Last Updated on 18th June 2020 by

What are the asbestos regulations for homeowners of domestic premises?

Are you a home owner and wondering what the asbestos regulations are when it comes to domestic premises?

Well, the asbestos regulations are different for domestic and non-domestic premises.

The Control of Asbestos Regulations 2012 (CAR) are directed at non-domestic properties, but can also apply to some common areas in domestic premises.

According to the HSE (Health & Safety Executive), when it comes to the asbestos regulations for domestic premises, any work to be carried out on these common areas that involves asbestos containing materials means that the Control of Asbestos Regulations 2012 will apply.

Control of asbestos regulations 2012

More specifically, the asbestos regulations that have to be complied with as set out in the Control of asbestos regulations 2012 are:-

• regulation 11 (Prevention or reduction of exposure to asbestos)
• regulation 15 (Arrangements to deal with accidents, incidents and emergencies)
• regulation 16 (Duty to prevent or reduce the spread of asbestos)

These common areas include:-

• Houses converted into flats (HMO’s) with multiple occupants – areas for access, circulation and storage, eg entrance hall, staircase, roof space.
• Garages/parking spaces not allocated to any specific person – common areas.
• Blocks of flats – Common areas, eg foyer, lift, stairs, lobby; boiler and plant-room, roof space, communal yard, garden, store rooms, bike shelter, external outbuilding.
• Flats over a shop or office, with or without a separate entrance – Access and circulation areas.
• Hotel, guest house, hall of residence, hostel (private and local authority), care home – Guest accommodation and common areas, (eg foyer, lift, stairs, circulation areas), store rooms, roof space, outbuilding.
• Farm – farm buildings.

Homeowners not responsible for risks to contractors

However, one thing to note is that home owners living in domestic properties aren’t actually legally responsible for any risks to contractors from asbestos, as the owners themselves are not engaged in any work activity.

Therefore, it is the contractor’s responsibility when working on domestic properties to comply with the Asbestos Regulations, to protect themselves as well as the homeowners, or in the case of rented properties it’s the duty holder’s responsibility (manager/landlord/caretaker of the building responsible for any repairs).

Homeowners are also protected from any risks that may arise as a result of work being carried out in their homes by the general duties in Section 3(1) of the Health and Safety at Work etc Act 1974.

Are Landlords responsible for asbestos in domestic premises?

As the landlord of domestic premises and therefore being responsible for maintenance of the building’s structure, this means you are the duty holder, so you have a responsibility to manage asbestos in any properties you own in accordance with the CAR regulations.

A landlord has a duty to protect their tenants, visitors and tradesmen/contractors who may carry out maintenance or repairs on the property.

Landlords must ensure that a risk assessment is carried out BEFORE any works/repairs are undertaken in order to assess the presence of asbestos and how to deal with it if it exists.

Then any contractors due to carry our repair work must be duly notified of the presence of asbestos and where exactly it’s located.

If a landlord fails to do this then they can be prosecuted by the HSE.

In addition to carrying out a risk assessment, a landlord must also use a competent contractor to carry out any repairs or other work to the property.

‘Competent’ means they have to have relevant experience of working with asbestos containing materials and demonstrate sufficient knowledge.

Competency also means that contractors have to be appropriately trained in working with asbestos, meaning as a minimum they should have completed basic asbestos awareness training within the past 12 months.

And depending on the type of asbestos, quantity and duration of the works, either a non-licensed or licensed contractor will be required to complete the works.

Please refer to the HSE website which gives examples of the different types of work with asbestos that fall under non licensed and licensed.

What about contractors working on domestic premises?

As a contractor, the asbestos regulations for work on domestic premises state that you don’t have any direct obligations under the duty to manage regulations (regulation 4), UNLESS you have specific contractual responsibilities or you exercise some element of control over the site.

So this means that the duty holder with responsibility for the building(s) or site must inform you about the locations and condition of any ACM’s on site prior to work commencing so that you can plan accordingly and ensure work is carried out safely.

Under these circumstances, once work begins on site, as a contractor, if you do come across any unexpected asbestos, then you must report this to the duty holder immediately.

If asbestos is more than likely to be present in any domestic premises you are due to work on, then as a contractor, you must comply with the CAR 2012 regulations numbers 6 (Assessment of work which exposes employees to asbestos) and 10 (Information, Instruction and Training).

If it’s known that the work to take place is going to result in disturbing asbestos, then all of CAR 2012 will apply (apart from regulation 4 duty to manage).

Remember, regulation 4 of CAR 2012 will only apply for those contractors who have caretaker duties to manage the risk from asbestos.

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Duty holders and employers have a legal responsibility to manage asbestos in their properties, carrying out an asbestos survey in their buildings so as not to put employees at risk.

So make sure you contact our Armco office to arrange asbestos testing or an asbestos survey before it’s too late! 

Whether you need an asbestos management survey or a refurbishment/ demolition survey, contact us at 0161 763 3727 or by visiting https://www.armco.org.uk/

Finally, for all your asbestos training needs call 0161 761 4424 or visit https://www.armcoasbestostraining.co.uk/to book an asbestos awareness training course.

Published Aug 05, 2019