Asbestos in rental properties

As a landlord, it is your responsibility to ensure that your property is safe for your tenants. This is why the Healthy Homes Standards were created. The Health and Safety at Work Act 2015 (HSWA) also states the following. Landlords must ensure that when work is carried out at their property, it is done safely and without endangering workers or others, including tenants.

While there are many obvious risk factors, asbestos is an obvious risk often forgotten about. The HSWA states that landlords must identify asbestos in the workplace and document plans for managing its risks in an asbestos management plan.

Key points to take away if you are a landlord

• If you are a residential landlord, you are also considered a person conducting a business or undertaking (PCBU).
• You may share the responsibility as a PBCU with others, such as your property manager or building contractors.
• Under the HSWA as a PCBU, you have a duty to identify asbestos and prepare an asbestos management plan for any work that could pose a risk of asbestos exposure to the tenants.
• The duty only applies when you are planning to or completing the work, or when the area relevant to the work is creating a risk of exposure to asbestos fibres.

If you are a landlord and require an asbestos survey our Betta Asbestos Consultancy Inspectors can help you. Our inspectors can help by completing an asbestos survey of the property or area having work done. Our surveys can either be presumptive, where an inspector reports on what could be asbestos, or they can take samples and report on what is asbestos.

To find out more details about the two types of asbestos surveys, or book in an inspection, call our local customer service centre on 0800 422 388 or email info@bettagroup.co.nz.