Steve I cannot agree with this line of thinking. If work is being undertaken which will disturb the fabric of the building then the law requires a R&D survey must be commissioned. There should not be a big problem programming the surveys in advance of the actual refurbishment work. Residents in situ should not present a problem either. I think the company are making a lot of this in order to justify their position. The asbestos surveys should be as intrusive as is reasonably practicable. In some cases this may require samples being taken from areas where the work is likely to disturb the fabric. Voids in walls are a particular problem. However unless you intend to remove walls then there is no need to sample behind tiled walls. That said, any damage can be rectified during the refurbishment works. Management surveys are only good for assessing the potential for ACMs for an asbestos register. They are not considered intrusive enough for refurb work.

Thanks for your responses, the properties are of traditional construction. I presume R&D surveys can be carried out within a resident’s bathroom and or kitchen and still leave it fully functional but this is not the view of the housing association. If anyone has any experiences of this any comments would be greatly appreciated.

Practicalities have to be considered, and I've every sympathy with the association and asbestos company. Consider this scenario in an occupied house: The analyst removes the base of a pipe box or other panel and disturbs 'historic' AIB debris. What happens next? Coupled with that, experience suggests you'll only discover AIB in some odd places as you start to strip out cupboards, larders etc. anyway

From HSG 264 that may help 12 These requirements mean that organisations such as local authorities, housing associations, social housing management companies and others who own, or are responsible for, domestic properties, have legal duties to ensure the health and safety of their staff (and others) in domestic premises used as a place of work. As employers, the organisations also have duties under the general requirements of CAR 2012 to identify asbestos, carry out a risk assessment of work liable to expose employees to asbestos and prepare a suitable written plan of work. Construction work 13 CDM requires arrangements to be in place to deal with asbestos during construction work, including refurbishment and demolition. Where construction or building work is to be carried out, the CDM client must provide designers and contractors who are bidding for the work (or who they intend to engage) with project-specific information about the presence of asbestos, so that the risks associated with design and construction work, including demolition, can be addressed. It is not acceptable to make general reference to hazards that may exist. Therefore, site-specific asbestos surveys should be carried out in advance of construction work to make sure that the information is available to those who need it.

Ron Almost impossible still means it is possible - no reason why it cannot be done and non surveyed areas noted. I would not want to be the PC gere

Sorry, but my own experience shows it's a fairly regular occurrence. ACM Debris in pipe-boxes, behind panels, packing pieces above and behind cupboards, under window surrounds, etc. And most of it tends to be AIB.

...the list is a long one indeed if you include the whole property, but my point was really that they can all be sampled without too much disruption to the resident.

I have also had involvement in this type of work and tend to agree with RapRapp. It is important not to overstress the risk of encountering asbestos containing materials in refitting bathrooms and kitchens in domestic properties. There is already some good advice posted but dates are also important in determining the risks. Establish when the building was built and last refurbished. Asbestos was totally band in 1999 but different types were progressively bands by successive legislation. There always remains a risk and for example we encountered asbestos wall plugs not so long ago. It was impossible to have identified these during a R&D survey but there was spotted by the contractor because their operatives had asbestos awareness training.