That duty to manage applies not only to employers, but also to ‘duty holders’. In a multi-let building, the owner will generally be the duty holder in respect of the common parts, the structure and the exterior. Each T will be a duty holder in respect of maintenance and repair of its individual unit. For buildings that are not let, the duty holder will simply be the owner. The obligation on the duty holder is to ensure that asbestos-containing materials are ‘properly managed’, and that a written record is kept of those materials. There must be an assessment as to whether or not there is asbestos present, and if so the appropriate measures must be implemented. In short, the Regs are not simply about doing a survey – more is required.

Overall, the new Regs bring together all the previous Regs concerning asbestos. In addition, there is now a much stricter minimum contamination figure. For an introductory note by Burges Salmon LLP see [2006] The In-House Lawyer November p64.