Asbestos Awareness for landlords....why?
Under the Control of Asbestos at Regulations there is an explicit duty to Manage Asbestos in Non-domestic premises.
Who Will Be The Duty Holder?
The duty holder is anyone responsible for maintaining and repairing all or part of a property, who has control of the building. For example the occupier or the owner. The extent of the duty is determined by contractual and other existing legal obligations towards the property.
Which Premises Will The Duty Apply To?
The duty applies to all non domestic premises, whatever type of business is carried out in them. This includes all commercial, public and private buildings. It also applies to common parts of residential rented properties, including halls, stair wells, lift shafts and roof spaces.
What Does The Duty Holder Have To Do To Comply With The New Duty?
The new duty requires the duty holder to manage the risk from asbestos by:
- Finding out if there is asbestos in the premises, its amount and what condition it is in;
- Presuming materials contain asbestos, unless they have strong evidence that they do not;
- Making and keeping up to date a record of the location and condition of the asbestos, asbestos containing materials (ACM’s) or presumed ACM’s in their premises; Assessing the risk from the material;
- Preparing a plan that set out in detail how they are going to manage the risk from this material;
- Taking the steps needed to put the plan into action;
- Reviewing and monitoring the plan and the arrangements made to put it in place; and
- Providing information on the location and condition of the materials to anyone who is liable to work on or disturb it.
Did you know?
Anyone who has information on the whereabouts of asbestos in the premises is required to make this available to the duty holder. Those who are not duty holders, but control access to the premises, would have to co-operate with the duty holder in managing the asbestos.
