There are many aspects of commercial, shop or industrial unit refurishment and renovation that have to be considered and may not always seem obvious to the novice or new landlord. Firstly, the presence of asbestos in older properties must be ruled out before any work can take place. There are some key points here: 1. You must have a survey carried out unless you already have proof that there is no asbestos present. 2. The surveyor needs to be a formally qualified specialist. 3. Surveys do not need a licence. You are responsible for having these checks carried out and the best method is to engage a surveyor who has experience of asbestos. An asbestos risk assessment plan is needed to find out and record where asbestos might be. Decisions as to priority of handling and what action to take before planning how to carry out the work. The HSE produce a checklist for you and your surveyor to work to that is called ‘managing my asbestos’ and any such professional contractor will be aware how to utilise this.
