If you manage a commercial property built before 2000, there is a significant chance asbestos-containing materials are present in the building fabric. Under UK law, you are legally responsible for identifying and managing those materials — and in many cases, arranging licensed removal before any refurbishment or demolition work begins.
The Duty to Manage Asbestos in Commercial Premises
The Control of Asbestos Regulations 2012 (CAR 2012) places a Duty to Manage asbestos on anyone responsible for the maintenance or repair of non-domestic premises. This covers commercial landlords, facilities managers, building managers, principal contractors, business owners who own their premises, and managing agents. The duty requires you to assess whether asbestos is present, record its location and condition, and manage it safely — which may mean monitoring, encapsulation, or licensed removal.
Refurbishment and Demolition Surveys: A Legal Requirement
Before any commercial refurbishment or demolition work begins, a Refurbishment and Demolition (R&D) Survey is legally required under CAR 2012. More intrusive than a management survey, it is designed to locate all ACMs that could be disturbed during planned works. R&D surveys are carried out by our trusted surveying partners, qualified to RSPH/BOHS P402 standard. Once the survey is complete, we develop a removal programme that ensures full CAR 2012 compliance before your contractor begins work.
Property Types We Work In
- Office buildings and business parks (pre-2000 construction)
- Retail units, shopping centres and high street properties — see our retail asbestos service
- Factories, warehouses and industrial units — see our industrial services
- Schools, universities and further education colleges — see our education sector service
- Hospitals and healthcare facilities
- Hotels, leisure centres and public buildings — see our public authorities service
- Construction and demolition sites — see our construction service
What Commercial Licensed Removal Involves
For licensable materials (AIB, pipe lagging, sprayed coatings), AIB Solutions provides full CAR 2012 method statements, constructs purpose-built enclosures, operates negative pressure units, uses controlled wet removal, arranges independent four-stage clearance with air monitoring samples sent to a UKAS-accredited laboratory, and issues all consignment notes and completion documentation.
Working Around Your Business
We are experienced in out-of-hours, phased and weekend working to minimise disruption. For occupied buildings, we work with your facilities team to plan removal around normal operations. Visit our commercial asbestos removal page or call 01782 613773 to discuss your project.