Asbestos in Communal Areas of Flats: Who Is Responsible?

In a London block of flats, asbestos responsibility is not decided simply by asking who owns the building. The key question is who has responsibility for maintenance and repair of the relevant part of the property. Depending on the lease, tenancy and management arrangements, that may be the freeholder, landlord, management company, managing agent, resident management company or more than one party.

Under Regulation 4 of the Control of Asbestos Regulations 2012, the duty to manage asbestos applies to non-domestic premises and to relevant common parts of multi-occupancy domestic premises. HSE guidance gives examples including entrance halls, staircases, foyers, lifts, boiler and plant rooms, roof spaces, communal yards and gardens, store rooms, bike shelters and external outbuildings.

Does the duty to manage apply to communal areas of flats?

Yes, it can. HSE’s Approved Code of Practice and guidance specifically identifies common parts of a block of flats, and common access, circulation and storage areas in a house converted into flats, as areas where the duty to manage can apply.

This does not mean that Regulation 4 applies in the same way to the private interior of every individual flat. HSE distinguishes individual domestic accommodation from the common parts used or maintained for the building as a whole.

The distinction is important because a landlord or managing agent may have clear asbestos management duties in the communal parts even where the individual flats themselves fall outside Regulation 4.

Who is the asbestos dutyholder?

The dutyholder is the person or organisation with responsibility for maintenance or repair of the premises, or of the relevant means of access or egress, under a contract or tenancy. If there is no such contractual responsibility, the duty can fall on the person who has control of the premises.

In residential blocks, the answer therefore depends on the actual legal and management arrangements. The freeholder may retain responsibility for the structure and common parts; a management company may have delegated duties; a managing agent may carry out day-to-day tasks on behalf of the client; and leaseholders may have responsibility for particular areas. Delegating a task does not automatically remove the underlying legal responsibility of the dutyholder.

Documents worth checking

• The leases for the flats and any headlease.
• The freehold title and management arrangements.
• The managing agent’s contract.
• Repair and maintenance schedules.
• Responsibility for plant rooms, roof spaces, stores and external structures.
• Existing asbestos surveys, registers and management plans.

What should a dutyholder do about asbestos in communal areas?

HSE describes asbestos management as an ongoing process rather than a one-off survey. Dutyholders should take reasonable steps to determine whether asbestos is present, record known or presumed asbestos-containing materials, assess the risk, prepare a management plan and keep the arrangements under review.

• Arrange an appropriate asbestos survey or review reliable existing information.
• Create and maintain an asbestos register for the areas within scope.
• Assess the condition of known or presumed asbestos-containing materials.
• Prepare and implement an asbestos management plan.
• Monitor materials that remain in place.
• Make relevant asbestos information available to maintenance workers and contractors before work begins.
• Update records after repair, removal, new sampling or building alterations.

HSE’s 2026 inspection campaign highlighted recurring problems including missing management plans, inadequate information and training, and weak procedures for work that could disturb known or presumed asbestos-containing materials.

Which communal areas may contain asbestos?

Asbestos can occur in many parts of older residential buildings, particularly buildings constructed or refurbished before 2000. It cannot be reliably identified by appearance alone, so suspected materials should not be treated as confirmed asbestos without suitable evidence.

• Textured coatings on communal ceilings or walls.
• Asbestos insulating board panels, partitions or fire-protection elements.
• Pipe and boiler insulation in plant rooms.
• Floor tiles and associated bitumen adhesives.
• Asbestos cement panels, roof sheets, soffits or service enclosures.
• Fire doors or panels containing asbestos insulating board.
• Old service risers, ducts and boxing.
• Water tanks or other asbestos cement products in roof or plant spaces.

For a broader material guide, see our guide to common asbestos-containing materials in UK buildings.

Does a block of flats need an asbestos survey?

A survey is one common way of obtaining the information needed to manage asbestos, but the correct approach depends on the building, existing records and the work being planned. For occupied communal areas, a management survey is commonly used to identify materials that could be disturbed during normal occupation and routine maintenance.

Our asbestos management survey service explains the purpose and scope of this type of survey.

What if refurbishment work is planned?

A management survey should not automatically be relied on for intrusive refurbishment. Where planned work will disturb the building fabric, the relevant areas may require a suitably intrusive refurbishment asbestos survey before work starts. Demolition requires an appropriately scoped demolition asbestos survey.

This is especially relevant in blocks of flats where contractors may open risers, replace communal heating systems, renew fire doors, alter ceilings, upgrade electrical distribution equipment or carry out major external works.

See our guide to management surveys versus refurbishment and demolition surveys.

What information should contractors receive?

The asbestos register should be accessible to people who may disturb the building fabric. Relevant information needs to be provided before maintenance or refurbishment begins, not after a contractor has started opening walls, ceilings, ducts or service areas.

Useful controls may include contractor induction, a permit-to-work process, pre-start checks against the asbestos register, clear marking of relevant plans and a procedure for stopping work if unexpected suspect material is found.

Who pays for asbestos surveys or remedial work?

Regulation 4 identifies legal responsibility for managing the risk; it does not by itself decide how costs should be apportioned between a freeholder, management company and leaseholders. Payment can depend on leases, service-charge provisions, contracts and the nature of the work. Where cost allocation is disputed, specialist property or legal advice may be required.

What about asbestos inside an individual flat?

Regulation 4 does not generally impose the same duty to manage on the private interior of an individual domestic flat. That does not mean asbestos can be ignored. Other duties can apply where employers or self-employed people carry out work that may disturb asbestos, and contractors still need suitable information and controls before undertaking work liable to expose people to asbestos.

A landlord, leaseholder or contractor planning intrusive work inside a flat should therefore consider whether asbestos may be present and whether the proposed work requires appropriate investigation before disturbance.

A practical checklist for London freeholders and managing agents

• Confirm who has maintenance and repair responsibility for each communal area.
• Locate and review any existing asbestos surveys and historical removal records.
• Check whether the asbestos register reflects the current building layout.
• Record inaccessible or presumed areas appropriately.
• Confirm that identified ACMs are being monitored at suitable intervals.
• Make sure contractors can access relevant asbestos information before work.
• Check whether planned refurbishment needs a more intrusive survey.
• Update the register after asbestos-related work or building changes.
• Review the management plan regularly and when circumstances change.

For further landlord-focused information, see our London landlord asbestos compliance guidance and our article on asbestos registers versus management plans.

Authoritative guidance

The legal framework is the Control of Asbestos Regulations 2012, Regulation 4. HSE’s L143 Approved Code of Practice and guidance provides detailed guidance on where the duty applies and how dutyholders should comply. HSE also publishes current asbestos guidance for building owners, landlords, employers and contractors.

This article provides general information and is not legal advice. Responsibility in a particular block can depend on the lease, tenancy, contracts and actual control of maintenance and repair.

Need an asbestos survey for communal areas in London?

If you manage a block of flats, converted property or other shared residential building in London, tell us which communal areas are involved and what work is planned. We can help define the appropriate asbestos survey scope before booking.