How do I deal with asbestos in an old home that I would like to sell?

I completed a self build four bedroom bungalow in the mid-1970s and all of the bedroom ceilings were plastered with artex. The garage was built with asbestos cement board. Both of these materials were in common use at the time, but now seem to be regarded as dangerous.

Can you advise me as to what action I can take, or need to take, prior to putting the house up for sale?

In theory you do not need to do anything, as there are thousands of houses which happily continue to be lived in with asbestos containing materials (ACMS). Sometimes the effort involved in removing suspect materials is not viable and, when these products are fully encapsulated (painted), they are generally considered not harmful and are of low risk.

However, asbestos is a dangerous material and highly emotive with new purchasers; so, I would have a sample of your artex tested for asbestos content. If the results are positive then the ceilings can either be (carefully) removed, plastered over or left in situ. If you choose to plaster the artex then it’s standard practice to apply a permanent label to say that this has been done so that subsequent owners are aware. It would probably be best to leave the new purchaser to make this decision.

The asbestos cement board on the garage ceiling is usually considered low risk and can usually be removed and replaced quite easily. However, with a positive trace of asbestos in the two products you should read the Control of Asbestos Regulations (guidelines readily available from the internet) as there are very specific handling processes that you should know about when disturbing and removing ACMS.

You can do some of the low risk tasks yourself (with correct and compliant protection). But your first action should be to have tests carried out on small samples of each product, as this will inform you of what is required. Or you can leave the purchaser to have this done if their surveyor recommends any action.