In many cases, the dutyholder is the person or organisation that has clear responsibility for the maintenance or repair of non-domestic premises through an explicit agreement such as a tenancy agreement or contract.

The extent of the duty will depend on the nature of that agreement. In a building occupied by one leaseholder, the agreement might be for either the owner or leaseholder to take on the full duty for the whole building; or it might be to share the duty. In a multi-occupied building, the agreement might be that the owner takes on the full duty for the whole building. Or it might be that the duty is shared – for example, the owner takes responsibility for the common parts while the leaseholders take responsibility for the parts they occupy. Sometimes, there might be an agreement to pass the responsibilities to a managing agent.

In some cases, there may be no tenancy agreement or contract. Or, if there is, it may not specify who has responsibility for the maintenance or repair of non-domestic premises. In these cases, or where the premises are unoccupied, the duty is placed on whoever has control of the premises, or part of the premises. Often this will be the owner.

 

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> What Premises Are Affected?

There are three essential steps:

• find out whether the premises contains asbestos, and, if so, where it is and what condition it is in. If in doubt, materials must be presumed to contain asbestos;
• assess the risk; and
• make a plan to manage that risk and act on it.

Further details of these steps can be found on pages 7-13 of ‘A short guide to managing asbestos’. a downloadable pdf file available from the HSE website.

Here are some basic principles to remember:

You do not have to have a survey to manage asbestos at your premises, you can manage the risk yourselves but without adequate knowledge you may be at risk from exposing employees and maintenance persons to asbestos.

• asbestos is only dangerous when disturbed. If it is safely managed and contained, it doesn’t present a health hazard;
• don’t remove asbestos unnecessarily – removing it can be more dangerous than leaving it in place and managing it;
• not all asbestos materials present the same risk. The measures that need to be taken for controlling the risks from materials such as pipe insulation are different from those needed in relation to asbestos cement;
• don’t assume you need to bring in a specialist in every case (for example, you can inspect your own building rather than employ a surveyor). But, if you do, make sure they are competent, for further details of our insurance and qualifications click here to email us.
• if you are unsure about whether certain materials contain asbestos, you can presume they do and treat them as such;
• remember that the duty to manage is all about putting in place the practical steps necessary to protect maintenance workers and others from the risk of exposure to asbestos fibres. It is not about removing all asbestos.

If any ACMs need to be sealed, encapsulated or removed, remember you will need to employ a licensed contractor if the materials are high risk (eg pipe insulation and asbestos insulating panels). We can help with this as part of our management and auditing services. Call 0845 094 5683 for more information.

 If the materials are lower risk (eg asbestos cement) then an unlicensed but competent contractor may carry out this work. For further details look at the licensing section.

 

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> What The Law Says About Identifying Asbestos