The handyman stopped drilling and said the ceiling might have asbestos in it. Finding asbestos in a rented property is frightening, but the first thing to know is calmer than you might expect.
Asbestos that's in good condition and left alone is low risk, and the law doesn't make your landlord remove it. Damaged or disturbed asbestos is a different matter. That's a hazard your landlord has to deal with, and in most cases the council can make them. This guide covers England.
Is asbestos dangerous if it isn't damaged?
Usually not, as long as nobody disturbs it. The Health and Safety Executive says that with asbestos materials in a home "it is often best to leave them where they are", especially if they're in good condition and unlikely to get damaged.
The risk comes from fibres released when the material is sanded, drilled, cut or broken. Breathing them in can cause serious illness, though it can take decades to appear.
So don't touch, sand, drill or try to remove anything you suspect is asbestos, and don't let anyone else do it either. Textured ceiling coatings, old floor tiles, boiler flue panels and cement sheeting in garages are common places to find it in older homes.
Is your landlord responsible for asbestos?
Yes. Your landlord must stop asbestos making your home unsafe, though they don't have to remove it. Your tenancy carries an implied promise that the home is fit for human habitation, under section 9A of the Landlord and Tenant Act 1985. Under section 10, a home is unfit if one of the hazards that councils score makes it not reasonably suitable to live in, and that list includes "exposure to asbestos fibres".
In plain terms, intact asbestos in a cupboard usually won't make a home unfit. A crumbling bedroom ceiling may well do.
Damaged asbestos-containing materials can also count as disrepair under section 11, which makes your landlord keep the structure and installations in repair. That repair duty covers things that are broken, not hazards built into the home, so a fitness claim is usually the better route. Our guide to fitness for human habitation claims explains how it works.
Asbestos in the communal areas of a block of flats
If you rent a flat, the stairs, corridors, lifts and roof spaces are the landlord's or managing agent's to look after. HSE's guidance says whoever looks after these communal areas, such as the landlord, is responsible for managing the asbestos in them. HSE calls them the common parts.
There's one exception. HSE says common parts don't include rooms in a private house shared by more than one household, so a shared kitchen in a house share isn't covered by this duty. Your landlord's duty to keep the home fit to live in still applies.
You can ask the landlord or managing agent what asbestos information they hold for the common parts. There's no general right for a tenant to see it, but most landlords and agents will share it if asked.
What to do if a contractor finds suspected asbestos
Ask them to stop, and ask whether the material has been tested. Under regulation 5 of the Control of Asbestos Regulations 2012, any contractor or tradesperson doing building or maintenance work has to find out whether asbestos is present, or presume it is, before they start. They must also prevent or reduce exposure, and higher-risk work needs a licensed contractor.
Then put it in writing to your landlord. Say what was found, where, and that work has stopped. Ask them to arrange a test before anything else is done. Keep a copy, and take photos from a distance without touching anything.
If a contractor carries on regardless, you can report it to HSE through its tell us about a health and safety issue page.
How to report asbestos in a rented home to the council
If your landlord won't act on damaged asbestos, contact your council's environmental health or private housing team. They can inspect your home and score hazards under the Housing Health and Safety Rating System, and asbestos is one of them. Since 23 June 2026, new regulations have given England's system fewer, merged hazards, rated High, Medium or Low.
A hazard in the High band is a category 1 hazard, and the council must then take enforcement action under section 5 of the Housing Act 2004. That can mean an improvement notice ordering your landlord to do the work, or a prohibition order stopping part or all of the home being used. Where there's an imminent risk of serious harm, the council can carry out emergency work itself. It can also choose a hazard awareness notice, which warns the landlord but doesn't force the work.
If the council is your landlord, it can't take this action against itself. Use its complaints process and then the Housing Ombudsman, or bring a fitness claim. Our guide on how to report your landlord to the council walks through making the complaint.
Can you sue your landlord for asbestos exposure?
Yes. There are two different claims here, and it helps to keep them apart.
The first is about the home itself. If your landlord left damaged asbestos unsafe, you can bring a fitness or disrepair claim in the County Court. The court can order the work to be done and award compensation for the time the home was unfit. You generally have 6 years to bring it, under section 5 of the Limitation Act 1980.
The second is a separate, specialist claim for personal injury, if exposure has made someone ill. A landlord with repair obligations may owe a duty of care under section 4 of the Defective Premises Act 1972, meaning a duty to take reasonable care that people aren't hurt by defects they should have dealt with.
Under section 11 of the Limitation Act 1980, the usual time limit for that claim is 3 years. It runs from the injury or, if later, from when you knew or could reasonably have found out that the injury was significant and who caused it (section 14). That later start is what usually protects a claim for illness that appears decades later, and the court can also allow a late claim.
If damaged asbestos has been left in your home, Remedy can put your complaint to your landlord in writing, help you get the council involved, and prepare a fitness or disrepair claim if the work still isn't done.
