Asbestos safety in your council home

Asbestos is a natural fibrous material that was mainly used in construction. It was widely used as insulation and fireproofing in buildings as well as tiles, pipe insulation, boilers and garage roof tiles.

There are usually low levels of asbestos in most older buildings because of the way they used to be built, but these are very unlikely to cause any harm. However, as it ages or becomes damaged fibres can release into the air. These can be breathed deep into the lungs where they may stay for a long time, causing possible damage. When enough of these fibres are breathed in, particularly over a long period of time, there is a risk of lung diseases, including cancer.

It's usually safer to leave materials that have asbestos if they are in good condition and not damaged. You must not tamper with, drill, sand or damage it at any time. 

See where asbestos could be found

If you want to carry out DIY or home improvements and think there may be asbestos in your property, you should contact us for advice before starting any work. Do not remove or disturb any material which you think may be asbestos. This is putting yourself and others at risk.

If you think you may have asbestos in your home or it is damaged at any point while doing work, you must stop straight away and let us know. We will arrange for the damaged materials to be checked and removed by professionals if needed. The people removing it will have suitable training and equipment, so you must never try to remove materials yourself.

We make sure our certified contractor carries out asbestos surveys and removals when needed.

Every year, we survey all shared areas in our residential blocks to make sure that if asbestos is located, it is kept safe and in good condition. Before any work is carried out on materials which have the potential to have asbestos, we take samples if asked to by contractors or residents.

We have an asbestos register, and the documents we hold highlight all known areas of asbestos and the condition of the material. This means we can monitor and manage the material safely.