Asbestos testing in Liverpool

Worried about a textured ceiling in an Anfield terrace, old floor tiles in a Wavertree kitchen, or the grey roof on a back-yard lean-to in Walton? You're far from alone. A home asbestos test tells you what a material is before you drill, sand or replace it. In Liverpool, England, two things make that worth knowing early. A quarter of the city's homes were built before 1900, and a century of improvements can add materials the builders never used. And getting rid of asbestos means booking a slot at one of three Merseyside sites, each of which takes it only once every three weeks. This page covers how old Liverpool's homes are, what's worth testing, the Merseyside disposal rules, and how testing works.

How old are Liverpool's homes?

The Valuation Office Agency records the build period of every home on the council tax list. Its figures for 31 March 2025, as shares of the homes with a known build period:

That's about 62,470 of Liverpool's 241,880 homes built before 1900. The city has roughly a third of Merseyside's homes, but nearly half of its pre-1900 homes. Taken together, about four in five Liverpool homes were built before 2000.

After 1945 the pattern flips. Only 8.4% of Liverpool's homes date from 1945 to 1964, about half Merseyside's share, while 18.9% were built in 2000 or later.

Liverpool is also a city of terraces. The agency counts about 98,400 terraced houses, 41% of the city's homes, against 26% across England. Two in three of them have three bedrooms. Flats and maisonettes make up about another 30%.

What that means in your home

The age of your home is a clue to what's worth checking. These are rough patterns, not rules.

Victorian and Edwardian terraces. The original brick and plaster are rarely the worry. A century of improvements might be. A textured ceiling added in the 1970s, vinyl floor tiles laid on black adhesive in a back kitchen, or a corrugated cement roof on a yard lean-to, outhouse or garage are the usual suspects. Veolia, which runs Merseyside's household asbestos service, counts corrugated and flat cement sheets among the cement-bonded asbestos products its sites take.

Interwar homes, 1919 to 1939. About one Liverpool home in five. Later additions, like a garage, a porch or a new kitchen floor, may date from the decades of asbestos cement roofs, soffits, gutters and downpipes, and of vinyl floor tiles. Textured ceilings were especially common in the 1960s and 70s.

Homes built from the 1960s to the 1990s. HSE's survey guide says asbestos was added to textured coatings until about 1984, with old stock used for several years after. Asbestos cement was used until 1999. Ceilings, roofs and soffits are still worth testing before work.

You can't tell by looking, whatever the age. Only a lab can tell you what a material is.

If you rent in Liverpool

Renting from a housing association or a private landlord? Ask your landlord what's known about a ceiling, wall or floor before any work starts, and agree the work with them first. See renting and asbestos.

Two Merseyside rules matter to landlords as well as tenants. Veolia's household asbestos service won't take asbestos that a landlord brings from a rental property, or anything a tradesperson removed from a home as a paid job. And Liverpool City Council says that once a contractor removes asbestos, it's trade waste, and disposing of it is the contractor's job.

Getting rid of asbestos in Liverpool

Liverpool City Council lists three sites that take cement-bonded asbestos from homes, by appointment only. Veolia Merseyside and Halton runs them and takes the bookings. Check Veolia's page for current details before you start.

The three sites. Bidston (Wallasey Bridge Road, Wirral), Huyton (Wilson Road) and Southport (Foul Lane). Veolia says each site runs the asbestos service once every three weeks. The service is for Merseyside residents: Veolia sends Halton households to their own council.

Booking. Book with Veolia's online enquiry form, or by phone on 0203 567 4200, Monday to Friday, 9:00 to 16:30. Veolia says that at peak times an appointment may take up to eight weeks, and there are no same-day appointments. A booking stands only once Veolia's confirmation email arrives. The form asks for your vehicle type and registration, how many bags, sheets or panels you're bringing, and how many trips you'll make that day.

Wrapping. Veolia asks for two layers of 500-gauge sheeting, such as Visqueen, or builder's rubble bags, with every edge sealed with heavy-duty tape. It won't accept asbestos in bin bags, or mixed with other household waste. Soak sheets well first, to keep dust down, and keep them whole where you can. Each load needs to be light enough for you to lift to shoulder height into the asbestos container. In Veolia's words: "If the asbestos is not wrapped and sealed correctly, it won't be accepted."

No collection, and no trade loads. Veolia offers no collection service. Its sites won't take trade asbestos, including a landlord's load from a rental property.

Before anything comes down. Veolia adds that nobody has to dispose of a shed or garage just because it contains asbestos. If you hire a contractor, its page gives the Environment Agency's number, 0370 8506 506, to check the contractor's licence.

How testing works in Liverpool

1. Send us a photo using the free photo check. There are no questions to answer: it points at what's worth testing, how many samples, and how to take each one. Only the lab can say what a material is.
2. Take your sample in about 10 minutes, step by step. Your kit has the safety gear and the bags: an FFP3 mask, a coverall, gloves, a spray bottle and double sample bags. Add a flat screwdriver and some tape from home. Kits are launching soon: book a test kit with just your email.
3. The lab will analyse your sample. It will be a UKAS-accredited laboratory, named on every certificate.
4. You'll get a written result you can show your builder, plasterer, electrician or buyer.

For a garage roof, a lean-to or outside sheets, take your sample from an edge you can reach standing on the ground. Our guide to how to take an asbestos sample at home goes through each step.

Questions people ask

Updated 25 October 2026