The Control of Asbestos at Work regulations 2002 places a responsibility and duty on "every person who has, by virtue of a contract or tenancy, an obligation of any extent in relation to the maintenance or repair of non-domestic premises....". Such person is referred to as the "duty holder" within the legislation.

This generally means building owner (free holder) or tenant if leased on a full repairing lease. However the landlord may still be liable for common parts serving more than one tenancy. If properties are sub-let it is important for each tenant to understand his obligations under his tenancy.

Whilst the building owner may delegate the responsibility for day to day management of the asbestos in the building to a facilities management company or the like, it is not normally possible to delegate duty under statute. It is possible that the building owner could be vicariously liable for any act of failure or omission on the part of the facilities management company. This is more likely if the building owner could not demonstrate that he had carefully vetted the facilities management company initially and had confirmed that they had a robust quality assurance system.

The duty to manage asbestos in premises does apply to common parts of housing developments and blocks of flats. This duty does not extend to the individual housing units but these are subject to the Defective Premises Act 1972, which places a duty on the landlord to take reasonable care to ensure that tenants and others are safe from disease caused by a defect in the premises.