How To Choose An Asbestos Removal Company

Where you'll find it

Typically found in ceilings and feature walls in living rooms, hallways and bedrooms, most commonly in homes decorated between the 1960s and mid-1980s across every UK town. If your property fits that description and the material is undisturbed, don't panic, and don't drill, sand or break it. Send us a photo and we'll tell you what you're looking at, free.

How removal works

This is notifiable non-licensed work. Every job starts with sampling and a fixed written quote within 24 hours. Removal is carried out with the controls the law requires for this material, waste leaves site with consignment notes, and the area is handed back with the right certification for your records, whether that's a homeowner's document pack or a four-stage clearance certificate.

What it costs

Typical UK guide range: £25 to £60 per m², including disposal and paperwork. Access, quantity and condition move the number, our cost guide and calculator covers the detail, and once we quote, the price is fixed. Figures are industry guide rates, not Innov8 Group prices, we're typically cheaper. Contact us for an official quotation.

How to choose an asbestos company Surveys & sampling → Costs & calculator → Find your local team →

Think you've found it?

Send a photo for free identification and a fixed quote within 24 hours.

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Projects on this material

Licensed AIB removal, Doncaster →

Network Rail AIB, Whitley Bridge →

All projects →

The five checks that matter

HSE licence — and actually check it

Licensed asbestos work legally requires a contractor holding a current HSE asbestos licence. Ask for the licence number and the licence document itself — a legitimate firm shows it instantly (ours is No. 242606081, on our accreditations page). You can verify any licence directly with the HSE.

The right insurance

Ask for employers’ liability and public liability insurance certificates that specifically cover asbestos work — general builder’s cover often excludes it. A proper firm sends both certificates without being chased.

Accreditations that mean something

Third-party audited schemes — CHAS, SafeContractor, Constructionline, UKATA-trained operatives — show a firm passes someone else’s checks, not just its own. All of ours are verifiable on our accreditations page. Treat glossy badges with no register entry as decoration.

A quote that includes everything

A real quote names the material, is fixed in price, and includes testing or survey where needed, the removal method, disposal with hazardous waste consignment notes, and the certification you get at the end — air clearance where applicable. If disposal paperwork isn’t mentioned, ask why.

Waste carrier registration

Whoever carries the waste must be registered with the Environment Agency (ours: CBDU525609). It’s a 10-second online check — and the strongest defence against your waste ending up in a lay-by with your name on it.

Red flags — walk away

No licence number anywhere — or excuses when you ask for it

Cash only, no VAT, no paperwork — no consignment notes means illegal disposal

“We’ll just take it away for you” — licensed materials removed casually is a crime scene, not a favour

A price over the phone without seeing the job, photos or a survey

Pressure tactics: “today-only price”, scare talk about your family’s safety

No mention of clearance certificates or air testing on licensed work

Licensed vs non-licensed work — why it matters

Not all asbestos work needs a licence, and an honest contractor tells you which side of the line your job sits. High-risk materials — pipe lagging, sprayed coatings, most insulation board work — are licensable: enclosures, air management, trained operatives and HSE notification. Lower-risk bonded materials like cement sheets and floor tiles can often be done as non-licensed or notifiable non-licensed work with proper controls. The red flag is a firm without a licence telling you licensed material is “fine, we do it all the time”. We hold the licence, so the answer you get from us is based on the material — not on what we’re allowed to sell you. Details on our removal service page.

The three types of asbestos, explained

White (chrysotile) — by far the most common in UK buildings: cement sheets, Artex, floor tiles, gaskets. Banned in 1999.

Brown (amosite) — heavily used in insulation board (AIB) and ceiling tiles; more dangerous than white. Banned in 1985.

Blue (crocidolite) — the most dangerous, with the finest fibres; used in sprayed coatings, lagging and some cement. Banned in 1985.

Risk runs blue > brown > white — but in practice the material and its condition matter more than the fibre type: crumbly lagging with any asbestos in it outranks a sound cement sheet every time. Identification is a lab job either way — see what asbestos looks like and our £125 testing service.

Does home insurance cover asbestos removal?

Usually not for planned removal — asbestos in good condition is treated as a maintenance issue, not an insured event. Where cover sometimes applies is asbestos disturbed or exposed by an insured incident (a fire, a flood, an escape of water), where making-safe and removal can form part of the claim. Policies differ enormously: check your own wording and ask your insurer directly. We’re happy to provide quotes and reports in the format insurers ask for — we do it regularly on housing and domestic claims.

Get a quote worth comparing

Send photos or book a visit, and you’ll get a fixed written quote within 24 hours naming the material, method, disposal route and certification — the same format this page tells you to demand from anyone. Compare it line for line against any other quote, with our prices already public on the costs page. That’s the confidence of a firm that wins work on the checklist, not against it — from Birmingham to Newcastle to Cardiff.

FREQUENTLY ASKED

Choosing a contractor — your questions answered

How do I check an asbestos company’s licence?

Ask for the licence number and a copy of the HSE licence document — legitimate firms provide both immediately. You can verify a licence with the HSE, which maintains the register of licensed asbestos contractors. No number, or excuses, ends the conversation. Ours is No. 242606081, shown with the certificate on our accreditations page.

What insurance should an asbestos contractor have?

Employers’ liability and public liability insurance that explicitly covers asbestos work — many general policies exclude it. Ask to see both certificates and check the cover level suits your property. A firm that hesitates to send certificates is telling you something.

What are the three types of asbestos?

White (chrysotile), brown (amosite) and blue (crocidolite). Blue and brown — banned in 1985 — are the more dangerous; white, the most common in UK buildings, was banned in 1999. In practice the material and its condition matter more than the type: identification always comes from a lab test, not the colour of the product.

Is asbestos removal covered by home insurance?

Not usually for planned removal — it’s treated as maintenance. Cover can apply when asbestos is disturbed by an insured event like a fire or flood, as part of that claim. Policies vary widely, so check your wording and ask your insurer — and get a written quote either way so you’re comparing real numbers.

What should an asbestos removal quote include?

The material and where it is; testing or survey where needed; a fixed price; the removal method and controls; disposal with hazardous waste consignment notes; and the certification you receive — including air clearance on licensed work. If any of those are missing, ask why before you sign anything.