Rank: Forum user 
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Would it be possible for someone to point me in the direction of regulation and practice for a large landlord i.e. a local authority who own a large number of houses and their duty regarding surveys for individual properties.
I come across conflicting ideas e.g we have 5,000 properties and only need to survey 10%. or, we survey at least 10% of every street.
Some of the surveys I get are great, some are just part of a management survey. Some are old.
The type of work we undertake is major maintenance - so we should be receiving a refurbishment and demolition survey.
Thamks
Paul
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Rank: Super forum user 
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Paul The difficulty here as you have alluded to is the lack of knowledge by those involved - not that should be an excuse, plus the complex nature of the laws which are associated with the domestic property. For example, the Control of Asbestos Regulations 2012 are concerned with non-domestic property. Clearly this was an oversight because where there is a commercial interest CAR and specifically regulation 4 should apply in my opinion. There is, however, a saviour in that the CDM regs require that Clients provide suitable and sufficient information. Indeed this includes information about potential hazards as per CDM extract below: 'It is not acceptable for clients to make general reference to hazards which might exist - for example that'.... there may be asbestos present in the building'. Clients should carry out the necessary surveys in advance and provide the necessary information to those who need it.' A difficulty remains that many asbestos surveys are not worth the paper they are written on because they were completed under the 2006 regs and a being type 1 or 2 survey they are full of caveats which is no longer acceptable. Where asbestos surveys have not been undertaken you must assume asbestos is present until proven otherwise. Where a number of dwellings are of similar housing stock a representative survey can be taken via a carefully planned sampling survey representative of each type of dwelling stock. See below for further guidance. http://www.hse.gov.uk/se...idance-refurbishment.pdf
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Rank: Forum user
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Thanks RayRapp that is very helpful.
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Rank: Super forum user
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This is an area where U will have to undertake your own risk assessment e.g. how many homes shall we appraise to get a reasonable estimated .v. how many homes shall we leave, the answer being yours and yours alone as there is no other way except undertaking a survey of all properties to give U a full picture with the problems that can bring such as opening a Pandora's box
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Rank: Super forum user 
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I am very confused here as maybe I just interpret things different. It seems that the responses have touched on the elements I believe to be the correct answer on this but do not conclude the same answer as what I would give.
I do not believe there is a certain percentage that you can discount. I would complete surveys on all properties however if there was a housing estate all built of the same structure and materials (obviously in the same area) then I would survey a small cross section in order to be able to justify on a risk assessment that all of properties are likely to contain asbestos (or not) based on historical data and educated assessment i.e. the completed surveys.
Just to point out, the advice on the CDM is spot on, seeing as all work of this nature is in the construction category. The problem that you will have is working out whether the works are intrusive or not. Also, what you might find is that where there is shared or common areas of flats etc then you will only have had management surveys complete.
Its a mind field out there! I have worked for numerous local authorities across the south west and east. My advice has always been that a refurbishment/demolition survey should be complete before contractors enter any property as there is always a risk of the contractor sanding/drilling walls etc.... especially when the control of contractors on site is actually problem to manage. The fact that local authorities think that there duty stops at management surveys often shocks me.
I take it your actually working in the repairs and maintenance industry?
Good luck!!!!
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Rank: Forum user
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Jarsmith83
Thanks. I found the HSE information posted by RayRapp quite helpful. We install windows on a commercial basis. When I request asbestos information the responses range from nice R&D surveys to years old type 2 surveys or, nothing at all. There are a few coming online and providing us with a username and password to access their database.
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