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The Level 3 suspects asbestos and says this was not an asbestos inspection. Who is instructed next, and what must they avoid doing to the material?
A separate asbestos surveyor is next, not the Level 3 author on the same brief. The Level 3 description is clear that the home surveyor is not an asbestos inspector, which is why the report can suspect a material and still say this was not that inspection. Whoever is instructed next must not break, drill, sand or power-wash the material in order to find out.
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?
HSE's point, which is a different source from that RICS sentence, is that asbestos is a risk in buildings built or refurbished before 2000. The Level 3 can fairly draw your eye to a board, a tile, a flue or a textured coating in a house of that age. It cannot sample it by becoming the asbestos survey it has already said it is not. You instruct a specialist whose job is asbestos, and you tell them which element the Level 3 flagged. Their report is new paperwork. It does not rewrite the home survey by existing.
Do not help the specialist along by taking a chunk off with a drill, a sander or a pressure washer, and do not let a general builder do that either as a shortcut. Those are ways of disturbing the material, not a harmless look. The home survey remains visual on services and does not guarantee concealed parts, so insulation above a ceiling or lining inside a duct may still be unseen. Ask the asbestos surveyor what they will and will not disturb, and wait for their written findings before anyone refurbishes that spot.
What should you ask your surveyor?
- Which materials did you only suspect, because you are not an asbestos inspector?
- What should the next instruction say you did not already do?
- Which areas stayed concealed so the specialist knows the limit of your look?
What are the typical next steps?
- Instruct an asbestos surveyor for the material the Level 3 only suspected.
- Tell them not to break, drill, sand or power-wash it as a casual sample.
- Do not treat the Level 3 paragraph as the asbestos inspection.
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
Does HSE say the surveyor is not an asbestos inspector?
No. That sentence is in the RICS Level 3 description. HSE's point is the risk in pre-2000 buildings.
If the house was refurbished in 2005, is the risk gone?
Not by the date of one refurbishment alone. HSE flags buildings built or refurbished before 2000. Ask the specialist about what is actually there.