Planning refurbishment in a London office, shop, warehouse, school, communal building or other commercial property? The asbestos information needed before work starts depends on exactly what the project will disturb. A management survey that is suitable for normal occupation may not be sufficiently intrusive for refurbishment work.
This practical checklist is designed for property managers, facilities managers, landlords, project managers and dutyholders commissioning work in London buildings.
Why check asbestos information before commercial refurbishment?
Under the Control of Asbestos Regulations 2012, dutyholders for non-domestic premises must manage the risk from asbestos. HSE guidance also makes clear that before refurbishment or demolition work that may disturb the building fabric, asbestos must be properly identified so the work can be planned safely.
The important point is not simply whether an old asbestos report exists. The question is whether the available information is suitable for the specific scope of the proposed work.
1. Define exactly what the refurbishment will disturb
Start with the project scope. List the rooms, floors, risers, ceilings, partitions, service routes, plant areas, floor finishes and external elements that contractors may cut, drill, remove, open or replace.
For a London office fit-out, for example, work might affect suspended ceilings, partitions, fire protection, service risers, floor finishes and electrical routes. A retail refurbishment may also involve shopfronts, back-of-house areas and old service penetrations. The asbestos survey scope should follow the work scope rather than being described only as “the building”.
2. Review existing asbestos records
Collect the current asbestos register, previous survey reports, management plan, drawings and any records of asbestos removal or remedial work. Check the dates, surveyed areas, exclusions and limitations.
Pay particular attention to areas marked no access, presumed asbestos, inaccessible voids or spaces that were outside an earlier survey. An existing report can remain useful, but it should not automatically be treated as suitable for a new intrusive project.
3. Decide whether a management survey is enough
An asbestos management survey is primarily used to support management of asbestos during normal occupation and routine maintenance. It is generally less intrusive than the investigation needed before refurbishment.
If the proposed works will disturb the fabric of a building that may contain asbestos, the relevant areas normally need a suitably intrusive refurbishment or demolition asbestos survey before those works begin. The survey should be designed around the actual refurbishment scope.
4. Give the surveyor enough project information
A useful survey brief should identify the property, proposed works, affected areas, access arrangements, known restrictions and any existing asbestos information. Drawings, schedules of work and photographs can help define the required inspection.
This matters because a refurbishment survey is not simply a more aggressive version of a general inspection. It needs to investigate the building fabric that the planned work will disturb.
5. Plan access before the survey date
Intrusive inspection may require access above ceilings, inside boxed services, beneath finishes, behind panels or into locked plant and service areas. Agree access arrangements before attendance wherever possible.
If areas cannot be accessed, the resulting limitations should be understood before contractors start work. Do not assume an uninspected area is asbestos-free.
6. Check what the final survey report covers
When the report arrives, compare it against the refurbishment scope. Check that the intended work areas were surveyed and review identified or presumed asbestos-containing materials, sample results, photographs, locations and limitations.
The report should be understandable to the people planning and carrying out the work. HSE’s HSG264 survey guidance emphasises the dutyholder’s use of survey information and the need for contractors to be able to interpret it when refurbishment or demolition is planned.
7. Resolve asbestos findings before disturbance
If asbestos-containing material is identified where the refurbishment will disturb it, the project team must decide how the risk will be controlled before that work proceeds. Depending on the material and proposed activity, this may involve changing the work method, avoiding disturbance, encapsulation, repair or removal by an appropriately competent contractor.
A survey identifies and records asbestos information; it does not by itself make subsequent building work safe.
8. Share the right information with contractors
Relevant asbestos information should reach the people who need it before work begins. Contractors should understand the surveyed areas, asbestos locations, assumptions, restrictions and any areas that remain unverified.
For more detail, see our guide to asbestos information contractors should receive before work starts.
9. Keep the asbestos register and management information current
Refurbishment can change the building and its asbestos records. After removal, encapsulation or other changes, update the relevant asbestos information so future maintenance teams are not working from an obsolete record.
For occupied non-domestic premises, asbestos management is an ongoing process rather than a one-off survey exercise.
Common commercial refurbishment situations in London
This planning approach is relevant to office fit-outs, retail refurbishments, landlord works between tenancies, warehouse alterations, school maintenance projects, communal-area upgrades, plant-room works, rewiring, heating upgrades, window replacement and other projects that disturb existing building materials.
London buildings are often altered repeatedly over their lifetime. That makes a clear project-specific scope particularly important: different parts of the same property may have different construction histories and previous refurbishment records.
Commercial refurbishment asbestos checklist
- Define the exact refurbishment scope and affected areas.
- Gather the asbestos register, surveys, management plan and removal records.
- Check previous survey limitations and no-access areas.
- Decide whether existing information is sufficiently intrusive for the proposed work.
- Provide drawings and work schedules when commissioning the survey.
- Arrange access to voids, service areas and other relevant spaces.
- Compare the completed survey against the work scope.
- Resolve identified asbestos risks before disturbing materials.
- Give relevant asbestos information to contractors.
- Update asbestos records after the project changes the building.
Commercial refurbishment guides by property type
Different commercial buildings create different access and project-scope questions. Use the relevant guide when planning works:
- Shop and retail refurbishment in London
- Warehouse and industrial unit alterations in London
- School and education building refurbishment in London
- Office fit-outs in London
Need an asbestos survey before refurbishment in London?
Asbestos London Survey handles asbestos survey enquiries across Greater London for commercial and residential refurbishment projects. Tell us the property type, location and planned work so the required survey scope can be considered around the project.
Request a property-specific asbestos survey quote or call 07707 999369.
Further guidance
For official guidance, consult the Health and Safety Executive’s asbestos resources and Asbestos: The Survey Guide (HSG264). The HSE’s 2026 asbestos-management campaign also reminds dutyholders to review survey information, maintain asbestos management arrangements and ensure materials that may contain asbestos are properly identified before intrusive work begins.