Asbestos inspection

Since 23 November 2022 an asbestos certificate is compulsory when selling homes and buildings built before 2001. By 2032 every owner of a home or building built before 2001 must hold an asbestos certificate. When letting, an owner who holds an asbestos certificate is obliged to give a copy to the (new) tenants. This asbestos certificate is part of the Flemish asbestos phase-out policy. The Flemish Government wants to map all asbestos present in Flemish buildings and homes built before 2001 as quickly as possible. By tracing and removing asbestos in poor condition it aims to make Flanders asbestos-safe by 2040 at the latest.

In buildings from after 2000 the use of asbestos-containing materials is prohibited. If you still have doubts about certain materials, the post-intervention file holds all the information about the materials present in the building. A post-intervention file is compulsory for buildings built or renovated from 1 May 2001 onwards.

What is the asbestos certificate?

An asbestos certificate is the result of an asbestos inventory of a building. On the basis of that inventory, OVAM issues a unique asbestos certificate for every building. The certificate holds information about asbestos in the building and assesses whether it is asbestos-safe. For normal use of the building it describes which materials or building components contain asbestos, what condition that asbestos is in, and it advises on how it can be managed or removed safely.

Thanks to the asbestos certificate you find out which materials contain asbestos and how you, as the owner, can make the building asbestos-safe. The inventory for an asbestos certificate is non-destructive. A non-destructive asbestos inventory only describes the materials that can pose a risk during daily use of the building. During the inspection, walls and floors are never damaged to trace enclosed asbestos; that does happen when a destructive asbestos inventory is drawn up. Even so, a non-destructive inventory sometimes needs small damage to suspect materials. Often only a laboratory analysis can establish with certainty whether a material contains asbestos, and sampling then means removing a piece of the suspect material.