Asbestos Surveys For Landlords

Refurbishment and Demolition Asbestos Surveys For Landlords

If you are planning on refurbishing or having significant maintenance works carried out at your rental property, any asbestos-containing materials (ACMs) within the fabric of the building could be disturbed, damaged, and in the worst-case scenario, their fibres released in the process. This is where asbestos exposure becomes a concern. As the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) states, asbestos becomes a risk to human health when its fibres are released into the air and inhaled. This can pose serious health risks, such as mesothelioma, asbestosis, and pleural thickening, to name a few.

That’s why a Refurbishment & Demolition (R&D) Survey (formerly known as a type 3 asbestos survey) is a legal requirement under CAR, 2012. To support you with adhering to your legal obligations as a dutyholder, and keeping your tenants, as well as any tradespeople carrying out the refurbishment/maintenance works at your property, safe – it is crucial you enlist the help of a licensed asbestos company to undertake this survey. 

Adopting a thorough, visual and intrusive sampling method, the aim of an R&D survey is to identify and assess the presence, type, and condition of all potential ACMs present. Due to these invasive sampling methods, the premises must be vacant during the survey in order to comply with legislation and ensure the safety of all building users. 

As qualified asbestos surveyors, we will only ever take samples in accordance with the HSG264 Asbestos: The Survey Guide. Once the samples have been sent for analysis to an independent UKAS-accredited laboratory, we will then be able to confirm whether asbestos is present and provide impartial advice on the next steps, should further action be necessary.

Asbestos Management Plans For Landlords

If asbestos has been identified during one of our surveys, it is a legal requirement for commercial landlords (depending on the lease) to have an Asbestos Management Plan (AMP) in place to protect their tenants and any tradespeople who may carry out work at the premises in future. 

An asbestos management plan breaks down the steps the commercial landlord has committed to undertake as a dutyholder, in order to manage the risk of asbestos within their rental property. 

Our asbestos consultants will produce a history of the materials on-site and ensure they have either been maintained, labelled or removed. As well as the required course of action, timeframes for completion will also be provided in your bespoke plan, based on a priority and material risk assessment scale. 

The commercial landlord will be noted in the plan as the person responsible for managing the risk of asbestos within the rental property. The rest of the plan will include:

• Details of the asbestos register
• Any previous asbestos management works undertaken at the premises
• The level of communication required to ensure the risk will be managed effectively
• Any asbestos training required to minimise health and safety risks

Asbestos Re-Inspections For Landlords

Depending on any signs of deterioration, if the ACMs identified within your rental property are in a good condition, our asbestos consultants may advise you to leave them in situ and have regular compliance checks carried out. 

This is where our Asbestos Re-Inspections come in. This service is usually advised as part of an Asbestos Management Plan, so we can assess any ACMs that have been left in situ within the building. This is particularly pertinent for rental properties that pre-date the year 2000, as older structures can pose a higher risk of containing ACMs with deteriorated conditions, or inspection reports that have passed their expiry date.