For anyone who owned, managed or was responsible for the repair of a commercial building, a block of flats or any other non domestic premises, a new legal duty was on its way. The Control of Asbestos at Work Regulations 2002 came into force on 21 November 2002. Most of the Regulations applied straight away, but regulation 4, which created a specific duty to manage asbestos, took effect on 21 May 2004. That gave dutyholders eighteen months to get ready.
Why asbestos matters
Asbestos was used widely in buildings for decades, in materials such as insulating board, pipe lagging, sprayed coatings, floor tiles, textured coatings and cement sheets. In good condition and left undisturbed, it may present little risk. The danger comes when it is damaged or disturbed, often by maintenance workers and contractors who do not know it is there.
Who would have the duty
The duty falls on whoever has responsibility for maintenance or repair of non domestic premises, whether through ownership, a lease, a contract or simply control of the building. In a let building, that may be the landlord, the tenant, or both, depending on the lease. The common parts of blocks of flats are generally treated as non domestic premises for this purpose.
What the duty would require
- take reasonable steps to find out whether there are asbestos containing materials in the premises, and their amount and condition;
- presume materials contain asbestos unless there is strong evidence that they do not;
- keep an up to date written record of where it is and what condition it is in;
- assess the risk and prepare a plan to manage it;
- give that information to anyone likely to disturb it, including contractors.
What owners and managers needed to do
Start by gathering what you already know: drawings, previous surveys, the age of the building and records of past works. Buildings constructed or refurbished before asbestos fell out of use are the priority. A specialist survey by a competent surveyor will usually be needed to establish what is present. Once you have the information, it can be built into the maintenance plan so that future work avoids disturbing asbestos, or allows for its safe removal.
We advised owners not to wait until May 2004, because surveyors and specialists were likely to be busy as the deadline approached.
See our Building Surveys and Defect Diagnosis service, and how a later portfolio condition survey gave one owner a full record of its buildings.