Is this odd for a typical stable/barn lease?

Question

i've been dealing with someone, trying to lease their stables (7 barns on 21 acres) for three months now.

so he sends a lease for me to look over and it has something in it about environmental laws, how if anything should occur, regardless of if it was caused by me or not, that i would be responsible. AND, if any environmental agency even suggested there was a problem, that i would be responsible for disproving it, paying all costs for tests, etc.

now.. the barn is old and run down. the people who are running it now are idiots. they have giant trash piles and burn garbage all the time (in the city). it needs a LOT of work. but having had horses and trash all over it for 40+ years, wouldn't that make it very likely there would be some kind of ground contamination?

and is it weird he put that in the lease? i've never leased a large piece of property before so i really have no idea.. but i suspect something is off with it.

Answer 1

The stuff you potential landlord sent you is in fact typical of a commercial lease and begs you to complete a Phase I Environmental Site Assessment to clarify any present contamination which might devalue the property being leased