Asbestos

What is asbestos?

Asbestos was widely used in the construction industry in the 1960`s and may be found in a number of building materials such as:

• Floor tiles
• Textured wall and ceiling finishes (for example artex)
• Door panels
• Pipe insulation and some pipe boxing

Asbestos was found to be a health risk and was banned from use as a building material in 1999. There are now strict rules about working with and removing asbestos.

However, asbestos is quite safe as long as it is not damaged.

If you have any concerns about asbestos in the common areas of your building please contact us

How we manage asbestos to keep you safe

We keep a register of asbestos materials located in the communal areas of our low and high-rise blocks of flats.

Each year we carry out an inspection of these materials to make sure they have not been disturbed or their condition has not deteriorated. We will then update our property records.

Asbestos in good condition does not cause health problems. If any asbestos material is found to have been disturbed or deteriorated in the common areas of our buildings we will arrange to have it replaced with a non-asbestos material. The Health and Safety Executive’s advice is currently, to leave asbestos in place if it is undisturbed and does not pose a health risk .

You can find out more in our asbestos policy

What are your responsibilities

Under the terms of your lease, you are responsible for the maintenance of the internal areas of your home, including any materials that may contain asbestos.

You can only carry out alterations to your home if you get written permission from us before you start. As many of the buildings owned by Watmos, due to their date of construction, contain asbestos which requires special management because it can be very dangerous if disturbed in any way. Before starting any works You will need to allow time for the alteration application  process, which will include (depending on what you are planning to do) instructing a specialist asbestos survey of your home you will need to allow sufficient funds for the survey and any necessary removal works.

Do not attempt to remove or disturb any items that you think may contain asbestos.

Remember

• Treat asbestos and materials that may contain asbestos with caution
• Seek advice from a specialist asbestos removal contractor if you think there is a problem with asbestos in your home
• Ask for approval before carrying out any alteration or improvements to your home and do not  drill, saw, sand or disturb asbestos materials in any way when carrying out DIY work.