Asbestos in apartment buildings: where is it and who is responsible?

In an apartment building, asbestos can be in the surface materials of individual flats, such as bathroom tile adhesive, fillers and vinyl flooring adhesive, and in shared structures, such as pipe insulation, drain pipes, ventilation seals, precast panel joints and balcony boards, if the building was built or renovated before 1994. Checking for asbestos is the job of whoever commissions the demolition work: the shareholder when they renovate their own flat, and the housing company when the project is the company’s. Asbestos cannot be identified by eye, so the materials to be removed are analysed in a laboratory before work begins.

This article covers where asbestos is typically found in an apartment building, how responsibility is divided between the shareholder and the housing company, and how a shareholder should proceed with their own renovation.

Where is asbestos typically found in an apartment building?

An apartment block is repaired for decades, both one flat at a time and in building-wide projects, so the same building contains original materials side by side with layers from different renovations.

• Surfaces inside the flat: tile adhesive, grout and filler in the bathroom and the flat’s own sauna, wall and ceiling fillers, and vinyl flooring, vinyl tiles and their adhesives, often in several layers.
• Building services: insulation on heating and water pipes in the basement and risers, asbestos cement drain pipes, and seals in ventilation duct joints and sealing compounds around penetrations.
• Shared spaces: stairwell floor coverings and adhesives, tiling in the shared sauna and laundry room, and fire protection boards in technical spaces.
• Facade, balconies and roof: sealants in precast panel joints and around windows, balcony and facade cladding boards, and roofing membranes and felt.

The materials are covered in more detail in the articles asbestos in the bathroom, asbestos in drain pipes, asbestos cement and fibre cement boards and asbestos in sealants, and on the page asbestos in pipe insulation.

Who is responsible for checking for asbestos in an apartment building?

The possibility of asbestos is checked before demolition work, and the check is arranged by whoever commissions the work. As explained in the article asbestos legislation in Finland, in a private renovation this is usually the owner of the flat or the person ordering the renovation, and in housing company projects the responsibility lies with the board and the property manager.

• The shareholder’s own renovation: when a shareholder renovates their bathroom, floor or kitchen, they are the client and make sure that the materials to be removed have been tested.
• A housing company project: when the housing company commissions a pipe renovation, a facade or balcony renovation or repairs to shared spaces, the check belongs to the company.

Under the Finnish Limited Liability Housing Companies Act, the company maintains the structures, insulation and basic systems, such as water, drainage and ventilation, and the shareholder maintains the interior of the flat, unless the articles of association say otherwise. The practical split is illustrated, for example, in the maintenance responsibility table published by Kiinteistöliitto (the Finnish Real Estate Federation). This article is not legal advice, so if something is unclear, ask the property manager.

How a shareholder should proceed with their own renovation

1. Find out the age of the building and earlier renovations. If the building was built before 1994, or the flat was renovated before then, the materials to be removed may contain asbestos.
2. Ask the property manager for existing information. The housing company may have asbestos surveys or sample results from earlier projects. They show what has already been found in the same building, but they do not replace samples from your own flat if its surfaces have been repaired.
3. Take samples of the materials to be removed. Take one sample of each different material build-up the renovation affects.
4. Submit an alteration notice. Under the Housing Companies Act (chapter 5, section 2), the shareholder must notify the board or the property manager in writing in advance if the work may affect parts that the company or another shareholder is responsible for, or the use of the flats. Attach the asbestos result, because it tells the company and the contractor how the demolition can be done.
5. Plan the demolition according to the result. If asbestos is detected, the removal is carried out by a company authorised for asbestos removal work.

Housing company projects

In large projects such as a pipe renovation or a facade renovation, it is a good idea to commission an on-site asbestos survey at the planning stage, so that the asbestos work can be taken into account in contractor bids and the schedule. The survey is carried out on site by a qualified surveyor. Onelab is a laboratory, and on-site surveys are handled by our sister brand AsbestiPro. For smaller jobs, such as replacing a stairwell floor, the question can also be settled with individual material samples. Pipe renovations are covered in the article asbestos in pipe renovations.

When a neighbour is renovating

Intact asbestos-containing material inside a structure does not release fibres into the air; the risk arises when it is demolished, sanded or chiselled. If demolition dust is spreading from a neighbour’s renovation and you suspect the materials have not been tested, contact the property manager. If you are worried about exposure, talk to a doctor or occupational health services.

Sampling in an apartment building

Only take samples from materials in your own flat. Sampling shared structures, such as riser pipe insulation or precast panel joints, is agreed with the housing company. Apartment floors often have several layers on top of the concrete, so the sample is taken through every layer.

1. Close the door to the room and wear disposable gloves and a respirator of at least class FFP3.
2. Lightly mist the sampling spot with a spray bottle.
3. Using a knife or chisel, remove a piece of about 2–5 centimetres through every layer down to the substrate.
4. Drop the piece into a zip-lock bag, seal it and put it inside a second bag.
5. Mark the bag with the flat and the spot, for example "B 12, bathroom, floor".
6. Cover the sampling spot with tape and wipe the area with a damp cloth.

What does the result mean in a housing company?

Onelab analyses the sample with a JEOL SEM-EDS electron microscope in accordance with ISO 22262-1, and the result is sent by email, typically on the day the sample arrives.

• No asbestos detected: the result applies to the sampling spot and similar material. Send the result to the property manager and the contractor, and keep it with the flat’s documents, because it is useful later, for example when selling the flat.
• Asbestos detected: the demolition is planned as asbestos work and carried out by a company authorised for asbestos removal work. Intact material that the renovation does not affect can stay in place. More on the page asbestos removal work.

How much does the analysis cost?

The analysis costs €39.90 + VAT per sample, and the price is the same for 1–100 samples, so samples from several flats in the same project can go in one order. Orders of more than 100 samples can be priced separately. Postage is not included. You can order the analysis online and send the samples to the laboratory by post.