Asbestos in work on existing buildings in Germany: duties under the amended Hazardous Substances Ordinance
Anyone drilling, sanding or refurbishing in buildings begun before November 1993 must expect asbestos. What clients must provide since the amendment of the German Hazardous Substances Ordinance, which work is permitted and what contractors need.
Last updated on 7 min readAMS Go editorial team
Key points at a glance
- Anyone who commissions work on buildings or technical installations must give the contractor all available information on existing or suspected hazardous substances and the year of construction in writing or electronically before work starts – for buildings from 1993 to 1996, the date construction began (Section 5a GefStoffV).
- If construction began after 31 October 1993, it can generally be assumed that no asbestos is present; for older buildings, the contractor must check before starting work whether asbestos fibres can be released (Section 11a(1) GefStoffV).
- Work on asbestos-containing materials is prohibited in principle; only demolition, remediation and certain maintenance work is permitted (Section 11 GefStoffV), and it is assigned to the low (below 10,000 fibres/m³), medium or high risk range (above 100,000 fibres/m³) depending on the fibre concentration.
- Work with asbestos must be notified to the authority at least one week before it starts; high-risk work requires a licence, and demolition work in the low or medium risk range requires an approval from 20 December 2026 (Section 11a, Section 25(9) GefStoffV).
What applies to asbestos in existing buildings?
For work on buildings or technical installations whose construction began on or before 31 October 1993, it must be established whether asbestos is present and could be released by the work. The client provides the year of construction and available information; the contractor checks it in its risk assessment (Gefährdungsbeurteilung). Work on asbestos-containing materials may only be carried out by companies with persons holding the required expert knowledge (Sachkunde) and trained employees.
The manufacture and use of asbestos have been banned in Germany since 31 October 1993. In older buildings, however, it is still found in many components. Inhaled fibres can cause asbestosis, lung cancer and mesothelioma – often decades after exposure. The danger usually arises during everyday work: drilling holes for wall plugs, removing floor coverings, laying cables, chipping off tiles.
Client duties: information and year of construction
Anyone who commissions work on buildings or technical installations (Veranlasser) – for example as the owner or operator of a building who hires a trade contractor – must give the contractor all information available to them on the construction or usage history concerning existing or suspected hazardous substances, in writing or electronically, before work starts. To do so, they must evaluate the documents accessible to them with reasonable effort (Section 5a(1) GefStoffV).
before 1993
What the client must provideYear of construction
Year of construction 1993 to 1996
What the client must provideDate construction began, or the year of construction if unknown
after 1996
What the client must provideYear of construction
Useful sources are building files and planning permission, earlier surveys of hazardous substances, remediation records and the documentation of encapsulated asbestos components required by Section 11(4) GefStoffV. Section 5a does not require the client to carry out its own technical survey; further duties under other regulations remain unaffected (Section 5a(3)).
Checks by the contractor
Before starting work, the contractor's employer must, as part of the risk assessment under Section 6 and Section 11a(1) GefStoffV:
- 1
Check the information
Check the client's information for plausibility and take the year of construction or start of construction into account. Transitional periods until the end of 1994 applied to certain products (Annex I No. 3.8).
- 2
Investigate if there are gaps
If the information is not sufficient, the employer checks as a separate service whether hazardous substances could be released – with external expertise if it lacks the knowledge, for example a technical survey with sampling (Section 6(2b)). The procedure is described, among others, in the guideline VDI 6202 Part 3.
- 3
Establish whether the work is permitted
Clarify whether the planned work is allowed at all under Section 11.
- 4
Determine fibre release and risk range
Establish whether asbestos fibres can be released and whether the work, taking the planned protective measures into account, falls into the low, medium or high risk range.
- 5
Draw up a work plan
Describe the work methods and equipment, technical, organisational and personal protective measures and the procedure used after completion to check that there is no longer any hazard from asbestos (Annex I No. 3.2).
Typical asbestos-containing materials in older buildings and installations:
- Asbestos cement, firmly bound: roof and façade panels, pipes
- Sprayed asbestos, lightweight boards and asbestos paper, weakly bound: release fibres easily
- Floor coverings: Floor-Flex tiles (firmly bound) and cushion vinyl with asbestos-containing backing (weakly bound)
- Plasters, fillers and tile adhesives: firmly bound, relevant when drilling, sanding or chiselling
- Sealing cords, gaskets and packings on installations, and night storage heaters
Which work on asbestos is permitted
Work on asbestos-containing materials in or on buildings, installations, machinery and vehicles is prohibited (Section 11(1) GefStoffV). The only exceptions are the activities listed in Section 11(2):
Demolition work
What it coversComplete removal of asbestos-containing components or materials, including from partial areas
Remediation work
What it coversSpatial separation where removal is technically impossible; immediate measures to temporarily secure damaged components
Maintenance work
What it coversServicing and inspection; functional maintenance during ongoing use, including energy-efficiency refurbishment, without repairing the asbestos-containing material
Ancillary activities
What it coversPreparatory, accompanying or final work as well as analysis, measurement and testing purposes
Maintenance is only permitted if there is no high risk, the asbestos-containing material still fulfils its function, it is not concealed in a way that makes it impossible to recognise later, and later removal is not made considerably more difficult (Section 11(5)).
Risk ranges: low, medium, high
What counts is the fibre concentration in the air at the workplace with the planned protective measures. The limits are the acceptable concentration of 10,000 and the tolerable concentration of 100,000 fibres per cubic metre. Protective measures, official procedures and qualifications depend on the risk range.
Low
Exposurebelow 10,000 F/m³
Official procedureCompany-related notification; demolition: approval
ExamplesRecognised low-emission methods, removing individual defective asbestos cement panels
Medium
Exposure10,000 to 100,000 F/m³
Official procedureCompany-related notification, plus location, start and duration for changing work sites; demolition: approval
ExamplesDemolition of asbestos cement products outdoors, maintenance on gaskets and packings
High
Exposureabove 100,000 F/m³
Official procedureLicence, project-related notification for changing work sites
ExamplesDemolition and remediation of weakly bound products such as sprayed asbestos, sawing, drilling or cutting when removing asbestos cement indoors
The examples come from the transitional guidance published by the Federal Ministry of Labour (BMAS) on 6 December 2024. It applies until the technical rule TRGS 519 “Asbestos: demolition, remediation or maintenance work” has been adapted to the risk concept; alternatively, the employer can have the exposure determined competently. If exposure is below 1,000 fibres per cubic metre, the requirements of Section 11a(1) to (5) do not apply – dust-reducing measures are then sufficient (Section 11a(6)).
Notification, licence, approval and expert knowledge
- Notification: at least one week before work starts, in writing or electronically, with the risk assessment, work plan and proof of qualifications; renew company-related notifications after six years at the latest (Section 11a(4), Annex I No. 3.5)
- Licence: required for companies carrying out work in the high risk range, granted for a maximum of six years (Section 11a(3))
- Approval: required for demolition work in the low or medium risk range; it is deemed granted four weeks after the company-related notification is received if the authority raises no objections, and must be held from 20 December 2026 (Section 11a(4a), Section 25(9))
- Expert knowledge: a responsible person with expert knowledge assesses the hazards, defines protective measures and gives instruction; a supervisor with expert knowledge and authority to give instructions is on site at all times. Proof is provided by an officially recognised course and is valid for six years (Section 11a(5), Annex I No. 3.7)
- Training: all employees deployed need the required specialist knowledge (Fachkunde); a transitional period until 5 December 2027 applies to the responsible person's expert knowledge and the employees' training (Section 25(5))
Protective measures, clearance and waste
Priority goes to work methods and technical measures that prevent or minimise fibre release; other persons must not be put at risk (Section 11a(2)). Depending on the risk, this includes dust-tight enclosure of the work area, negative pressure, a personnel airlock with shower and a material airlock, hygiene measures as well as respiratory protection and protective suits (Annex I No. 3.3). Before the area is released, the success of the cleaning must be checked or proven.
Asbestos-containing waste is hazardous waste, for example under waste codes 17 06 05* (construction materials containing asbestos) or 17 06 01* (insulation materials containing asbestos) of the German Waste Catalogue Ordinance (AVV). Removed materials must not be reused and may only go to waste treatment or disposal (Section 11(1) No. 2 GefStoffV).
Checklist: asbestos before work on existing buildings
- Year of construction or date construction began provided to the contractor in writing
- Available documents on hazardous substances, surveys and remediation handed over
- Information checked for plausibility by the contractor
- Survey with sampling commissioned if the situation is unclear
- Permissibility of the work under Section 11 GefStoffV clarified
- Risk range determined by a person with expert knowledge, work plan available
- Notification made, licence or approval proven
- Expert knowledge of the responsible person and supervisor and training of employees checked
- Work area cordoned off, own employees and building users informed
- Cleaning checked, area released, waste disposed of as hazardous waste
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Frequently asked questions
From which year of construction do you have to expect asbestos?
In all buildings and installations whose construction began on or before 31 October 1993. If construction started later, it can generally be assumed that no asbestos is present (Section 11a(1) GefStoffV). However, transitional periods until the end of 1994 applied to certain products such as particular pipes, gaskets and friction linings.
May I drill into asbestos-containing plaster or tile adhesive?
Only as part of permitted maintenance and only by a company that meets the requirements of Section 11a GefStoffV: risk assessment and work plan by a person with expert knowledge, trained employees, notification to the authority and a suitable, preferably recognised low-emission method. Without these conditions, the work is not allowed.
Who has to establish whether asbestos is present?
Both sides: the commissioning party provides the year of construction and all available information (Section 5a GefStoffV). The contractor checks it in its risk assessment and, if it is not sufficient, must investigate itself as a separate service – with external expertise and a technical survey where needed (Section 6(2a) and (2b)).
Does all asbestos work have to be notified to the authority?
Work with asbestos must be notified at least one week before it starts – company-related for low and medium risk, project-related for high risk at changing work sites (Section 11a(4), Annex I No. 3.5). Only if exposure is below 1,000 fibres per cubic metre do the requirements of Section 11a(1) to (5), including notification, not apply.
Terms from the glossary
This guide gives a general overview of German occupational safety law and does not replace legal advice. The regulations in force and the rules of the statutory accident insurance institutions are authoritative.
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