Asbestos
Who is responsible for managing asbestos in my block of flats?
If you are responsible for managing the maintenance and repair of a building then you are responsible for managing any asbestos in it. The law is very clear on this. This extends to protecting people from exposure to asbestos fibres, as well as the legal duty to manage asbestos under regulation 4 of the Control of Asbestos Regulations 2006. The HSE is clear that it is the responsibility of the Duty holder* to comply with HSE regulations. As a Duty holder you could be:
- The freeholder or landlord
- Responsible for the building through a contract or tenancy agreement
- The director of an RMC or RTM company
- In control of the building, even though there is no formal contract or agreement in place
- A managing agent or property factor appointed by the leaseholders to manage the building on their behalf.
The requirement is in the Control of Asbestos Regulations 2012 and applies only to common areas such as foyers, corridors, staircases, lifts. The duty is to ascertain whether the premises contain asbestos and if so where it is and what condition it is in, to assess the risk and to make a plan to manage the risk and act on it. The regulations are enforced by the Health and Safety Executive and local authorities According to the HSE website, any building prior to 2000 could contain asbestos and
was extensively used as a building material between the 1950s and 1980s.
Recovery of the cost of the survey and necessary work resulting from this is based on similar principles as set out above for fire safety. The lease may specifically allow for recovery as a service charge, or the freeholder may be able to bring the cost within a “sweeping up clause”.
A final point as to why it is beneficial to leaseholders to have these checks is that on sale of a flat, the purchaser’s solicitors will ask for confirmation that a risk assessment has been carried out for fire safety and asbestos as a matter of course and ask to see evidence of this. It may cause a problem with a sale if this is not available.
Read more