What do apartment owners need to know about asbestos in older buildings?

Where asbestos hides

The EPA lists products that may contain asbestos, including attic and wall insulation made with vermiculite, vinyl floor tiles, roofing and siding shingles, textured paint and patching compounds, hot water and steam pipe coverings, and oil and coal furnaces (EPA, Learn about asbestos). In an older apartment building that means the boiler room, pipe runs in basements, old floor tile under newer flooring, and textured ceilings.

You cannot tell by looking. The EPA says you cannot tell whether a material contains asbestos simply by looking at it unless it is labeled, and to treat it as if it does when in doubt (EPA, Protect your family).

Exposure raises the risk of lung disease, including lung cancer, mesothelioma and asbestosis, and smoking makes the risk worse, according to the EPA.

When to leave it alone

The EPA's general advice is that asbestos material in good condition that will not be disturbed is generally not a health risk, so the usual approach is to leave it be and check it over time for tears, abrasions or water damage, which can release fibers. Limit access to slightly damaged areas and do not touch suspect material. Removal should be done only by a trained and accredited asbestos professional, and the EPA highly recommends professionals for sampling and minor repairs too (EPA).

For an owner, that suggests a simple program: know where suspect material is, keep it in good condition, keep work crews away from it unless the job is planned, and handle damage fast.

OSHA: your duties when people work on the building

OSHA's construction asbestos standard, 29 CFR 1926.1101, covers work such as renovation, repair and maintenance that may disturb asbestos. Three parts matter most to owners (OSHA 1926.1101):

• Presumed asbestos-containing material: thermal system insulation and surfacing material found in buildings constructed no later than 1980 is presumed to contain asbestos unless shown otherwise.
• Owner duty to determine: before covered work begins, building and facility owners must determine the presence, location and quantity of asbestos-containing and presumed asbestos-containing material at the work site.
• Owner duty to inform: owners must notify prospective employers bidding on the work, their own employees who work in or near those areas, other employers on site, and tenants who will occupy the affected areas.

The standard also sets the exposure limit employers must keep workers under: 0.1 fiber per cubic centimeter of air as an 8-hour time-weighted average. If you have your own maintenance staff, this applies to them.

EPA: renovation and demolition

The EPA's asbestos National Emission Standard for Hazardous Air Pollutants (NESHAP) applies to demolitions and renovations of facilities, excluding residential buildings with four or fewer dwelling units, so a five-unit-plus apartment building is covered. The EPA says the rules require a thorough inspection where the demolition or renovation will occur, and that owners or operators must notify the delegated agency, often a state agency, before demolition or a renovation involving regulated asbestos above certain amounts (EPA NESHAP overview).

The thresholds, forms and timing are set by your state or local agency, so call it before any big job. A plan to gut a kitchen, pull old floor tile or replace boiler piping is the moment to get an asbestos inspection.

Planning a job around it

Example a made-up owner of a 1962, 24 unit building plans to replace the boiler and its piping. Before bidding, the owner pays an accredited inspector $1,200 to sample the pipe insulation, which comes back positive. A licensed abatement contractor quotes $8,500 to remove it before the boiler work. The owner adds both to the project budget, gives the inspection report to the boiler contractor, and posts a notice to tenants in the affected basement areas. Total asbestos cost: $9,700, planned instead of discovered mid-job.

1. Keep a simple asbestos register: location, material, sampled or presumed, condition, date checked.
2. Show it to every contractor before work starts, and keep proof you did.
3. Before any renovation, call your state or local asbestos agency to learn the inspection and notice steps.
4. Hire accredited inspectors and licensed abatement contractors.
5. Record abatement costs with the project; ask your tax preparer how to treat them.

Keeping the record in DoorKeeping

DoorKeeping records asbestos survey and abatement costs in that property's own books, so they are easy to find when you sell or refinance. Keep the survey report in the property's documents, with the building's permanent records. DoorKeeping gives no legal advice; your state asbestos agency and your attorney set what applies to you.

Sources

1. EPA, Learn About Asbestos, read Oct 29, 2026
2. EPA, Protect Your Family from Exposures to Asbestos, read Oct 29, 2026
3. EPA, Overview of the Asbestos NESHAP, read Oct 29, 2026
4. OSHA, 29 CFR 1926.1101, Asbestos (construction), read Oct 29, 2026

Questions

Do I have to remove asbestos from my apartment building?

Generally not if it is in good condition and will not be disturbed. The EPA says such material is generally not a health risk. Renovation or damage changes that.

Does the asbestos NESHAP apply to apartment buildings?

It applies to renovations and demolitions of facilities but excludes residential buildings with four or fewer dwelling units, so most apartment buildings of five or more units are covered.

Which materials does OSHA presume contain asbestos?

Thermal system insulation and surfacing material in buildings constructed no later than 1980, unless shown otherwise.