Landlord’s dilemma after discovering massive illegal dump
Jacob Cheu’s family owns a piece of land in Sunbury 38 kilometres from Melbourne.
Just four months ago, Cheu rented out the property.
Jacob found mountains of industrial waste and a clean-up bill he fears could reach $2 million. A Current Affair
He found who he thought was the perfect tenant.
“They say they wanted to rent the property for their horses, they brought their child along, so everything looked very above board,” he said.
“There's nothing, you know, suspicious at that point.”
Cheu admits the property wasn’t perfect, and the house had previously been vandalised.
But compared to how his tenant left it, the pictures speak for themselves.
This is no ordinary rental nightmare.
He found mountains of industrial waste, including asbestos, and he fears the clean-up bill could reach $2 million.
Under Victorian law, Cheu could be the one footing the bill for a clean-up he says he has nothing to do with.
“They say there’s 5500 tonnes of rubbish,” Cheu said.
“How do you even get that much rubbish in a short span of time?”
Cheu says he was contacted by the Environmental Protection Authority (EPA) about the illegal dumping.
Jacob Cheu rented out the property just four months ago. A Current Affair
“I got a phone call from the EPA saying that there has been a fire on the property and there's a lot of rubbish and that they're gonna investigate,” he said.
“So in the span of a weekend apparently he doubled the amount of rubbish that's already there.”
As hellish as Cheu’s ordeal is, he’s sadly not alone.
A Current Affair met 70-year-old Suji in July who also fell victim to illegal dumpers.
Luke McCrone from Victorian Tippers United said the rent-to-dump schemes are on the rise.
Why? Because they're significantly cheaper.
“So to take a truck and trailer, 26 tonnes to a tip, you're looking at about $9000, a little bit less,” McCrone said.
“I've seen ads on Facebook, people offering sites like this to tip for $1100.”
After seeking legal advice, Cheu did managed to have his tenant removed.
By that stage though his tenant, who used a fake name on the lease, had fled interstate.
“Something like this has to happen fairly quickly,” McCrone said.
This is no ordinary rental nightmare. A Current Affair
“So he's got contacts in the demolition industry clearly.
“What he can ring up and say, I've got another site ready to go.
“And they just pump it in here for two or three weeks and then move on to the next site.”
A Current Affair asked the EPA about the dumping incidents.
In a statement, the watchdog said it “uses all appropriate powers in our remit to detect, disrupt and hold those responsible for illegal waste dumping to account”.
“We are conducting more inspections, greater surveillance and taking strong enforcement on the persons conducting illegal waste dumping,” the spokesperson said.
After seeking legal advice, Cheu did managed to have his tenant removed. A Current Affair
It is a mess Cheu feels the EPA is sweeping under the rug.
“I feel there should be more support for people in this situation because I have had phone calls from the EPA, the council and even the police about this issue and no one could give me no one could tell me what I should do,” Cheu said.
“You wouldn't think that I'll be financially ruined by something that I didn't do.”
Statement from EPA Victoria
EPA Victoria uses all appropriate powers in our remit to detect, disrupt and hold those responsible for illegal waste dumping to account.
We are conducting more inspections, greater surveillance and taking strong enforcement on the persons conducting illegal waste dumping.
EPA wants people to be alert to offenders who falsely state their purpose for renting a property and instead use it as an illegal waste dump site.
People considering renting acreage, particularly sites on the city’s fringe, should know who their prospective tenants to reduce their chances of becoming victims.
Landlords, through no fault of their own, may be liable if a tenant leaves behind an environmental hazard and either abandons a site or cannot meet the costs themselves.
EPA is investigating alleged illegal waste dumping at a Moore Road, Sunbury and it has taken action to manage the site.
We are using the regulatory powers available to us in relation to this site, including issuing notices requiring no further waste be dumped at the site and action to address waste already present.
EPA will continue to use its regulatory powers as appropriate to ensure that environmental and human health risks are managed while the investigation continues.
As EPA has an active formal investigations underway, we are limited in what further information can be provided to avoid risk of prejudicing the integrity of the investigation and any possible future court proceedings.”
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