Keeping your council house safe

Asbestos is a naturally occurring mineral made up of many small fibres. It is mined from rock and milled into fibres, from which a wide range of materials can be produced. It has been used commercially for over 100 years because it is strong, flexible, stable and could be used in many products. The three types of asbestos that have been mainly used in the UK are:

• Crocidolite (blue asbestos) 
• Amosite (brown asbestos) 
• Chrysotile (white asbestos)

The use of asbestos was banned in the UK in 1999. If your property was built after 2000 it will not contain asbestos. If your property was built before 2000, there is a possibility that it may contain some asbestos containing materials. 

Where asbestos can be found in the home

Asbestos was widely used in a range of building materials and products during the 1950s, 1960s and 1970s because of its resistance to heat and chemicals. It was often used as fireproofing but also as a general building material.

The list below provides a basic understanding of where some asbestos-containing materials (ACMs) may be found in and around the home, both internally and externally. 

Asbestos was used in more than 2,500 different products so this list is not fully inclusive of all these products.

Examples of where asbestos can be found inside the home

• around a boiler
• toilet cistern
• vinyl floor tiles backed with asbestos paper and/or bitumen adhesive
• cement bath panels
• ceiling tiles
• airing cupboard and/or sprayed insulation coating boiler
• pipe lagging
• partition wall
• cement water tank
• behind fuse box
• textured decorative coating, for example Artex
• loose fill insulation
• behind fire
• cement interior window panel

Examples of where asbestos can be found outside the home

• cement soffits and fascia’s
• roofing felt
• cement roof tiles/slates
• cement panels
• profiled cement sheeting
• cement exterior window panel
• gutters and cement downpipes

Risks of asbestos

It is not unusual to find asbestos in the home, and if properly managed, asbestos poses little risk to health unless it is disturbed in some way that allows the fibres to be released into the atmosphere. This can occur if the asbestos containing material is drilled, sanded, cut or broken up, but could also occur if it is generally in a poor or damaged condition. 

The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) recommend that asbestos containing materials that are in good condition and not at risk of being damaged are best left where they are, undisturbed.

How we manage asbestos in council homes

We manage asbestos containing materials by conducting surveys at your home if it was built prior to the year 2000. We will identify any asbestos and formulate an action plan to manage the asbestos material based on the asbestos type and condition.

There are two types of asbestos surveys we conduct and information gathered from these surveys is kept in our assets asbestos register. The two types of surveys are:

1. Management surveys: A general survey of the home identifying and sampling any potential asbestos containing materials. 
2. Refurbishment surveys: A more intrusive survey often to isolated rooms prior to the completion of refurbishment works or major repairs.

It is common to have more than one asbestos survey carried out to your property, especially should there be the need for more intrusive/major planned works.

Works undertaken in your home by us include a risk assessment to check whether it is likely the work will disturb any asbestos containing materials. Where asbestos may be disturbed or is found to be damaged, it will be managed safely either by sealing or enclosing the material (known as encapsulation), or through removal by specialist contractors. 

Tenant responsibilities 

You must not carry out any alterations, improvements or additions to your property without first obtaining our written approval. This is a condition of your tenancy agreement. 

If you want to carry out any home improvements, you must contact your housing officer and request permission.

Completing DIY work on asbestos containing materials can result in brief but possible high levels of exposure. If you suspect materials might contain asbestos then do not:

• carry out DIY work to it 
• disturb it
• drill into it
• scrape or sand it
• attempt to remove it

If you think you have damaged or disturbed asbestos in your home, you should contact us without delay. If there is any need to remove asbestos containing material from your home, we will agree a plan with you to do so.

Read more about asbestos - Health and Safety Executive (HSE) website