Asbestos survey

[JenaWren]

I'm in a short chain of 3 and everything has been moving along really well - my purchase and my sale are now enquiries complete and ready to move to exchange.

The bottom of the chain has overnight asked for an asbestos survey, as recommended by their surveyor.

There are no specific areas of concern - just the age of the house.

How long does it typically take to do and report on an asbestos survey?

And does anyone know the likelihood of asbestos in a late 1980s built house?

Just trying to get a feel for the potential impact.

It's hard to say what the likelihood is of asbestos being found in your house, I think the late 80's are borderline for when the most dangerous types of asbestos were banned from being used. Insofar as the actual testing goes, I doubt it would involve ripping flooring up, surely just small samples from walls and to check the garage roof (possibly asbestos) is intact and not broken or loose. The asbestos test results for my house took six months to determine, but usually you will get results within a week.

Thanks a lot Dobardan. That’s really helpful although it must have been really stressful for you.

Fingers crossed it will only take a week. It’s not my house - mine was fortunately built after asbestos was banned. It’s just it’s holding up the rest of the chain which is ready to exchange.

Do you know what type of survey they asked for? Is it a renovation one? Will it involve taking multiple samples?

We got one on the house we bought (took two weeks from booking it to results). But we were (understandably) told that we had to own the house before we could have it done. I realised why when they did it - the surveyor pulled off ceiling cladding, punched holes in some walls, lifted flooring to sample the tiles and bitumen etc. Your house is possibly fine. We knew there was asbestos there, and there's no way I would have wanted that done while living there and with soft furnishings in it

Wow A1 - that sounds like a huge job!!!!

They don’t own the house so I guess it can’t be a renovation one. Also, the house was only built in the late1980s and is in very good condition so I can’t imagine that they are thinking of any large scale renovations. But who knows.

The house I’m buying is 1970s. My very good L3 surveyor highlighted the risk of possible asbestos in a few areas, said it was all in good condition and nothing to worry about unless disturbed (eg if I do any work). I’m not at all worried.

Asbestos was banned completely (the last sort being white) in 1999 and having done quite a bit of journalism on asbestos (without outing myself:)) I think anyone buying a house/flat pre 1999 should get an asbestos survey done - will do it myself when I move. It's highly likely that most properties will have some asbestos in them - have a look at this very insightful report: https://www.airtightonasbestos.uk/post/atac-and-norac-report-launch-in-parliament. The Health and Safety Executive in the UK has claimed that as long as asbestos is in situ fibres won't be released, but most asbestos in the UK is either old or very old now, and therefore a lot of it is damaged. Long story short, the homeowners are doing the right thing (and I hope they don't find asbestos).

Thank you Scribbler!