The duty to manage asbestos is Regulation 4 of the Control of Asbestos Regulations 2012, and it does not require you to remove anything. It requires you to find out whether asbestos is present, record it, assess the risk, write a plan, act on it, and tell anyone who might disturb it.
That last part is the point of the whole regulation. The duty exists so the electrician drilling your ceiling next Tuesday knows what is behind it. A perfect register nobody is shown fails the duty completely.
Who is the duty holder?
Regulation 4 defines it by obligation, not ownership. The duty holder is:
- Whoever has an obligation for the maintenance or repair of non-domestic premises, under a tenancy agreement or contract; or
- Where there is no such agreement, whoever has control of the premises
So a landlord who has contracted out repairs may not be the duty holder; a tenant with a full repairing lease usually is. Where responsibilities are split, the duty is shared in proportion to each party’s repair obligation — and everyone with a duty must co-operate.
If you are unsure whether it is you, read the lease. “I assumed the landlord dealt with it” is not a defence.
Which buildings does it cover?
All non-domestic premises — offices, shops, factories, warehouses, schools, hospitals, hotels, pubs, places of worship, village halls, farm buildings.
And the common parts of domestic premises, which people routinely miss:
- Stairwells, corridors and entrance halls in blocks of flats
- Lift shafts and machine rooms
- Boiler rooms and plant rooms
- Shared roof spaces and outbuildings
- Communal laundries and bin stores
Individual private homes are outside Regulation 4 — though anyone working in one is still protected by the wider regulations.
The six things Regulation 4 requires
1. Take reasonable steps to find asbestos
Establish whether ACMs are present, and if so where, how much, and in what condition. Reasonable steps means checking building plans and records, and commissioning a survey where the answer is not already known.
2. Presume it is asbestos unless you have strong evidence otherwise
This reverses the usual burden of proof, and it is the part duty holders most often get wrong. For any pre-2000 material, the default assumption is that it is asbestos. “We didn’t think it was” is not evidence. A survey or laboratory analysis is.
3. Assess the risk
Not just presence — condition and likelihood of disturbance. Sealed asbestos cement on a roof nobody touches is a different problem from damaged AIB in a busy corridor. The assessment should consider the material type, its condition, its location, and how often people work near it.
4. Make a written management plan
The plan must set out how the risk will be managed. In practice it contains:
- An asbestos register — location, type, condition of every known or presumed ACM, ideally with plans and photographs
- Who is responsible, by name
- Monitoring and re-inspection arrangements and dates
- How information reaches contractors before they start work
- Arrangements for repair, sealing, encapsulation or removal where needed
- Emergency procedures if asbestos is accidentally disturbed
- A review schedule
5. Put the plan into action and review it
Monitor condition, act on deterioration, and review the plan regularly — and always after building work, a change of use, or any incident. A register dated 2014 tells an inspector the duty stopped being taken seriously in 2014.
6. Provide the information to anyone liable to disturb it
This is the duty that saves lives. Everyone who might work on the fabric of the building — contractors, maintenance staff, engineers, IT installers, cleaners working above ceilings — must be given the information before they begin.
A register locked in a manager’s office that contractors are never shown does not discharge the duty.
Surveys: which one do you need?
| Survey | When | What it involves |
|---|---|---|
| Management survey | Normal occupation and use | Locates ACMs likely to be disturbed during routine work and maintenance; minor intrusion only |
| Refurbishment and demolition survey | Before any refurbishment or demolition | Fully intrusive, into the structure itself; the area must normally be vacated |
A management survey is not sufficient before refurbishment or demolition. Relying on one is a recurring and serious failure — the ACMs that hurt people during building work are precisely the ones a management survey was never designed to find.
Training — Regulation 10
Regulation 4 is not the only duty. Regulation 10 requires employers to ensure adequate information, instruction and training for anyone liable to be exposed to asbestos.
HSE guidance describes three tiers:
- Asbestos awareness — for those who may disturb asbestos during ordinary work. This is Category A, and it is what most tradespeople and maintenance staff need.
- Non-licensable work training — for those who will actually work on lower-risk ACMs
- Licensable work training — for licensed contractors
Awareness training does not qualify anyone to work on asbestos. It exists so people recognise it and stop. See Category A vs Category B training and who legally needs it.
The five most common failures
- No register at all for a pre-2000 building
- A register that exists but is never shown to contractors — the duty most often breached
- Never reviewed — no re-inspection since the original survey
- A management survey used before refurbishment, when a refurbishment and demolition survey was required
- Nobody named as responsible, so in practice nobody is
Enforcement
Regulation 4 is enforced by the HSE and by local authorities. Breaches can bring improvement and prohibition notices, prosecution, and unlimited fines — and where someone is exposed, individual as well as corporate liability.
The register and management plan are usually the first documents an inspector asks for. Being able to produce a current one, and show that contractors are given it, is most of the answer.
Further reading
- HSE — The duty to manage asbestos
- Control of Asbestos Regulations 2012, Regulation 4
- HSE — Managing asbestos in buildings
Train the people who could disturb it
Our Asbestos Awareness (Category A) course delivers the awareness training expected under Regulation 10 — what ACMs are, where they are found, and what to do when work uncovers one.
For design and specification teams: Asbestos Awareness for Architects and Designers.
Related reading: Where is asbestos found? · What to do if you discover asbestos
£9 per course. CPD accredited, 100 % online, verifiable e-certificate on completion. Pay for 2, get 3 — any 3 courses for £18.
Please note: this is a CPD-accredited Category A awareness course and general information, not legal advice. It is awareness training only — it does not license, qualify or permit anyone to carry out licensed or notifiable non-licensed asbestos work, and it is not an Ofqual-regulated qualification. Duty holders should take competent advice on their own premises and check their specific obligations.