How long does asbestos removal take?

Licensed asbestos removal cannot legally begin until 14 days after the enforcing authority has been notified, and that applies to every licensed job regardless of size. After that, a contained removal in a single area is a matter of days, while a licensed programme across a large or complex building runs for weeks or months. Duration is driven by the material type and the access rather than the value or size of the contract.

Why is there a 14-day wait before asbestos removal can start?

For licensed asbestos work, the contractor must notify the relevant enforcing authority, usually the HSE, at least 14 days before work begins. This is required under the Control of Asbestos Regulations 2012 and is a condition of the contractor's licence. The 14 days only starts once the authority has received a complete notification, including the ASB5 form, a site-specific plan of work, and a copy of the licence.

Can the 14-day asbestos notification period be waived?

Only in genuine emergencies. The HSE has stated waivers are unlikely to be granted to accommodate a lack of planning by a client or contractor. For any planned refurbishment, demolition, or maintenance programme, the 14-day period should be treated as fixed.

Why do larger asbestos removal projects sometimes take less time?

Because duration is driven by material type and access rather than volume. Bonded material across open, accessible areas allows a large team to work multiple faces at once and compress the programme. Friable material in confined spaces such as basement ducts or ceiling voids requires full enclosure and a small team working under controlled conditions, which cannot be sped up by adding operatives.

How long does commercial asbestos removal take?

A contained removal in a single defined area is typically a matter of days. Licensed removal across multiple areas or floors runs for several weeks. Phased programmes across large commercial sites or multi-building estates run for months. The 14-day notification period applies to every licensed element regardless of scale.

What is the asbestos removal process?

Survey and scoping, plan of work and method statement, notification to the enforcing authority, site setup with enclosures and decontamination facilities, controlled removal under continuous air monitoring, cleaning and visual inspection, four-stage clearance by an independent UKAS-accredited analyst, waste consignment and disposal at a licensed facility, and handover documentation. Only one of those stages is the removal itself.

Does a building have to be empty during asbestos removal?

No. Removal in occupied commercial buildings, hospitals, and housing stock is routine, using phased work areas, out-of-hours access, or decanting a defined area. Each approach extends the programme. The right approach depends on where the material sits, how people move through the building, and whether an enclosure can be established without cutting across occupied space or live services.

How quickly can asbestos removal start in an emergency?

Non-licensed work can start quickly, sometimes within 24 to 48 hours where a framework and team are already in place. Licensed work is different: the 14-day notification period applies, and waivers are granted only in genuine emergencies, not for scheduling pressure.

How long does asbestos clearance take after removal?

Four-stage clearance is carried out by an independent UKAS-accredited analyst after licensed removal, typically within a day or two of the works finishing. On phased projects each phase requires its own clearance before that area is handed back. An area cannot be reoccupied until a clearance certificate has been issued.

Who Is Responsible for Asbestos in Commercial Property?

Nov 5

6 min read

The dutyholder is responsible for asbestos in a commercial property. Under Regulation 4 of the Control of Asbestos Regulations 2012, that is whoever has responsibility for maintenance and repair through a lease or contract, or whoever controls the premises where no contract exists. It can be the owner, landlord, tenant or managing agent.

The duty applies to non-domestic buildings such as offices, warehouses, factories, hospitals, hotels and retail units, as well as the common parts of residential blocks. Any building built or refurbished before 2000 may contain asbestos. This guide explains who the dutyholder is, what they are responsible for, and who is responsible when asbestos needs to be removed. Emchia carries out licensed asbestos removal in commercial buildings across the North West, the Midlands and London.

What Is a Dutyholder for Asbestos?

The dutyholder is the person or organisation with the legal duty to manage asbestos in a non-domestic building. The role is decided by control, not by job title or ownership alone. If a lease or contract makes someone responsible for maintaining or repairing the building, that person or organisation is the dutyholder for the parts they control. Where there is no contract, the duty sits with whoever is in control of the premises.

In practice the dutyholder is usually the building owner, a landlord, a tenant, a managing agent or a facilities management company. The dutyholder does not have to carry out every task personally. Surveyors, consultants and contractors can be appointed to help. Responsibility for making sure the work is done properly stays with the dutyholder.

Can More Than One Party Be Responsible in the Same Building?

Yes. In multi-let offices, industrial estates and shopping parades it is common for responsibility to be split. A landlord may control the roof, structure, plant rooms, risers and shared corridors. An individual tenant may control the inside of their own unit. Each party is responsible for managing asbestos in the areas they control.

The regulations also require anyone with control of part of a building to cooperate with the dutyholder, for example by giving access for surveys and sharing information about the condition of materials. Who controls which areas is set by the lease or contract for that building. The practical step is to confirm this early, record it in writing, and make sure every party knows where their responsibility starts and stops.

Who Is Responsible for Arranging an Asbestos Survey in a Commercial Property?

The dutyholder is responsible for arranging the asbestos survey. You cannot manage asbestos without knowing where it is, what type it is and what condition it is in, so the survey is the starting point for everything else.

There are two main types. A management survey covers the building in normal use and identifies materials that could be disturbed during everyday occupation and routine maintenance. A refurbishment and demolition survey is needed before any refurbishment, strip-out or demolition work, and covers the areas affected by those works. Whoever is commissioning the works needs this survey in place before work starts. Vacant and derelict commercial buildings need a survey too, because maintenance teams, security staff and contractors still enter them.

The United Kingdom Accreditation Service lists accredited surveyors and testing laboratories. When asbestos needs to be removed, Emchia bases every quote on the full survey findings for the site, and our guide to what drives the cost of commercial asbestos removal explains how those findings shape the price.

Who Is Responsible for Managing the Risk of Asbestos?

Once the survey is complete, the dutyholder is responsible for managing the risk. That involves four things.

The first is an asbestos register, a live record of every known or presumed asbestos-containing material, its type, location and condition. The second is a risk assessment, which looks at how easily each material could release fibres and how likely it is to be disturbed by people using or maintaining the building. The third is an asbestos management plan, which sets out who is responsible for what, how materials will be monitored, when reinspections take place and what happens if a material is damaged. The fourth is sharing that information with anyone liable to disturb the materials, including maintenance staff and contractors.

The HSE guidance on the duty to manage asbestos recommends reviewing the register at least once a year, or sooner if anything changes. For each material the plan will lead to one of three outcomes: leave it in place and monitor it, repair or encapsulate it, or remove it.

Who Is Responsible for Asbestos Removal?

The decision to remove asbestos belongs to the dutyholder, based on the survey and the management plan. Removal is usually needed when a material is damaged or deteriorating, when it is likely to be disturbed, or when refurbishment or demolition work is planned in that area.

The removal itself must be carried out by the right contractor. Work on licensable materials, such as sprayed coatings, pipe lagging and most asbestos insulating board, can only be carried out by a contractor holding a licence from the Health and Safety Executive. The licence is held by the company, and its teams are trained to carry out licensed work under the company’s procedures.

Before licensed work starts, the contractor must submit an ASB5 notification to the HSE at least 14 days in advance, so this needs to be built into any project programme. The work then takes place inside a controlled enclosure, with air monitoring, decontamination facilities and licensed waste disposal. When removal is complete, an independent UKAS-accredited analyst carries out a four-stage clearance and issues a certificate before the area can be reoccupied. The dutyholder then updates the register to show the material has gone.

You can read more about how Emchia plans and delivers licensed asbestos removal programmes on our removal page.

What Are Contractors Responsible For Before Work Starts?

Contractors carry their own responsibilities. Before any drilling, cutting, cabling or strip-out, they should ask for the asbestos register and check it for the area they are working in. Intrusive work needs a refurbishment and demolition survey of that area, not just a management survey. If a suspect material is found during the work, the work should stop until it has been checked.

On construction projects, the client must pass relevant asbestos information to the principal contractor as part of the pre-construction information. Employers must also make sure workers who could disturb asbestos have suitable asbestos awareness training. The dutyholder provides the information, and the contractor is responsible for using it.

Speak to Emchia About Asbestos Removal on Your Site

Emchia works with clients including the NHS, Ford, BAM, Premier Inn and Boohoo, and brings over 25 years of industry experience to every project. On Boohoo’s warehouse in Burnley, we acted as principal contractor for the asbestos removal, demolition and enabling works while the site stayed partly occupied. At North Manchester General Hospital, we delivered the licensed removal package for the first phase of the redevelopment, working with Morgan Sindall and the NHS Trust.

We are an HSE-licensed asbestos removal contractor based in Chorley, with regional offices in the Midlands and London. Our projects range from contained removals in occupied buildings to contracts valued at £5,000,000. If your management plan or a planned refurbishment means asbestos needs to come out, talk to our team about your project.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is the Landlord Always Responsible for Asbestos in a Commercial Property?

No. Responsibility sits with whoever controls maintenance and repair of the building or the relevant part of it. That can be the landlord, a tenant or a managing agent, depending on the lease or contract. In multi-let buildings the landlord often controls common parts while tenants control their own units.

Does an Empty Commercial Building Still Need Its Asbestos Managed?

Yes. Vacant and derelict commercial buildings still need an asbestos survey and ongoing management. Maintenance teams, security staff, inspectors and contractors still enter empty buildings, and materials can deteriorate faster through damp, vandalism or lack of maintenance.

Who Should Be Given Access to the Asbestos Register?

Anyone liable to disturb asbestos-containing materials should be given the relevant information from the register before they start work. That includes maintenance staff, facilities teams and contractors carrying out any work that could affect the fabric of the building.

How Often Should an Asbestos Register Be Reviewed?

HSE guidance recommends reviewing the asbestos register at least once a year as part of the asbestos management review. It should also be updated sooner if anything changes the risk, such as damage to a material, a change in how a room is used, or planned maintenance work.

Who Can Carry Out Licensed Asbestos Removal?

Only a contractor holding a licence from the Health and Safety Executive can carry out licensed asbestos removal. The licence is held by the company, which must notify the HSE at least 14 days before licensed work begins. Emchia Asbestos Solutions is an HSE-licensed contractor working across the North West, the Midlands and London.