing association may choose to reimburse the value. But that must be determined per utensil. If you cannot reach an agreement with the housing association, you can call in an expert who can determine the damage. You can then normally recover the costs of the expert from the housing association (or the insurance company of the housing association.)