What happens if you ignore asbestos on your property?

Asbestos is common in older New Zealand homes – especially those built before the year 2000. For many property owners, the danger is unknown. That is to say, unless you’ve had your home tested for asbestos, you have no real way of knowing if it is there, or if it is posing a threat. 

So the first step is to get a professional asbestos test. We cover three of the main signs you might need an asbestos test in a previous blog here. But then what? While we of course suggest having the asbestos contained or removed by an expert company such as PRO Environmental Services, it’s important to know what might happen if you ignore asbestos on your property.

What happens during planned renovations

Renovations are one of the most common ways asbestos becomes dangerous. Activities such as cutting, sanding, drilling, or demolishing materials can release large amounts of asbestos fibres into the air.

Even if the asbestos posed no great risk before, this type of work can make it an immediate and serious health hazard for your entire property. That can put everyone at risk, from the tradespeople working on site, to you and your family members, to nearby neighbours. 

As well as the health risk, it can put your renovations on hold while an asbestos removal expert is brought in to safely deal with the asbestos-containing materials (ACM).

What happens in an emergency

New Zealand is no stranger to emergency situations. From earthquakes and floods to fires and major storms, any of these events can damage property and quickly turn stable asbestos into an extreme health hazard for anyone in the vicinity. 

In some cases, such as flooding, it can result in contamination beyond just the original site and end up in neighbouring areas. This can make the clean up much more complex, hazardous, and expensive. 

Plus, these major emergencies often make it much harder to get an expert on site quickly. When many property owners in the area are facing the same damages, it can make it a much slower process to get someone in to help.

What happens legally

Ignoring asbestos is not just a health issue. It can also expose you to significant legal and financial consequences.

New Zealand’s Health and Safety at Work (Asbestos) Regulations 2016 place responsibilities on property owners and those managing work sites. For example, there is a duty to identify asbestos and manage the risk of exposure.

If you fail to do this:

• You may be liable if others are exposed, including contractors or tenants

• You could face fines or prosecution for non-compliance

• Insurance claims may be denied if asbestos risks were ignored

There have even been cases where companies were fined tens of thousands of dollars for failing to properly identify or manage asbestos during demolition or building work.

What happens to your property value

When it comes time to sell your property, new buyers may wish to see an asbestos test before moving ahead. 

If unmanaged asbestos is found on the property, it could quickly drop the value of the property. Depending on what the test finds, you may need to have the asbestos carefully contained, or completely removed, before buyers will be happy to move ahead with the purchase.

Alternatively, they may make a much lower offer to account for the removal or containment work they will need to do themselves.

On the other hand, proof that you have tested and managed any asbestos on a property prior to selling could increase the value of an older home.

Expert asbestos management in Wellington and surrounds 

PRO Environmental Services offers expert asbestos containment and removal across the bottom of the North Island through to the top of the South including Wellington, Waikato, Gisborne, Marlborough, and the West Coast.

Contact us today for a free, no obligation quote, so you can have peace of mind rather than the headaches (potentially as physical as mental!) that come with ignoring asbestos on your property.