I’m buying a house with asbestos Artex – what should I do?

You may be reading this as someone who is in the process of buying a house in the UK that is known or suspected to contain asbestos – or to be more specific, the asbestos-containing surface coating commonly referred to as “Artex”.

You might, or might not, have some awareness of asbestos, including that it is a now-banned substance formerly used in UK properties, and which can pose dangers to health.

So, if this describes your situation, what course of action should you take as a prospective buyer of a residential property in which Artex coatings are present? Below, we will lay out the vital things to know.

Why is Artex a concern for home buyers?

When people mention that a property contains “Artex”, they are typically referring to a type of internal surface coating frequently seen in both domestic and commercial properties. It is mainly applied to walls and ceilings in a distinctive swirled or stippled effect.

It is important to emphasise that “Artex” is a trade name; it is akin to calling a tissue a “Kleenex”. The term is short for “Asbestos Reinforced Textured Coating”. Although Artex as a branded product still exists, the company most associated with its production – Artex Ltd – has since rebranded as Okarno.

Through the decades, “Artex” came to be used as a generic term for the asbestos textured or decorative coating products long applied in UK properties. Other brands to be aware of, then, include the likes of “Newtex” and “Wondertex”, which were used for similar products.

Artex Ltd produced textured products that contained asbestos until around the mid-1980s. By this point, the health risks associated with asbestos were becoming widely known among the UK public, and the Government was moving to tighten the regulations around this mineral’s use.

Asbestos was incorporated into Artex coatings to boost strength and fire resistance. Asbestos only usually made up around 1% to 4% of the overall Artex product. However, if this material is disturbed in a way that causes the release of particles into the air, it can pose a serious health risk to someone who breathes in or ingests the fibres.

Approximately 5,000 people a year in the UK die from asbestos-related health conditions such as mesothelioma or asbestos-related lung cancer. So, the potential or confirmed presence of asbestos textured or decorative coatings in a home dating from before the UK’s ban on all types of asbestos in 1999, is understandably a concern for many prospective purchasers.

How can I tell if the Artex in my potential new home contains asbestos?

The short answer to this question is that you can’t tell for sure whether a particular decorative or textured coating on a wall or ceiling contains asbestos, simply by looking at it. However, understanding the age and renovation history of the house can provide some clues as to whether asbestos may be present.

As we referenced above, the importation and use of all types of asbestos in the UK was banned in late 1999. So, if the property was constructed after the year 2000, any decorative or textured coatings are highly unlikely to contain asbestos. If, however, the property was built pre-2000, and decorative coatings such as “Artex” are present, there will be a high likelihood of the building containing asbestos.

In terms of appearance, Artex coatings are typically white in colour, with a stippled or textured effect. This product could be applied even by those who lacked plastering skills, which further helps explain its widespread use historically.

Ultimately, the only guaranteed way to determine whether an internal coating in a house contains asbestos, is to have it professionally surveyed and tested. This process involves a company taking a sample from the coating and sending the sample off to an accredited laboratory for analysis.

If there is just one Artex wall or ceiling that you wish to have tested in your potential new house, this is likely to entail one-off asbestos sample testing being carried out, instead of a full asbestos survey.

If, however, there are multiple suspected asbestos-containing materials (ACMs) in the property, you might instead decide to arrange an asbestos management survey. Another type of asbestos survey is a refurbishment or demolition survey, which is a fully intrusive process designed to find ACMs deep within the fabric of a building. It is typically conducted prior to disruptive work, such as refurbishment or demolition, being carried out at the given site.

Is it safe to buy a home with asbestos Artex?

ACMs such as asbestos-containing Artex coatings are believed to pose negligible risk to health if they are in good condition and undisturbed. So, presuming this is the case for textured or decorative coatings at a house you are considering buying, it is generally safe to leave the coating in place until you decide how you wish to deal with it.

However, asbestos-containing internal coatings can be dangerous if damage is caused to them – for example, as a result of sanding, drilling, or scraping. Inevitably, then, refurbishment projects in a building can present a particular risk of Artex asbestos coatings being disturbed.

If you do see signs of damage to an Artex coating in a residential building that you are buying or have already purchased, you should immediately seek advice from a reputable asbestos management company such as Oracle Solutions.

Can I remove asbestos Artex myself?

As we addressed in a previous article about DIY asbestos removal, it is recommended that you do not attempt to remove asbestos materials yourself.

One reason for this is the risk to your own health and safety, and that of others. Even if you are extremely careful in your attempt to remove an asbestos Artex coating from your building, you could inadvertently cause the release of dangerous asbestos fibres into the air. Trying to do this in your own house could therefore present the risk of your loved ones being exposed to asbestos.

Trying to remove asbestos Artex from a domestic property that you own could also have certain legal implications. The Control of Asbestos Regulations 2012 (CAR 2012) is the UK’s overarching asbestos legislation, and a key element of this is the “duty to manage” asbestos, set out under Regulation 4. Officially, CAR 2012 applies to non-domestic premises, although it can apply to domestic buildings in certain ways as well – for example, the “common areas” of blocks of flats.

You might be interested in reading our previous guide to some of the legal issues surrounding the DIY removal of asbestos from buildings.

What are my options for managing or removing asbestos Artex?

So, presuming you have had an Artex coating on your new home’s ceiling or wall tested and it has been confirmed to contain asbestos, you will need to make some sensible decisions on how to deal with it.

It is likely that you will ultimately be choosing between having the Artex coating removed altogether, or instead “encapsulated”. The latter refers to the surface of an ACM being sealed to prevent any future escape of the asbestos fibres contained in the material.

We have previously written about when you might decide to have an ACM encapsulated, and when it might be a better idea to arrange its removal:

• Asbestos encapsulation tends to be chosen when the ACM is in good condition, and/or is in an area of the property where future disturbance and/or damage is relatively unlikely.
• Asbestos removal tends to be recommended for ACMs that show severe damage or deterioration, and/or that are in a part of the property presenting a high risk of future disturbance. Asbestos materials will also typically be professionally removed if renovation or demolition work is set to be carried out on the property.

In summary, then, asbestos Artex coatings can often be left in place, albeit potentially with some form of encapsulation having been carried out on them.

However, if there are signs of damage to an asbestos decorative or textured coating in your new house, or you simply do not wish to keep the coating in place, you might seriously consider professional asbestos removal services.

How does the presence of asbestos Artex affect the value of the property?

Given how extremely common asbestos Artex coatings were – and continue to be – in residential properties dating to before the year 2000, the mere fact of such coatings being present in a particular house might not greatly impact on the price the building attracts on the sales market.

Having said all the above, there could still be some level of impact on the property’s value. The exact asbestos situation in the property will largely dictate this impact. If, for instance, you are looking to purchase a certain house and you know you will need to pay for asbestos removal work, there might be scope for you to negotiate on the price before you exchange contracts.

Even if certain asbestos Artex coatings in the property are in a good enough condition that they don’t “need” to be removed right now, investing in removal could help you attract a higher selling price if you wish to resell the home in the future.

Should I be worried about living in a home with asbestos Artex?

To reiterate: provided that asbestos Artex is in good condition and undisturbed, in addition to being properly managed over time, there is generally little reason to be overly worried about purchasing, and subsequently living in, a home that contains this product.

As long as the aforementioned conditions are satisfied, these decorative and textured coatings are believed to pose negligible risk to health.

If, however, you proceed to buy a house containing asbestos Artex and you don’t arrange to remove it, it would be wise to practise certain day-to-day precautions. These would include monitoring the material over time for any signs of damage, and avoiding any drilling or similarly disruptive actions that could cause disturbance.

You should also think carefully about the longer-term picture – such as the potential need to remove the asbestos Artex coatings if you intend to carry out renovation work in the years to come.

What should I ask before buying a house with asbestos Artex?

If you are interested in purchasing a particular residential building in which Artex internal coatings are present, it can be a good idea to ask whether the Artex has been tested for asbestos. If such testing has indeed been carried out and confirmed that the material contains asbestos, you might ask whether any removal or encapsulation work has been undertaken.

You may also ask whether any previous asbestos surveys have been conducted on the property, and if so, what the findings were in the latest asbestos report.

What are the costs associated with managing or removing asbestos Artex?

The overall level of expenditure that you may need to incur in the management of any asbestos Artex in your new home, will depend in part on the exact nature and volume of work that is to be undertaken. You may need to account for asbestos survey costs, as well as spending on encapsulation and/or full removal.

Our asbestos Artex removal guide provides more in-depth information on what you might reasonably expect to pay for this service.

As of 2024, you may be required to pay around £50 per square metre to have a plasterboard-finish asbestos Artex textured coating removed, presuming the area to be removed is around 10 to 20 square metres. You may need to pay less than this on a per-square-metre basis if a much larger area of asbestos Artex coating is to be removed.

Conclusion: should the presence of asbestos Artex stop you from buying the house?

We have hopefully made clear over the course of this article, that the fact of asbestos Artex material simply being found to exist in a property you are seeking to buy, does not automatically mean you should refuse to complete the purchase.

Still, there can be certain issues in relation to health and safety management, costs, and other long-term implications – such as the price your property would likely command if you were to resell it at a later stage – that you will need to account for. Ultimately, we would advise you to prioritise making informed decisions at every stage, rather than panicking.

To find out more about our renowned asbestos services at Oracle Solutions, and the fundamental role they could play in ensuring safe homeownership with asbestos Artex, please reach out to our highly qualified and seasoned experts.