Do I legally need an asbestos survey?

The short answer

There is no single law that says "every building must have an asbestos survey". Instead, the requirement comes from your duties under the Control of Asbestos Regulations 2012 (CAR 2012) and general health and safety law. In practice, a survey is the normal way to meet those duties.

The import and use of blue (crocidolite) and brown (amosite) amphibole asbestos was banned in the UK in 1985, and white (chrysotile) asbestos was finally banned in 1999. Because the full ban only took effect in 1999, any building constructed or refurbished before 2000 may contain asbestos-containing materials (ACMs). The older the building, the higher the likelihood.

The duty to manage (Regulation 4)

Regulation 4 of CAR 2012 places a legal "duty to manage" asbestos on the dutyholder of non-domestic premises. The dutyholder is whoever has responsibility — by contract, tenancy or actual control — for the maintenance or repair of the premises.

To meet the duty you must take reasonable steps to find out whether asbestos is present, assess its condition, presume materials contain asbestos unless there is strong evidence otherwise, keep a written record (an asbestos register and management plan), and make that information available to anyone liable to disturb the material.

• Commercial and industrial buildings (offices, shops, warehouses, factories).
• The common parts of residential blocks — stairwells, corridors, plant rooms, shared boiler houses.
• Mixed-use buildings, where the non-domestic element falls under the duty.

What about my own home?

Single private domestic dwellings are largely outside the formal duty to manage. However, that does not mean asbestos is safe to ignore — anyone carrying out work for you (a builder, electrician or plumber) is still protected by health and safety law, and disturbing ACMs without knowing they are there is dangerous.

If your home was built before 2000 and you are planning any work that disturbs the fabric of the building, a survey of the affected areas is strongly advised so the work can be planned safely.

When a survey is effectively required

A survey is the practical route to compliance and safety in these common situations:

• You are a dutyholder for non-domestic premises built or refurbished before 2000 (management survey).
• You are about to refurbish, alter, strip out or demolish any part of a pre-2000 building (refurbishment/demolition survey of the work area).
• You are buying or taking on a commercial property and need to understand your asbestos liabilities.
• A material has been damaged or disturbed and you need to know whether it contains asbestos.