Asbestos may be present if your home was built before the year 2000. It is safe if the property is in good condition. You should not do anything to cause damage to it such as sanding or making holes in it.

Our legal responsibility

We have a legal duty to manage asbestos in all our properties and to protect any contractors who may work in them. Any building work could potentially disturb asbestos, which can be found in areas such as Artex ceilings, wall panels, floor tiles, garage and shed roofs, and even WC cisterns.

We have 2 asbestos contractors, one for surveys and one for removals.

Asbestos surveys

We need to complete surveys if we do not have any previous asbestos information, and we need to carry out building works. 

Even if we only plan to work on one area, we may ask for a full survey of a home if there is no previous asbestos information. This will help us speed up future work. The surveyor will take small samples from the home, from a hidden place where possible.

Asbestos surveys will usually be carried out within 2 weeks of the request, unless it is an emergency sampling, which could sometimes be the same day.

Asbestos removal

Asbestos removal is carried out under fully controlled conditions. You will not be able to go into the room where the asbestos is being removed from. Sometimes you may have to leave your home for a few hours. There may be some damage to decorations when asbestos removal is carried out, often caused by the tape used to create an enclosed space. We will try to keep this to a minimum.

The asbestos is carefully removed within the enclosure, then double-bagged before being removed from your home.

Removals can sometimes take 4 weeks or longer, depending on the situation.

Appointments

Our contractors will make appointments and call you if they are unable to arrive on time. Sometimes they may visit without calling first if they haven’t been unable to contact you by phone.

Be sure to:

• keep your appointment unless you give good notice - you may be re-charged if you do not keep your appointment
• be present when a child under the age of 18 is in the property
• not smoke within the property for at least an hour before and for the duration of the appointment - we have the right to cancel an appointment if their working conditions are detrimental to the health of our staff