Guide
Asbestos in void properties: the point where clearance stops
Updated
This is the site's shortest guide and its most important. If anything is suspected of containing asbestos, clearance stops until someone competent has assessed it. No exceptions.
Presume, do not assume
HSE's instruction to dutyholders is to "presume materials contain asbestos unless there is strong evidence that they do not" (hse.gov.uk). That is the right default for a clearance crew too. These have historically contained asbestos in UK housing stock, and none can be identified reliably by looking:
- Textured coatings
- Insulating board
- Older floor tiles and their bitumen adhesive
- Cement sheet in garages and outbuildings
- Boiler and pipe insulation
- Cistern or flue components
Who holds the duty to manage
The duty to manage asbestos under the Control of Asbestos Regulations 2012 sits with the dutyholder. HSE describes the dutyholder as the building owner, the landlord, or the person or organisation with clear responsibility for the building's maintenance or repair. It applies to non-domestic premises and to the common parts of multi-occupancy domestic premises such as purpose-built flats.
The dutyholder must (hse.gov.uk):
- Assess whether asbestos-containing materials are present.
- Keep a record of their location and condition.
- Assess the risk.
- Write and act on a management plan.
- "provide information on the location and condition of the ACMs to anyone who may work on or disturb them".
A clearance crew is precisely the people that information exists for.
What this means in practice for a void
- Send the survey information with the job. If you hold an asbestos register or survey covering the property or block, the contractor should have the relevant part before they arrive.
- Declare suspicions at quote stage. A suspected material named in the enquiry is a planning issue; the same material found at 9am is an aborted visit that somebody pays for.
- Expect the crew to stop. A contractor who says they will "just take it out" is telling you they are the wrong contractor.
- Asbestos removal is a separate, regulated job under the Control of Asbestos Regulations 2012 (legislation.gov.uk), arranged with a suitable asbestos contractor. It is not a line item in a clearance quote, and the category of work and who may carry it out is a question for a competent asbestos adviser, not for the clearance crew.
- Damaged material is worse than intact material. Where something suspected has already been broken, restrict access to the area and get advice before anyone else goes in.
This page summarises published HSE guidance for buyers of clearance services. It is not health and safety, legal or asbestos advice, and it does not replace a survey, your own risk assessment or a competent adviser. Where asbestos is suspected, stop and take proper advice before any further work in the property.