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There are a number of laws that require action to be taken in respect of asbestos in non domestic properties, but primarily they put a legal responsibility on the person who owns, occupies or controls the maintenance of the property to manage the risk from asbestos materials or to co-operate with the person who does have that responsibility.

To understand these requirements it is important to know why asbestos is dangerous and where it may be found. It is the fine fibres found in asbestos that can cause asbestos related diseases, mainly cancer in the lungs and chest cavity caused from breathing these fibres. Asbestos has good fire and heat retarding properties and because of this was used extensively in construction processes. There are three main types, known as blue, brown and white asbestos with the first two being the most dangerous. You can not tell the types of asbestos by looking at their colour however and any determination of whether a material is made up of asbestos should only be made as part of a professionally undertaken survey (by an accredited firm or person).

 
 
Moving office is not something you probably do regularly, if more than once or twice in your working lifetime. I am not talking about changing employer, when of course you as an individual will be working from a different office building, but actually relocating a whole company from one building to another.

The chances are therefore that if you are put in charge of organizing the office relocation, that you will not have had very much experience in arranging and facilitating this process. Even experienced Facilities Managers will probably only get to arrange this rarely and although they may have experience of internal reorganisations, moving a whole company is a much larger undertaking.

 
 
With continuing changes to regulations governing energy use and sustainability in buildings, both owners and occupiers should expect increasing focus on green real estate management, but how do you know if your property is being managed with green, sustainable considerations in mind?

There are two factors to consider, firstly does the property management company have an up to date and relevant Sustainability Policy and have they developed an individual Sustainability Policy for your building?