It’s now been a quarter of a century since a final ban was imposed on all forms of asbestos in the UK in late 1999. However, this doesn’t mean the fibrous silicate mineral has ceased to be a “live” issue for those in the health, housing, public & private estates sectors. Quite the opposite is true; this naturally occurring substance remains one of the most significant compliance and health risks in UK buildings.
That risk is present, because asbestos itself is still present across great numbers of schools, hospitals, offices, and homes that were built or refurbished between the 1950s and the 1990s.
Key Takeaways
- Asbestos is still present in many pre-2000 buildings, so the duty to manage under CAR 2012 remains a major legal and health requirement.
- Dutyholders must identify ACMs, assess risks, keep an updated asbestos register, and maintain a live management plan.
- Clear responsibility is essential, especially in multi-occupancy or outsourced buildings where more than one dutyholder may exist.
- Professional surveys and regular reviews are key to keeping information accurate.
- Digital tools and specialist compliance partners can simplify management, strengthen oversight, and reduce risk.
Why asbestos remains a live issue across health, housing, public & private estates?
Asbestos-containing materials (ACMs) remain present in hospitals, clinics, housing stock, schools, sheltered schemes, offices, and civic buildings built before 2000.
ACMs are often hidden within building fabric and may be disturbed during routine maintenance, void property work, refurbishment, reactive repairs, or emergency works.
These stringent regulatory requirements apply to buildings where the now-outlawed substance is still present. Under the Control of Asbestos Regulations 2012 (CAR 2012) – the overarching asbestos legislation in Great Britain – dutyholders are obliged to identify, record, and manage the risks the potentially lethal fibres may pose.
This “duty to manage” asbestos applies to those who are responsible for the maintenance or repair of a given non-domestic premises.
The compliance challenge that CAR 2012 presents – and how Assets & Compliance Managed Services can help
Unfortunately, many organisations in the UK today struggle to achieve robust compliance with the requirements of CAR 2012.
It may not be entirely clear among the personnel in some organisations who hold the “duty to manage”. In some other cases, the identity of the dutyholder may be well-established, but the pertinent asbestos records may not be accurate and/or up to date.
Any areas of non-compliance within a given organisation’s asbestos management approach bring risks of health hazards, prosecution, and reputational damage.
This, in turn, underscores the important role that company’s like Assets & Compliance Managed Services (ACMS) can play in providing well-informed and tailored support. We help organisations to manage asbestos, fire, and legionella compliance through expert consultancy and our own proven Vision Pro Software.
What is the duty to manage asbestos and why does it matter?
The “duty to manage” asbestos is a cornerstone of the UK’s asbestos legislation, set out under Regulation 4 of CAR 2012. This legal provision exists to help protect anyone who might come into contact with asbestos-containing materials (ACMs) during the occupation, maintenance, or refurbishment of a building.
Asbestos remains a present-day issue because of its widespread use in construction for much of the 20th century. This substance, if breathed in, is associated with an elevated risk of potentially fatal health conditions such as mesothelioma or asbestos-related lung cancer. It is often hidden within the fabric of a building, such as insulation and pipe lagging.
The importance of the “duty to manage” is both legal and moral: it is about protecting lives, avoiding severe legal consequences, and maintaining the given organisation’s reputation. It is a duty that forms just one (albeit critical) part of a broader compliance and risk management framework for property owners.
Who has the duty to manage asbestos in a building?
The “dutyholder” under CAR 2012, Regulation 4, is typically the person or organisation with responsibility for the maintenance or repair of the given non-domestic premises.
Such “dutyholders” may therefore include:
- Landlords
- Managing agents
- Facilities management (FM) companies
- Building owners
- Organisations that have a clear maintenance or repair obligation via a contract or a tenancy agreement
- NHS estates teams responsible for hospitals, clinics, and healthcare facilities
- Social housing providers managing large volumes of pre-2000 homes
- Local authorities overseeing schools, civic buildings, and community facilities
- Owners or operators of commercial and private sector property portfolios
There isn’t necessarily just one dutyholder for each building in which asbestos is (or is presumed to be) present. In cases of outsourced buildings or multi-occupancy buildings, responsibilities can be shared across multiple dutyholders.
A given organisation may also serve as a dutyholder for multiple premises. Examples of this include:
- A local authority managing schools, civic buildings, and community facilities
- A healthcare trust overseeing hospitals, clinics, and wider healthcare estates
- A social housing provider responsible for large volumes of pre-2000 residential properties
- A facilities management company overseeing a portfolio of commercial or privately owned buildings
- A university or education provider managing multiple campuses and teaching spaces
To help avoid compliance gaps in the management of asbestos, it is vital for all stakeholders to ensure clear ownership and communication.
What does the duty to manage actually require you to do?
Compliance with the “duty to manage” asbestos is an ongoing process, rather than a single event. Nonetheless, the main legal requirements involve a clear plan of actions, including:
- Identifying whether asbestos is present or likely to be present in the building
- Assessing the condition of these materials and the level of risk they pose
- Preparing and implementing an effective asbestos management plan (AMP)
- Providing information to anyone liable to disturb the ACMs, such as contractors and maintenance teams
- Reviewing and updating the plan and the associated records regularly, to ensure they remain current
Effective recordkeeping is a central part of good asbestos management; it is vital for showing evidence of compliance. Well-designed digital systems, such as Vision Pro Software, can help you execute these processes.
This cloud-based platform provides a single, widely accessible place for the storage of your organisation’s up-to-the-minute asbestos data. It can also track inspections and issue alerts when reviews are due, thereby simplifying the management of these complex tasks.
How do you identify and assess asbestos in your properties?
If a given non-domestic premises for which you are responsible was constructed or renovated prior to the year 2000, there will be a very high likelihood of ACMs being contained inside.
However, to definitively confirm whether asbestos is present in your building (and if so, where the ACMs are located, their condition, and the risk they may pose), you will typically need to arrange for a professional survey to be performed.
The two main types of asbestos survey are:
- Management surveys. This is the standard asbestos survey in the UK, with the purpose of locating and identifying the presence of ACMs in a building during the premises’ normal occupation and use. It involves visual inspection and non-intrusive sampling, and it is a legal requirement for non-domestic buildings dating to before the year 2000.
- Refurbishment or demolition surveys. The purpose of this type of survey is to find any asbestos that could be disturbed during major structural work at the property, such as refurbishment or demolition. It is a more intrusive survey, involving thorough sampling and in some cases, penetration of the building’s fabric. It needs to be carried out prior to any work that will disturb the property’s structure.
Both these asbestos survey types must be undertaken by a competent asbestos surveyor. It isn’t legally mandatory for individual asbestos surveyors to be accredited. However, the UK Health and Safety Executive (HSE) strongly recommends using an organisation that has United Kingdom Accreditation Service (UKAS) accreditation to the BS EN ISO/IEC 17020 standard.
Details about the asbestos situation in a given building, as gathered by a survey, can then be fed into an asbestos register. This is a live document that records the location, condition, and type of all known or presumed ACMs at a property.
The asbestos register must always contain current information – which in turn, will help you actively manage any ACMs in your buildings. You won’t want to be acting on incorrect or out-of-date information, so keeping the register both accurate and accessible will be hugely important.
Over time, you should be periodically reviewing historical information about the property, and commissioning any new surveys as and when they may be needed. In addition, you will need to update records immediately after any work is completed or following regular re-inspections.
What should an asbestos management plan include?
The asbestos management plan, or AMP, will be the central document for your organisation’s compliance efforts.
Your AMP should be dynamic. By this, we mean it should be regularly updated, in accordance with the asbestos situation in the property at the time. It should also be integrated with wider health and safety frameworks, such as for fire safety and legionella management.
Key elements of an effective AMP include:
- The details and location(s) of all identified ACMs and their current condition
- Assigned responsibilities and roles within the organisation
- Control measures (such as encapsulation, physical labelling, and/or restricted access)
- Monitoring and re-inspection frequency schedules
- Communication and mandatory training procedures for staff and contractors
- Emergency and incident response procedures
As ever-more sophisticated and refined technology solutions continue to become available, these can greatly help simplify ongoing asbestos review and reporting processes.
How can digital compliance tools simplify asbestos management?
The sheer complexities of asbestos management can seem quite daunting. Fortunately, integrated compliance management technology exists and provides a robust solution to make the various essential processes easier.
Vision Pro Software is an excellent example of such technology. It allows organisations to:
- Centralise all asbestos, fire, and legionella data in a single platform
- Automate the tracking of inspection cycles and due dates
- Access live dashboards and reports across entire property portfolios
- Manage actions, documentation, and communications efficiently
Digitalisation can greatly help to enhance transparency, accountability, and efficiency across asbestos management operations.
Not only this, but digital platforms like Vision Pro Software are useful for more tightly integrating asbestos concerns with other compliance management responsibilities, such as those related to asset management, fire, legionella, and sustainability.
How can a specialist compliance partner help you stay on top of your duties?
Working with compliance experts like those making up the Assets & Compliance Managed Services team, can give you access to specialised knowledge across asbestos, fire, and legionella compliance.
These professionals can offer benefits such as:
- Independent audits and risk assessments
- Bespoke compliance strategies, aligned to your organisation’s sector and scale
- The delivery of digital compliance through the widely trusted and highly integrated Vision Pro Software.
Our own partnership approach here at Assets & Compliance Managed Services helps our clients to not just achieve, but also maintain compliance in the long term.
In light of all the aforementioned potential benefits of services like ours, we would urge you to take the time to review your asbestos management plan, while giving thought to how reputable professionals could help.
Summary: what should every property owner take away?
There are ultimately three key messages that we would like you to take away from this guide.
Those are:
- The “duty to manage” is an active and continuous responsibility, not a one-off act.
- The compliance process requires clear accountability, accurate information, and regular review.
- Partnering with compliance experts, and embracing the use of integrated digital tools, can greatly simply management and reduce risk.
If you’re unsure when your asbestos management plan was last reviewed, now is the time to act. To learn more about our asset, compliance, and risk management services and software, including in relation to asbestos management, please contact us today.