An asbestos re-inspection goes back to every item already on your register, checks it against last time, photographs it again and brings the register up to date.
HSE’s guide for dutyholders says the gap between checks “would not be expected to be more than 12 months in most cases”. We re-inspect offices, shops, schools, industrial units and the common parts of blocks of flats, from your existing survey, whoever wrote it.
Pipe lagging, boiler roomPresumed, 4 m run
9Medium · sealed
10High · sealant cracked: repair
Ceiling tiles, corridorInsulating board, sealed
5Low · good
5No change
Floor tiles, store roomVinyl, about 12 m²
2Very low · good
3Worn at doorway: cover
Roof sheets, bin storeCement
4Very low · weathered
4No change
Textured coating, riserNo access last time
–Not reached
NewPresumed: add to register
monthsThe longest gap between checks HSE’s guide HSG227 expects in most cases.
a year, at leastHow often HSE says to update your asbestos register as part of your management review.
monthsHSG227 says the management plan itself should get a thorough review at least this often.
“All ACMs in good condition must be regularly inspected to check that they remain in a good condition.”
Health and Safety Executive, “Write your asbestos management plan and monitor it” (duty to manage guidance). ACM = asbestos-containing material.
Or call 020 3386 1854
It starts from a survey you already have. If there has never been a survey, or the building is about to be worked on, you need a different visit.
Not sure which you need? Tell us what you have on file and what’s happening in the building, and we’ll say which visit fits before you book.
Anyone holding the duty to manage asbestos in a building put up before 2000, once the first survey is done. Pick yours to set the due-date check below.
Ceiling tiles lifted for data cabling, shop fit-outs, boxing round pipes. The most common change we look for is new holes and fixings.
Cement roof sheets, wall panels near loading bays, plant rooms. HSE’s guide uses a forklift hitting an asbestos cement panel as its example of repeated damage.
HSE expects regular checks of condition by the dutyholder, and staff to report damage to things like ceiling or floor tiles.
Foyers, corridors, stairs, lift shafts, risers, boiler rooms, roof spaces, bin stores and garages are covered by the duty to manage.
An agent can carry out the work for the dutyholder, but HSE is clear the agent can’t take the duty on. One yearly cycle across the portfolio keeps that simple.
The lease decides who repairs what, so the duty can be shared between landlord and tenant. Both need the same, current register.
The duty to manage doesn’t cover individual homes (HSG264 para 10). Landlords still have general duties under the Health and Safety at Work Act, and anyone planning work there should find out about asbestos first. Call and we’ll tell you what makes sense.
Four answers. The date updates as you go, with the reason and where it comes from. Where we suggest a shorter gap than HSE’s guide states, it says so.
Sources: HSE HSG227 Appendix 5 para 4; HSE duty to manage guidance (management plan, register). A guide, not a legal deadline: the law asks you to monitor condition, not to use a fixed interval.
The same seven checks on every item, in the order your register lists them.
HSE, HSG227 “A comprehensive guide to managing asbestos in premises”, Appendix 5
Most changes are small and slow: paint lifting on a sealed board, a floor tile worn through at a doorway, one new cable hole. Each is easy to miss walking past every day. Comparing against last year’s photo and notes catches them while a reseal or a cover is still enough.
Location, extent and type checked against the register. Items removed since are confirmed and closed off.
Scratches, chips, broken edges, cracking, and paint or sealant that has lifted or peeled.
Fragments or dust on the floor, on ledges or inside ceiling voids below the item.
New fixings, drilled holes, cables or pipes pushed through, panels refitted.
Where asbestos is boxed in, the boxing itself is checked for gaps and damage.
HSE notes labels can get dirty, covered up or fall off. We check they’re still there and readable.
A store that became an office, or a corridor that’s busier, changes how likely the item is to be disturbed.
Every item ends up in one of these. Pick one to see what it means for your register and for you.
The best result, and the most common one for well-managed buildings. The item stays where it is, managed.
Date checked, new photo, same condition and score, any label checked.
Nothing new. Keep it on the register and keep contractors told before they work near it.
A dated “no change” is the record that shows the duty is being met.
Paint lifting, a worn edge, a few new marks. Usually caught early enough that a simple repair or seal is all it needs.
What changed, photos side by side, the score raised to match.
Arrange the repair or seal we recommend, using people trained for that material, then have it marked and kept on the register.
HSE: when condition starts to deteriorate, remedial action can be taken. Finding it now keeps it cheap.
Broken, cracked or shedding material, or debris on the floor. We tell you on the day, and the area is kept out of use until it’s dealt with.
Exact location, extent, photos, a raised score, and the action needed with its urgency.
HSE: repair, seal, enclose or remove it. If it can’t be repaired or protected without disturbing it, it should be removed.
Licensed materials (lagging, most insulating board, sprayed coatings) need an HSE-licensed contractor. We say which applies.
Items removed during works but never taken off the register, or a suspect material in a room nobody could get into last time.
Removed items closed off with the date. New suspect items added, presumed to contain asbestos until sampled.
Decide whether to sample the new item. Keep removal paperwork with the register.
HSE found one school holding 13 separate re-inspection reports and a register never updated from them.
Your register, updated item by item, with the changes listed first so nobody has to compare two reports by hand.
The same example building. Each item's material score, last time and this time, on the HSG264 scale of 2 to 12.
Most of the work is done before and after the visit, so the day itself causes as little disruption as possible.
Tell us the building and send the last survey or register if you have it.
Based on the number of items, buildings and access. Fixed before we book.
Keys for plant rooms, risers and roof spaces, and a contact on the day.
Looked at, photographed and scored; unreached areas tried again.
Change list on top, actions with dates, anything urgent flagged on the day.
We remind you before the next re-inspection is due.
Anything else, call 020 3386 1854 and a surveyor will answer it.
There is no single legal interval. HSE’s guide HSG227 says the time between checks depends on the type of material, where it is and what goes on around it, but “would not be expected to be more than 12 months in most cases”. Busy areas need more: its example is insulating board on the walls of a constantly used corridor, which “may need inspecting once a month”. HSE also says to update the register at least once a year.
Regulation 4 of the Control of Asbestos Regulations 2012 requires the dutyholder to manage the risk from asbestos in non-domestic premises, and HSE’s guidance is that materials left in place must be regularly inspected and the register kept current. The law doesn’t say who must do the checks or how often, so a professional re-inspection is the usual way to show it has been done properly.
Yes, HSE accepts that the dutyholder can monitor condition by visual inspection, and in busy areas your own frequent checks between our visits are a good idea. What a surveyor adds is a consistent score for every item, photos matched to last time, areas reached that staff can’t get into, and an updated register that will stand up if HSE asks to see it.
Only if there’s no usable survey, the old one has large areas marked “not inspected”, it’s unclear what was found where, or building work is planned. Work on the fabric of the building needs a refurbishment and demolition survey of that area first (Control of Asbestos Regulations 2012, regulation 7). Otherwise, a re-inspection of the existing register is the right visit.
Yes. Send us the survey or register you have, whoever wrote it. We check every item on it, note where the old record doesn’t match what’s there, and give you back one updated register.
Not as a routine part of a re-inspection, because the items on your register are already identified or presumed. If we find a suspect material that isn’t on the register, we record it as presumed and can sample it if you agree, so you know whether it really contains asbestos.
We tell you on the day and the area should be kept out of use. HSE’s guidance is that damaged asbestos is repaired, sealed, enclosed or removed by people with the right training, and removed if it can’t be repaired or protected without disturbing it. Work on licensed materials such as pipe lagging and most insulating board needs a contractor licensed by HSE.
Yes, the common parts: entrance halls, corridors, stairs, lift shafts, risers, boiler rooms, roof spaces, bin stores, garages and outbuildings. The duty to manage covers these areas. It doesn’t cover the inside of individual flats.
It depends on how many items are on the register and how easy they are to reach. Most of the time goes on getting into plant rooms, risers and ceiling voids. We give you an honest estimate on the call, once we’ve seen the register.
The price depends on the number of items, the number of buildings and how much access work is involved, so we price each job from your register rather than quote a figure blind. You get the price fixed in writing before anything is booked: call 020 3386 1854.
The last survey or register and any site plans, notes of work done since then, keys or access to plant rooms, risers, lofts and roof spaces, and someone on site who knows the building. If you can’t find the register, tell us: we’ll work out the best way forward.
Yes. HSE says to review and update your plan after scheduled condition checks, after any work that affects asbestos, if it has been disturbed by accident, and when the staff responsible change. HSG227 suggests a thorough review of the plan at least every six months. Our updated register and action list are written to drop straight into that review.
Yes. Every report ends with the next due date, and we contact you before it comes round so the cycle doesn’t slip.
Tell us about the building and the register. We’ll call back with a price in writing. Prefer to talk now? 020 3386 1854
We use your details only to reply about this request. No obligation: the price comes first, in writing.