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Duty to manage · Non-domestic premises
Asbestos Management Surveys
If you are responsible for a non-domestic building that may contain asbestos, you have a legal duty to find it, assess it and manage it. Vital provides asbestos management surveys and re-inspections nationwide.
Status
Law
Control of Asbestos Regulations 2012, regulation 4
Applies to
Pre-2000 buildings
Presumed to contain asbestos unless there is strong evidence otherwise
Who
The duty holder
Whoever is responsible for maintenance and repair of the premises
Re-inspection
Risk-based
Frequency reflects the condition and location of the materials
The Law
The Control of Asbestos Regulations 2012 apply in England, Wales and Scotland. Northern Ireland has its own 2012 regulations with the same duty to manage.
The Control of Asbestos Regulations 2012 place a legal duty on those responsible for the maintenance and repair of non-domestic premises to identify, assess and manage the risks from asbestos.
If you are responsible for a non-domestic building that may contain asbestos, you must take reasonable steps to determine where asbestos-containing materials (ACMs) are located, assess their condition and risk, and put appropriate arrangements in place to manage them.
Buildings constructed or refurbished before 2000 should be presumed to contain asbestos unless there is strong evidence to show otherwise. An Asbestos Management Survey is normally used to identify asbestos-containing materials that could be disturbed during normal occupation, maintenance and routine work.
What is an Asbestos Management Survey?
An Asbestos Management Survey is designed to locate, as far as reasonably practicable, asbestos-containing materials within a building so that they can be managed safely during normal occupation and maintenance.
The survey identifies materials that are, or are likely to be, asbestos-containing, and records their location, extent, type where determined, and condition. That information is used to maintain an asbestos register and support an asbestos management plan.
Typical buildings where asbestos may need to be managed include:
- Offices and commercial premises
- Shops and retail units
- Industrial and warehouse buildings
- Schools and educational premises
- Healthcare buildings
- Public-sector buildings
- Hotels and leisure facilities
- Residential communal areas and other multi-occupancy premises
Who has a duty to manage asbestos?
The legal duty normally falls on the person or organisation responsible for the maintenance and repair of the premises. Depending on the circumstances, this could be a:
- Building owner
- Landlord
- Managing agent
- Occupier
- Facilities or property manager
Where responsibility is shared, each duty holder must cooperate to ensure asbestos is properly managed. The duty holder must keep asbestos information up to date and make it available to anyone who may disturb the materials during their work.
What if asbestos is found?
Finding asbestos does not automatically mean it must be removed. Where materials are in good condition and unlikely to be disturbed, they can often be safely managed in place. The duty holder should:
- Keep an up-to-date asbestos register
- Assess the condition and risk of identified ACMs
- Ensure the materials are properly managed and maintained
- Inform anyone who may disturb them
- Monitor their condition
- Review the management arrangements when circumstances change
Where ACMs are damaged, deteriorating or likely to be disturbed, action will be required to control the risk. This may include repair, encapsulation, enclosure or removal, depending on the circumstances.
Asbestos re-inspection surveys
An asbestos re-inspection checks previously identified asbestos-containing materials and assesses whether their condition has changed. It records the current condition of the identified ACMs and helps the duty holder keep the asbestos register and management arrangements up to date.
The frequency of re-inspection should reflect the condition, location and risk of the ACMs, rather than applying the same fixed interval to every building.
Refurbishment or demolition work
An Asbestos Management Survey is not sufficient for planned refurbishment or demolition work where asbestos may be disturbed. A more intrusive Refurbishment and Demolition Survey is required before such work begins.
Vital does not undertake Refurbishment and Demolition Surveys. If your project requires one, we will make this clear so the appropriate specialist can be appointed before work starts. HSE guidance stresses the importance of having the right survey before any refurbishment or demolition work that could disturb asbestos.
Nationwide asbestos survey services
Vital provides Asbestos Management Surveys and Asbestos Re-inspection Surveys nationwide. If you are responsible for a commercial or other non-domestic property and are unsure whether you have sufficient asbestos information in place, we can help establish what is required. Our surveys give clear information on the location and condition of identified asbestos-containing materials, helping you meet your responsibilities and manage asbestos safely.
Talk to the Vital team
0345 111 7700
info@vitaldirect.co.uk
Tell us the building's age, use and whether a register already exists, and we will advise whether a survey or a re-inspection is the right next step.
Request a quote
Official sources
legislation.gov.uk
Control of Asbestos Regulations 2012
legislation.gov.uk
Control of Asbestos Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2012
The other duty on the same premises
Fire and General Risk Assessments
The person responsible for managing asbestos in a building is often the same person responsible for its fire risk assessment. Vital can arrange both, so your property compliance has one point of contact.
Since October 2023 every fire risk assessment must be recorded in full, and the assessor’s name recorded with it.
One building. One compliance picture.
About risk assessments
- Fire Safety Order: a suitable and sufficient fire risk assessment
- Management Regulations: assess risks to employees and others
- Reviewed on change, incident or new information
- Arranged through Vital nationwide
Common questions
What duty holders ask about managing asbestos.
How often should we re-inspect asbestos?
It depends on the condition, location and risk of the materials. High-risk or vulnerable materials need more frequent checks than sound materials in an undisturbed location. We will recommend a sensible frequency for your building.
If asbestos is found, do we have to remove it?
Not automatically. Materials in good condition that are unlikely to be disturbed can usually be managed in place, with a register, periodic re-inspection and arrangements to inform anyone who might disturb them.
Our building was built in the 1990s. Do we really need an asbestos survey?
If it was built or refurbished before 2000 you should presume it contains asbestos unless there is strong evidence otherwise. A management survey is the normal way to find out where it is and what condition it is in.
We are planning a refurbishment. Is an asbestos management survey enough?
No. Work that may disturb asbestos needs a more intrusive Refurbishment and Demolition Survey first. Vital does not carry these out, and we will tell you clearly if your project needs one so the right specialist can be appointed.
What do you give us at the end of an asbestos survey?
A survey report with the location, extent, type and condition of each identified or presumed material, suitable for use as the asbestos register and as the basis for a management plan.
Who is the asbestos duty holder in a leased building?
Whoever is responsible for maintenance and repair of the premises under the lease or other arrangement. That is often the landlord for the structure and common parts and the tenant for the demised area. Where responsibility is shared, each party must cooperate.
Measure. Model. Improve. Comply.
Need an asbestos management survey or re-inspection?
Vital provides asbestos management surveys and re-inspection surveys nationwide.