A flat is a dwelling and the duty to manage does not reach inside it. The common parts of the block are non-domestic premises and the duty does reach them: stairwells, landings, plant and boiler rooms, service risers, bin stores, roof spaces and the structure. Whoever is responsible for maintaining those has to know whether asbestos is present, record it, assess the risk and manage it.
What is covered
Everything outside the individual demises. Entrance halls, stairs and landings. Lift shafts and motor rooms. Boiler and plant rooms, which is where insulation and lagging survive. Service risers and ducts. Roof spaces and flat roofs. Bin and cycle stores. External soffits and rainwater goods. In a block of the right age most of those are candidates.
Who holds the report
The freeholder, the management company or the managing agent, depending on the structure. Leaseholders are entitled to ask, and a leaseholder buying or selling will find their solicitor asking on their behalf. A block with no register is a block where the duty has not been discharged, whatever the state of the building.
Selling a flat or a house
There is no duty to remove asbestos before a sale and no duty to survey a private dwelling for one. What a buyer's solicitor asks for on a leasehold sale is the block's asbestos register and management plan through the management pack. On a freehold house the question usually arrives through the buyer's building survey noting a suspect material, and the answer is an analysis rather than a removal.
When work is planned
Any work to the common parts that will break into the fabric needs the material identified first, which normally means a refurbishment and demolition survey of the affected area. That includes rewiring risers, replacing communal boilers, and fire safety works to compartmentation, which is exactly where insulating board tends to be.
Questions people ask about asbestos report for flats
Does my flat need an asbestos survey?
Not as a duty. The common parts of the block do, and any work inside the flat that will disturb the fabric of a pre-2000 building needs the material identified first.
Can you sell a house with asbestos?
Yes. There is no requirement to remove it, and buyers generally want the register and the condition rather than a cleared building.
Who pays for the block's survey?
It is normally a service charge cost, recovered under the lease in the usual way. Leaseholders can ask to see the survey and the plan it produced.