Advice for contractors
What we are doing about asbestos
We have a long term commitment to manage materials containing asbestos within our properties. We are doing this by carrying out surveys to find material in shared areas and individual homes (when needed) that contain asbestos:
- Our Decent Homes team will commission Type 2 surveys for 20% of properties built before 1985 and 10% of properties built after 1985, and also carry out visual inspections on 100% of our properties
- Our SOUND, Improve and Digital TV teams will commission Type 2 or 3 asbestos surveys and abatement works where they are needed
- Our voids team will commission Type 2 or 3 asbestos surveys and abatement works where it is needed and will report any defects found in the ACMs
- Our commercial initiatives team will commission Type 2 asbestos surveys and abatement works where it is needed and will report any defects found in the ACMs
- Our development team will commission Type 2 and Type 3 surveys as they are required.
In addition to this we are also:
- keeping a detailed asbestos database
- assessing the risk from materials containing asbestos in all of our properties (where we know about this)
- making arrangements to manage the risk arising from materials containing asbestos
- providing information, when asked, about the condition and location of materials containing asbestos to anyone who could be exposed to it
- making sure that the appropriate action is taken by anyone who is likely to disturb materials containing asbestos, including staff, contractors and consultants
- reducing the chance (as far as possible), of residents, their visitors, and contractors working on our properties being exposed to asbestos
- making sure all consultants and contractors sign and adhere to our asbestos management plan
Do’s and don’ts
Do contact the ssbestos team straight away if:
- any materials that you believe may contain asbestos have been damaged, disturbed or dumped
- protective coatings or sealants are peeling or breaking off, or if special labels have been removed
- asbestos cement based products (such as guttering or shed roofs) become damaged or badly weathered
Also, do make sure that:
- anything you think may contain asbestos stays in good condition
- before carrying out any DIY work for tenants you get advice from our asbestos team.
Make sure you don’t:
- allow anyone to work on, or close to, materials containing asbestos, or allow any damage or removal of these materials
- sand down, drill or scrape artex
- drill, cut or sand down materials you think may contain asbestos
- break off pieces or break up large pieces of materials that you believe contain asbestos
As a contractor what do I need to do?
- Read our asbestos management plan to make sure you know your duties and responsibilities in respect of asbestos management
- Make sure your operatives and officers attend asbestos awareness training and keep evidence of this, because it needs to be forwarded to our asbestos team each year
- Check the asbestos database for the location of anything on your managed estates that has been identified as, or thought to be, an ACM
- If you think you might have other asbestos materials upon your estate, let our asbestos team know so they can look into it
If you suspect that an asbestos containing material has been disturbed then you should take the following steps straight away:
- The surrounding area should be evacuated as soon as possible without causing alarm, then it should be sectioned off and preferably locked
- Inform our asbestos team immediately. Your should report all incidents, no matter how small, using our health and safety incident report form, which must include details of any staff that could be affected. You must then send the form to our health and safety team and our asbestos team.
- You should check the asbestos database to find out if there is any asbestos in the affected area
- Complete a full assessment of the situation, asking an external asbestos specialist to check the extent and nature of damage, find out if there is any contamination and see if any further action should be taken
View the asbestos leaflet for contractors (PDF, 86KB)
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