Asbestos in your council home
Asbestos is a naturally occurring mineral that has been used in a range of building materials to make them more rigid and fire resistant.
Many people have worries about asbestos, but left undisturbed, it usually poses no problems. However, care should be taken to prevent the release of asbestos fibres as they can cause serious damage to health.
If you think you have asbestos in your council home you should:
- not undertake any work that may involve removing asbestos-based materials
- leave asbestos alone
- never sand, drill or saw asbestos materials
- always seek professional advice if you need to work on or near it
If you think you have asbestos in your council home, contact us:
Telephone: 0800 014 7333
If you're in privately owned or rented accommodation contact this number instead:
Telephone: 01582 546937
Where asbestos might be in your home
Some areas in your home where you may find asbestos include:
- leaves, gutters and rainwater fall pipes
- fire blankets
- garage and shed roofs
- linings to doors
- flexible coatings to ceiling and walls (Artex)
- insulation panels in some storage heaters
- bath panels
- central heating flues
- loose asbestos packing between floors and in partition walls
- floor tiles
- duct panels
What we are doing about asbestos in council-owned buildings
We carry out an annual rolling survey of council-owned homes and manage our asbestos responsibly, only removing it when necessary, due to damage or work requirements.
Information on asbestos in properties is available to all staff prior to visiting your home so they can determine whether asbestos is present and what appropriate action they will need to take to protect you, your family and themselves.
For further details on asbestos in general, you can download the Asbestos factsheet or contact the Health and Safety Executive.