Asbestos in pre-2000 homes
What should you do if the loft has an old black cistern the survey flags as possible asbestos?
Leave it in place and do not sand or break it. HSE includes asbestos cement among the materials found in pre-2000 buildings, and cold-water cisterns are a known example. A home survey does not sample the plastic-looking or fibre-cement tank. If it is sound and you are not replacing it, identification can wait. If you are replacing it, the person who removes it needs to know what it is.
Last reviewed 24 October 2026. Written for buyers in England and Wales unless this answer says otherwise. No named surveyor has signed this page. It is general guidance, not a report on your house, and not legal advice.
What is the fuller explanation?
Asbestos cement is generally a lower-risk material than insulating board or lagging, but it still releases fibres if you break it, and HSE’s diagrams exist so that people do not treat every grey sheet as ordinary plastic. The surveyor sees a tank. They do not weigh it or test it. The Level 3 text says the inspection is not an asbestos survey.
A plumber who “always takes these out” is not an identification. If the tank is to go, ask for the material to be identified and removed in line with HSE’s expectations for that material. If it stays, do not balance boarding on it or drill the lid. There is no fixed HSE price. Ask a licensed or non-licensed contractor only after you know which job it is.
What should you ask your surveyor?
- Did you see a fibre-cement tank, a plastic tank, or were you unsure?
- Is it cracked, or intact?
- Does any recommended work in the loft disturb it?
What are the typical next steps?
- Do not drill the lid to fit a new valve “while you are up there”.
- Tell any loft boarder the tank was not sampled.
- If it must be replaced, get it identified first. The skip is the wrong first call.
Costs vary with the building and with who you instruct. Where this page does not cite a published figure, ask the surveyor, a relevant specialist, or your solicitor for a written quote. Do not treat a forum average as the price.
Also asked about this
Is a plastic tank a problem?
Plastic is not asbestos. The survey should say if it could not tell. A photo from the seller may help, but it is not a sample.
Does the tank make the loft unfit?
Not if it is intact and undisturbed. The risk HSE talks about is from disturbing asbestos-containing materials, not from walking past a sound cistern.