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What asbestos checks do you need before refurbishment or demolition?

Last checked 24-10-2026. A plain guide, not legal advice: check the official guidance below for your job.

You must find out whether a building contains asbestos before the work starts. For major refurbishment or demolition that means a refurbishment and demolition survey by a competent surveyor, because HSE says asbestos can be found in buildings built before 2000.

When asbestos checks apply

HSE says asbestos can be found in buildings built before the year 2000, and that it was used most from the 1950s to the mid-1980s. It names drilling into a wall, refurbishment, retrofitting and demolition as higher-risk activities.

Employers must find out whether asbestos is present before work starts. Ask the owner or manager for the asbestos record first, and check it covers the areas you will disturb.

The refurbishment and demolition survey

HSE describes two kinds of survey. A management survey is for normal occupation of a building. A refurbishment or demolition survey is for before major refurbishment or demolition, and before structural work begins.

The refurbishment and demolition survey finds asbestos-containing materials, including those hidden in the building fabric, so they can be removed, as far as reasonably practicable, before work starts. It is intrusive, so the area must be vacated, and it must be done by a competent surveyor. HSE strongly recommends a UKAS-accredited surveying organisation.

On demolition, HSE says the client must give the contractor a refurbishment or demolition survey as part of the pre-construction information. HSE also says to check that the information you hold is enough for the work, and that intrusive work may need a refurbishment survey.

The duty to manage

The duty to manage asbestos covers non-domestic premises, such as factories, shops, schools and hospitals, and the common parts of multi-occupancy domestic buildings, such as the corridors, stairs and roof spaces of a block of flats. It does not cover individual flats or a private house.

The dutyholder is the owner, the landlord or whoever is responsible for maintenance or repair. They must find out whether asbestos is present, arrange a survey, keep a register, prepare a management plan and pass the information to anyone who might disturb it. That register is your starting point, not a replacement for a refurbishment survey.

If you find suspect material

HSE says you must stop work and follow its guidance if you think you have found asbestos. Only analysing a sample confirms whether a material contains it. Until then, either confirm what it is or assume it is asbestos, then carry out a risk assessment.

HSE lists likely places: insulating board in partitions and ceiling tiles, cement roofs and cladding, textured coatings such as Artex, lagging round boilers and pipes, sprayed coatings, and old floor tiles. If you are not trained, do not repair or remove it. Tell the person in charge of the site before anyone goes back in.

Licensed and non-licensed work

HSE says the employer decides how much risk the work presents, and the work then falls into one of three groups:

  • Non-licensed work: sporadic, low-intensity jobs where exposure stays under the control limit, such as drilling textured coatings to fit fixtures or sealing in asbestos in good condition.
  • Notifiable non-licensed work: HSE says this needs notification, medical surveillance and record keeping, for example work on substantially damaged asbestos cement.
  • Licensed work: must be done by a contractor holding an HSE licence. HSE says this covers all work on sprayed asbestos, most insulation work and most work on asbestos insulating board.

Check the HSE guidance for the material in front of you before deciding which group applies.

Asbestos awareness training

HSE says awareness training is for workers and supervisors whose normal duties could disturb asbestos, such as maintenance, electrical, plumbing, roofing and demolition staff. It covers the properties and health effects of asbestos, where it is likely to be found and what to do in an emergency, so people can recognise it and avoid it.

It does not prepare anyone to work on asbestos. HSE says that needs further training. Awareness training also needs some form of refresher, though not necessarily a full course every 12 months. There is no legal requirement to hold a certificate, but employers must provide information, instruction and training.

Sources

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