Asbestos register requirements catch a lot of landlords and building owners off guard, usually the first time a tenant, contractor, or compliance review asks to see one. If you own or manage a non-domestic building – or a rented residential property with communal areas – you’ve probably come across the term “asbestos register.” Understanding the requirements properly turns it from a bureaucratic-sounding obligation into a simple, practical document.

Asbestos Register and Survey Compliance Review

What Is an Asbestos Register?

An asbestos register is a record of every known or presumed asbestos-containing material in a building – its location, condition, and the risk it poses. It’s built from the findings of a management survey and forms the factual backbone of a building’s wider asbestos management plan. Rather than a one-off document, it’s meant to be a living record that gets checked and updated over time.

Asbestos Register Requirements: Who Legally Needs One?

Under the Control of Asbestos Regulations 2012, anyone with a legal “duty to manage” asbestos in a non-domestic building must keep a register. This covers employers, building owners, landlords of commercial and communal residential premises, and facilities managers – essentially, anyone responsible for maintenance or repair work in a building constructed before the year 2000. The full duty to manage requirements are set out in HSE’s Control of Asbestos Regulations guidance.

Purely domestic homes occupied by a single household aren’t covered by the same legal duty, though a register is still good practice if you’re planning renovation work.

What Should Be in It?

A proper register records the type of material, its exact location, condition, and risk assessment score, along with the date it was last inspected and by whom. Photographs and floor plans are usually included too, since a written description alone can be hard to match up with the actual building months or years later.

Keeping It Up to Date

A register isn’t a “create once and forget” document. Materials need re-inspecting periodically – typically every 6 to 12 months depending on condition and risk – and the register needs updating whenever refurbishment work removes or disturbs recorded materials. An out-of-date register is one of the most common issues we find when reviewing existing paperwork for landlords and building owners.

What Happens If You Don’t Have One?

Without a register, anyone carrying out maintenance, repairs, or contractor work in the building has no way of knowing what they might be disturbing. This isn’t just a paperwork problem – it’s a genuine safety risk for contractors and occupants, and it’s the single most common gap we find when taking over management of an older commercial or residential building.

Frequently Asked Questions

Does a rented house need an asbestos register?

A single let house occupied by one household generally doesn’t fall under the same statutory duty to manage as commercial premises, but landlords still have wider responsibilities around disclosure and safe maintenance, and a register is sensible practice regardless.

Who is responsible for keeping the register updated?

Whoever holds the legal duty to manage – usually the building owner, employer, or managing agent – is responsible, though the practical work of re-inspection is normally carried out by a qualified surveyor.

Can I create my own register without a survey?

A register needs to be based on an actual management survey to be reliable. Creating one from assumptions or old paperwork without a proper inspection risks missing materials that were never recorded in the first place.

ACM Contracts connects you with HSG Surveys Ltd, our BOHS-qualified surveying partner, for all field operations, billing and reporting.