Asbestos and the Law

The Control of Asbestos Regulations 2012 - Regulation 4:

The regulation covers all places of work and public buildings and it also covers the common areas of flats and housing developments including halls, stairwells, lift shafts, plant rooms and roof spaces.

The regulations require the duty holder to:

  • Take reasonable steps to determine the location and condition of materials likely to contain asbestos;  
  • Presume materials contain asbestos unless there is strong evidence that they do not;
  • Make and keep an up-to-date record of the location and condition of the asbestos containing materials (ACMs) or presumed ACMs in the premises; 
  • Assess the risk of the likelihood of anyone being exposed to fibres from these materials
  • Prepare a plan setting out how the risks from the materials are to be managed;  
  • Take the necessary steps to put the plan into action;  
  • Review and monitor the plan periodically  
  • Provide information on the location and condition of the materials to anyone who is liable to work on or disturb them. 
The duty holder could be the landlord, tenant or a managing agent, depending on the circumstances of the case.  

All those who have responsibility for the maintenance and/or repair of non-domestic premises have duties under this regulation.

The regulation also includes a duty to co-operate. This will, for example, require a tenant to allow a landlord to gain access to a building to carry out a survey. 

As the duty holder you are required to plan a compliance strategy. This should include:

  • Deciding what type of inspection/survey is appropriate.  
  • Identifying who should carry out the work, and who should manage the whole process.
  • Determining priorities in terms of which buildings or parts of buildings must be assessed first.
  • Deciding how information is to be recorded/retrieved and in what form.  
  • Considering how maintenance activities will be controlled to warn those at risk and control exposure to asbestos.  
  • Deciding who should review the arrangements and how often.