Most asbestos statistics count deaths. This page counts something different, and rarely brought together in one place: what UK asbestos surveys actually find when a competent surveyor walks a building. The richest dataset on that question is the first annual data analysis report published in November 2022 by the Asbestos Testing and Consultancy Association (ATaC) and the National Organisation of Asbestos Consultants (NORAC), which pooled 128,761 building surveys carried out by UKAS-accredited inspection bodies in a single six-month window. Alongside it sit the Alpha Tracker "Damage" analysis from Start Software, drawn from more than three million laboratory samples, and the RICS Property Journal's breakdown of the same numbers.
The historical survey sample found asbestos at 78% of sites; 71% of the recorded asbestos items had some damage. These figures describe the surveyed properties, not every UK building. ATaC and NORAC are industry associations, while Alpha Tracker is a software platform. UKAS accreditation applies to the contributing inspection bodies and their accredited activities, not to a national prevalence estimate. Awareness training does not authorise work that disturbs asbestos.
Key asbestos survey facts and figures
- 128,761 buildings were surveyed for asbestos by 20 UKAS-accredited inspection bodies between 1 October 2021 and 31 March 2022, generating more than a million lines of data (ATaC/NORAC, 2022).
- 78% of buildings surveyed — 100,660 of them — were found to contain asbestos (ATaC/NORAC first annual report, 2022).
- 710,433 asbestos items were recorded across those surveyed buildings (NORAC Review of UK Asbestos Management, 2022).
- 71% of items were damaged: 507,612 of the recorded asbestos items had some level of damage noted at survey (NORAC/RICS, 2022–23).
- 63% of sites visited contained at least some damaged asbestos (ATaC first annual report, 2022).
- 78% of items were placed in the report’s non-licensable material group. A proposed job still needs assessment to determine its legal work category.
- 24% of damaged items — 120,629 — were in the report’s licensable material group (ATaC/NORAC, 2022).
- 3 million+ samples underpin the separate Alpha Tracker "Damage" analysis, including over a million positive asbestos samples by property type (Alpha Tracker, 2023–24).
Reviewed on 15 October 2026. The detailed percentages below come from surveys conducted from October 2021 to March 2022. Later industry research includes Alpha Tracker’s November 2024 update and Asbestos Information CIC’s 2025 report, whose separate dataset covers May 2022–April 2024. These are not a continuous national prevalence series.
What percentage of UK buildings surveyed contain asbestos?
78% of the 128,761 buildings surveyed in the ATaC/NORAC dataset were found to contain asbestos — 100,660 buildings in total (ATaC/NORAC first annual report, surveys 1 October 2021 to 31 March 2022). This is the figure that gets the most attention, and it is the figure most often misquoted, so it is worth being precise about what it does and does not say.
Roughly four in five sites selected for these surveys contained asbestos. Selection was not random: building age, proposed work and management responsibilities all influence which properties are surveyed. In fact, domestic properties made up 73% of this dataset, and almost all of those were social housing. Our homes statistics page explains why survey findings cannot establish the percentage of all UK homes containing asbestos.
Of 94,116 domestic properties surveyed, 80,731 contained asbestos: 85.8%, or 86% rounded. The report says 99.5% of the domestic sample was housing controlled by registered social landlords. Across all property types, the dataset contained 1,016,783 records and identified 710,433 asbestos-containing items, about 70% of all records.
How much of the asbestos found in UK surveys is damaged?
71% of the individual asbestos items recorded in the ATaC/NORAC dataset had some level of damage noted at the point of survey — 507,612 of the 710,433 items catalogued (NORAC Review of UK Asbestos Management 2022; RICS Property Journal, 2023). Measured by site rather than by item, 63% of the buildings visited contained at least some damaged asbestos. However you slice it, damaged asbestos is the norm in surveyed buildings, not the exception.
Condition is one part of the risk assessment, alongside the material’s ability to release fibres and the likelihood of disturbance. Of the 507,612 damaged items, 459,027 were recorded as having low damage; the remainder had medium or high damage. The overall 71% figure does not mean that 71% presented the same exposure risk or needed immediate removal. Reinspection and an appropriate management plan remain important.
| Survey measure | Figure | What it captures |
|---|---|---|
| Sites surveyed | 128,761 | October 2021–March 2022 selected sample |
| Sites containing asbestos | 100,660 (78%) | Presence at site level |
| Asbestos items recorded | 710,433 | Individual ACMs identified |
| Items with some damage | 507,612 (71%) | Low, medium or high damage combined |
| Sites with damaged asbestos | 81,667 (63%) | Share of all surveyed sites |
| Damaged items in licensable material group | 120,629 (24%) | Material classification, not a job-specific licensing decision |
What did the ATaC/NORAC asbestos report find?
The ATaC/NORAC report, published in November 2022, combined survey data from 20 UKAS-accredited inspection bodies. It provided a substantial historical snapshot of asbestos presence and condition in selected properties, following the Work and Pensions Committee’s inquiry into gaps in national asbestos information.
The report's headline findings, all framed as proportions of the surveyed sample, were:
- 78% of buildings surveyed (100,660) contained asbestos.
- 86% of the 94,116 domestic properties contained asbestos; almost all were social housing.
- 710,433 asbestos items were catalogued, of which 71% (507,612) showed some damage.
- 63% of sites contained at least some damaged asbestos.
- 78% of identified items were in the non-licensable material group, while 24% of damaged items were in the licensable material group. Work classification requires a separate assessment.
Later research should be read alongside this snapshot, rather than treated as a directly comparable follow-up. Asbestos Information CIC’s 2025 report describes almost 400,000 properties and more than seven million data lines for May 2022–April 2024. Changes in contributors, coverage and methods mean these totals do not show whether national asbestos prevalence rose or fell.
How much asbestos survey work needs a licensed contractor?
The report grouped 552,493 items, or 78%, as non-licensable materials and 157,940, or 22%, as licensable materials. Among damaged items, 120,629 were in the latter group. These are material classifications: whether particular work requires a licence or notification depends on the material, condition, activity and likely exposure, assessed before work starts.
In Great Britain, asbestos work may be licensed, notifiable non-licensed or non-licensed. Higher-risk work with sprayed coatings, lagging and many asbestos insulating board tasks normally requires an HSE-licensed contractor. Some lower-risk work with cement, textured coatings or floor tiles may be non-licensed, but it still requires suitable task-specific training, controls and waste arrangements. Awareness training alone is insufficient for any work that disturbs asbestos.
Awareness training does not qualify anyone to remove asbestos. Its purpose under Regulation 10 of the Control of Asbestos Regulations 2012 is to help those workers recognise asbestos, understand its risks, and know to stop and get advice before they disturb it. For the survey types that generate this data in the first place, see our guide to the types of asbestos survey explained.
Is the condition of surveyed asbestos improving over time?
The 2021/22 ATaC/NORAC dataset included 280,453 items recorded during reinspections. Around 72% had some damage. This finding shows why a register must be kept under review, but it does not by itself establish how each item changed between inspections or a trend for the whole country.
Alpha Tracker published separate condition analyses in May 2023 and November 2024. Its report hub describes the latter as an update, not an official national series. These sources should not be combined into a claim that every school or hospital has deteriorating asbestos. See our schools and hospitals guides for the scope of their separate surveys.
| Dataset | Scale and period | What it can show |
|---|---|---|
| ATaC/NORAC report (2022) | 128,761 sites; October 2021–March 2022 | Presence and recorded condition in the selected sample |
| ATaC/NORAC reinspection subset | 280,453 items; same survey period | About 72% had some damage at reinspection |
| Asbestos Information CIC report (2025) | Almost 400,000 properties; May 2022–April 2024 | A separate, later industry dataset; not a like-for-like national trend |
What do survey findings say about duty-to-manage compliance?
Regulation 4 of the Control of Asbestos Regulations 2012 requires those responsible for relevant non-domestic premises and common parts of domestic buildings to identify or presume asbestos, assess its condition and risk, and maintain a management plan. Surveys also support refurbishment and other work inside homes. Because 73% of the ATaC/NORAC sample was domestic, the whole dataset should not be described as a sample of Regulation 4 compliance inspections.
The 2022 report emerged directly from concern that the duty was being under-enforced. HSE gave Parliament a provisional best estimate of 310,000 non-domestic premises in Great Britain containing asbestos in 2022, within a range of 210,000–410,000, and the Work and Pensions Committee's April 2022 inquiry recommended a phased 40-year deadline for removing asbestos from all such premises, alongside a central register — a recommendation the Government did not adopt in its July 2022 response. Without systematic data collection, the Committee argued, neither duty holders nor the regulator could know whether the duty to manage was working; the ATaC/NORAC report was part of the sector's answer to that gap.
For the mechanics of what a duty holder actually has to do with survey findings — the register, the management plan, the re-inspection schedule — see our detailed guide to the duty to manage asbestos under Regulation 4, and the wider Control of Asbestos Regulations 2012 framework. Where survey findings feed into HSE enforcement specifically under CAR 2012, our asbestos enforcement statistics page covers the notices and prosecutions.
How does survey data fit the wider asbestos picture?
HSE recorded 2,146 mesothelioma deaths in Great Britain in 2024, provisionally, in its July 2026 release. Those deaths mostly reflect exposures decades earlier. Survey condition data describes materials at the time inspected; it cannot predict a precise future disease count. The separate DfE AMAP finding that 80.9% of participating English schools reported asbestos in 2018/19 is also a historical sample result.
Frequently asked questions
What percentage of UK buildings surveyed contain asbestos?
The October 2021–March 2022 dataset found asbestos at 100,660 of 128,761 surveyed sites, or 78%. Among 94,116 domestic properties, 80,731 contained asbestos, about 86%. Almost all surveyed homes were social housing. These are selected-sample percentages, not estimates for the entire UK building stock.
How much of the asbestos found in UK surveys is damaged?
In the 2021/22 ATaC/NORAC sample, 507,612 of 710,433 asbestos items had some damage, or 71%. Most damage was categorised as low. Around 63% of surveyed sites had at least one damaged item. Condition is one factor in assessing risk; these percentages are not counts of unsafe buildings.
What did the ATaC/NORAC asbestos report find?
The report combined data from 20 UKAS-accredited inspection bodies covering 128,761 sites in October 2021–March 2022. It found asbestos at 78% of sites and some damage in 71% of identified asbestos items. Its material classifications do not replace a job-specific assessment of licensing, notification and training requirements.
How much asbestos work needs a licensed contractor?
Licensing depends on the proposed task, material, condition and likely exposure. The report put 22% of all identified asbestos items and 24% of damaged items into its licensable material group. Awareness training alone does not qualify a person to disturb either licensed or non-licensed asbestos materials.
Are ATaC, NORAC and Alpha Tracker official regulators?
No. ATaC and NORAC are industry associations, and Alpha Tracker is a software platform from Start Software. The contributing inspection bodies held relevant UKAS accreditation. Asbestos regulation is enforced by HSE and other enforcing authorities in Great Britain, with separate arrangements in Northern Ireland.
For workers and duty holders whose jobs bring them into pre-2000 buildings — where the damaged, mostly non-licensed asbestos these surveys keep finding still sits — our CPD-certified Asbestos Awareness Course covers the training required under Regulation 10 of the Control of Asbestos Regulations 2012.
Seven in ten asbestos items in the 2021/22 sample had some damage; the proposed work still needs a separate licensing assessment. Make sure they can recognise it first.
Explore the Asbestos Awareness Course →Related guides
- Types of asbestos surveys: management, refurbishment and demolition explained
- The duty to manage asbestos: registers, plans and Regulation 4
- Asbestos Statistics UK: Deaths, Exposure & Key Facts
- Asbestos in Homes Statistics UK
- Asbestos Enforcement Statistics UK (CAR 2012)
Sources & references
- ATaC/NORAC — Review of UK Asbestos Management 2022, original report
- Alpha Tracker — Damage report hub, May 2023 and November 2024
- Asbestos Information CIC — A National Asbestos Strategy, 2025, dataset coverage
- Work and Pensions Committee — HSE approach to asbestos management, April 2022
- HSE — Training for work involving asbestos
- HSE — Asbestos frequently asked questions
- HSE — Asbestos-related disease statistics, July 2026
Mark writes about workplace health & safety, asbestos awareness and accredited online training for Asbestos Awareness Course, part of Online CPD Academy.