Under the Control of Asbestos Regulations, duty holders in the UK have a legal obligation to manage asbestos in buildings, which are business premises, such as industrial premises, shops and offices, as well as public buildings. A duty holder could be the building owner, landlord for the premises or the business tenant with clear responsibility for the building's maintenance or repair.
In most leases for non-domestic premises the landlord passes primary responsibility for maintenance and repair to the tenant through various clauses within the lease. In such cases the tenant would generally be the duty holder for the premises.
However, whilst the landlord may have passed primary responsibility for maintenance and repair to the tenant, the landlord usually retains an obligation to maintain and repair common parts or the external parts/structure. In those circumstances, the landlord will also be a duty holder.
Asbestos was widely used in buildings and in some equipment between 1950 and 1980; however, any building built or refurbished before 2000 could be constructed from asbestos containing materials (ACMs).
Asbestos can be found in pipe lagging, insulation board, asbestos cement products such as profiled roof sheets and wall panels, floor coverings and asbestos sprayed coatings. ACMs such as gaskets and rope seals can also be found within old plant and equipment such as industrial ovens and pipework.
HSE data reveals there have been more than 100 asbestos-related prosecution cases brought in the past five years, relating to 150 breaches of the law.
There are six steps for how those responsible can comply with their legal duty:
- Find out if asbestos could be present in your building.
- Arrange an asbestos survey by a competent person or accredited surveyor.
- Make a register and assess the risks from your asbestos.
- Write your asbestos management plan.
- Put your plan into action.
- Continually monitor and communicate the plan.
Further guidance can be found here and on the FSB Legal and Business Hub.