Explore this post with your favourite AI tool:
Share this article with AI tools to summarise, remember, or explore the content further.
asbestos removal should not be treated as a box-ticking exercise when landlords are planning refurbishment work. A proper scope helps set out what needs to be done, who is doing it and what has to happen before anyone starts stripping out a building.
Landlords facing a turnaround between tenancies are often under pressure to get void properties back into use quickly. But when asbestos is suspected or already identified, the job cannot be reduced to a hurried checklist before contractors arrive on site.
Marc Heminsley, director of D&M Asbestos Removal Ltd, argues that the real issue is not whether a form has been completed, but whether the work has been properly defined. For property owners and managing agents, that means turning an asbestos concern into a clear brief that contractors can actually work from.
Why a proper asbestos removal scope matters
A scope is more than a note saying asbestos is present. It should describe the known materials, where they are, what condition they are in and what the refurbishment plan will affect. That gives landlords, contractors and consultants a common understanding before any strip-out or remedial work begins.
Without that level of clarity, decisions tend to be made too late, usually once builders are already on site and a deadline is looming. That is when mistakes happen: unclear boundaries, overlapping trades, rushed sequencing and avoidable delays while everyone tries to work out what should have been agreed earlier.
For landlords, the practical problem is simple. If asbestos removal is not properly scoped, the project is more likely to stall, change course or create extra cost once the contractor starts finding hidden materials or issues that were never included in the original plan.
From survey findings to a workable brief
The article’s point is that survey information has to be turned into something useful. A survey report may identify asbestos-containing materials, but that does not automatically translate into a works brief that explains how the refurbishment should be sequenced or what precautions will be needed.
Heminsley’s view is that landlords should use the scope to bridge that gap. In practice, that means pulling together the survey findings, the refurbishment schedule, access arrangements, waste handling, enclosure requirements and the point at which other trades can safely return to the building.
This is where many projects become muddled. A building owner may know asbestos is present, but still fail to define whether it must be removed before demolition, whether some materials can remain in place under control, or which parts of the site need to be handed over in stages. A clear brief avoids that uncertainty.
asbestos removal and refurbishment pressure
Void works are especially vulnerable to poor planning because time pressure pushes compliance into the background. That is a mistake for landlords and their agents, particularly where refurbishment is being driven by a letting deadline or a wider programme of stock turnover.
Asbestos removal needs to be integrated into the wider project plan, not bolted on after the main contractor has started. If the scope is not thought through early, other trades may be booked in too soon, access may be lost and the job may have to be suspended while the asbestos work is redefined.
“Landlords can turn an asbestos removal concern into a clear works brief before a rental refurbishment deadline starts driving …”
The message is also relevant to facilities managers and managing agents who are responsible for coordinating contractors. They need enough information to decide who is competent to carry out the work, how the task should be phased and what records need to be kept once the work is complete.
What dutyholders should be checking
For dutyholders, the main point is that asbestos controls should be based on the actual building and the actual works, not on assumptions. That means looking closely at survey quality, checking whether the identified materials match the refurbishment plan and confirming that the proposed contractor understands the full scope of the job.
Good records matter here. A landlord should be able to show what was known before the project began, what was decided about the asbestos, and how the work was handed over once the area was made safe for the next trade or occupation.
That approach is particularly important in older properties, where asbestos removal may only be one part of a bigger package of compliance issues. If the building is being refurbished while still partly occupied, or if multiple contractors are moving through the space, the sequencing becomes even more critical.
Turning concern into a controlled project
The practical lesson for the sector is that an asbestos issue should be managed as a project, not an emergency. A decent scope allows everyone involved to see the job properly from the start, rather than discovering missing information halfway through the works.
For landlords, that usually means bringing together the survey, the refurbishment programme and the contractor brief before any site activity begins. For contractors, it means being given enough detail to price, plan and deliver the work safely. For agents and property managers, it means less confusion when the schedule changes.
In a market where refurbishment deadlines can become the main driver of decisions, the better approach is still the slower one at the start: define the work, check the information and make sure the asbestos removal plan is tied to the project that is actually going to happen.
