Asbestos Awareness: Tenant Safety and Responsibilities for New Zealand Landlords

 
 

Most landlords know they have health and safety responsibilities when renting their homes out to tenants. We have healthy homes standards to ensure renter comfort. However, were you aware of your requirements surrounding asbestos?

Before renting out your pre-2000s home as part of a tenancy agreement, remember the following information:

Asbestos Is Prevalent In Many Pre-2000s Homes

It’s easy to assume your rental property is asbestos-free because you don’t see anything labelled ‘asbestos’. In reality, asbestos can be tricky to identify without an asbestos test. It can be found in roofing materials, cladding, baseboards, and vinyl flooring. It’s also common in fence panels, textured ceilings, and even toilet seats and cisterns!

Asbestos testing with trained professionals is the most effective way to identify if and where asbestos can be found. Licensed inspectors take samples and send them to an off-site, approved lab for testing. They can then provide helpful information about whether it can be safely managed or requires removal.

Your Tenants Aren’t Responsible

Tenants are responsible for taking care of your property as if it were their own. This involves making sure they handle everyday tasks like changing non-working lightbulbs and removing waste from the property.

However, tenants aren’t responsible for managing asbestos in a rental property. This responsibility falls on the shoulder of the property owner. Property owners must make sure all asbestos on a property is safely managed. Tenants also have the right to know whether asbestos exists in a house they’re living in and where it might be present.

You Must Have An Asbestos Management Plan

Being a landlord can be tricky. You’re technically a homeowner but also a business owner when your properties are earning you money. As a result, a law has been in place since 2018 making it a legal requirement for landlords to have Asbestos Management Plans for their properties. You can create these plans yourself or have experts make them for you.

These plans must include the details of:

  • Where exactly asbestos is located

  • How you will manage the asbestos (removal, encapsulation, painted, or left alone in good condition)

  • How work will be carried out if asbestos exposure is a possibility

  • The timeline for managing asbestos exposure

These provide service and maintenance workers with specific details regarding asbestos when work needs to be carried out on your property. They’ll know where it is, its type, and its condition. This information can be vital for keeping themselves and your tenants safe during renovations or repairs.

You Can (And Can’t) Remove Asbestos Yourself

You can (and can’t) remove asbestos yourself. We know that’s confusing. However, there’s a reason why you will sometimes be able to remove asbestos yourself – and sometimes won’t. It all depends on the type of asbestos you have – friable and non-friable – and how much of it you have.

Friable asbestos is dangerous. Friable means you can crush it with normal hand pressure, resulting in dusty, flaky, and dry material. These fibres can be hazardous for health. As a result, only Class A license holders can remove friable asbestos.

However, if you have up to 10m2 of non-friable asbestos, you can take all recommended precautions and remove it yourself. Non-friable asbestos remains bonded in building materials and is considered safe unless disturbed.

If you have more than 10m2 of non-friable asbestos to remove, you can request the services of a Class B license holder. They can remove any volume of non-friable asbestos within other materials like cladding and roof tiles.

Removal Isn’t Your Only Option

With so many requirements for you to have tenants in a house containing asbestos, you might think removal is your only option. It’s not! If your asbestos-containing materials are in good condition, you will likely have no trouble providing a safe home for your tenants. You must simply keep an asbestos management plan to show how you’re managing the risks.

Encapsulation is also an option your local asbestos removal business might recommend. This process involves covering the asbestos with approved coatings. These can often be recommended to:

  • Seal exposed or raw asbestos edges

  • Protect and repair damaged asbestos

  • Increase the asbestos-containing material’s useful life

  • Prevent fibres from being released into the atmosphere

  • Provide visual improvement

  • Protect against accidental damage

Most asbestos removal businesses offer encapsulation services using polyurethane-based coatings. Using trained applicators is also greatly recommended. However, if you have DIY personal protection equipment, a competent person can apply these coatings themselves. Any coating work should be recorded in your Asbestos Management Plan.

Download Our Landlord’s Guide to Asbestos

If you’d like to know more about your obligations as a landlord, download our free ebook here. This book provides insight into your responsibilities as a landlord or property manager, your options for managing asbestos, and other helpful information.

Karan Kikani