Asbestos Surveys for Landlords, Freeholders and Managing Agents
The duty to manage asbestos covers the common parts of multi-occupancy domestic premises, such as purpose-built flats and houses converted into flats, but not the private area inside each flat. Dutyholders must assess, record and plan. Request quotes for a survey of communal areas.
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Common parts and the duty to manage
The duty to manage covers non-domestic premises and the common parts of multi-occupancy domestic premises, such as purpose-built flats or houses converted into flats. It does not cover the private area inside each flat. Common parts include foyers, corridors, lifts, staircases and roof spaces.
| Premises | Part | Duty to manage applies? |
|---|---|---|
| Block of flats (more than one family) | Individual flats | No |
| Block of flats (more than one family) | Common parts (e.g. foyer, lift, stairs, plant room, roof space, communal yard or garden) | Yes |
| House converted into flats (more than one family) | Private rooms | No |
| House converted into flats (more than one family) | Common parts for access, circulation and storage (e.g. entrance hall, staircase, roof space) | Yes |
| Garages and parking spaces not allocated to a specific person | Common parts for access and circulation | Yes |
| Private house, single dwelling (owner-occupied or let to one family) | All | No |
Converted flats and shared houses
In a house converted into flats, the entrance hall, staircase and roof space are common parts and fall within the duty to manage. Rooms in a single private residence shared by more than one household, such as shared kitchens and bathrooms, are not common parts.
HSE says common parts do not include rooms in a private residence shared by more than one household, for example bathrooms and kitchens in shared houses (L143 paragraph 90). Shared areas inside a single shared house may therefore fall outside regulation 4. Check HSE's guidance for your circumstances.
L143 does not name HMOs specifically. Even where regulation 4 does not apply, section 3 of the Health and Safety at Work etc Act 1974 can apply to anyone conducting a business, including landlords of domestic premises (L143 paragraph 92).
Source: HSE, Managing and working with asbestos (L143, second edition, 2013), accessed 2 November 2026.
Managing agents and freeholders
The dutyholder is anyone with a contract or tenancy obligation for maintenance or repair of the premises, or who controls that part of the premises. That can include owners, freeholders and managing agents, and several people can share the duty according to their maintenance obligations.
HSE's web guidance says the dutyholder could be the building owner, a landlord or the person or organisation with clear responsibility for the building's maintenance or repair. Regulation 4(2) requires everyone else to co-operate with the dutyholder so far as necessary. Leases and management agreements determine who holds which obligation, so take legal advice if it is unclear.
Sources: HSE, Managing and working with asbestos (L143, second edition, 2013), accessed 2 November 2026 (regulation 4(1) to 4(2)); HSE, The duty to manage asbestos in buildings, accessed 2 November 2026.
Records and tenants' safety
The dutyholder must assess whether asbestos is present, record the conclusions, determine the risk and keep a written plan for the affected parts. The aim, per HSE, is to prevent harm to people who work on the building and to its occupants, so records need to stay current as the building changes.
A management survey is the usual way to gather the information for the assessment and plan. See which survey fits your building, and published prices.
Source: HSE, Managing and working with asbestos (L143, second edition, 2013), accessed 2 November 2026 (regulation 4(3), 4(7), 4(8) and the summary to regulation 4).