What do I do if ceilings contain asbestos?

Q I have recently been asked to look after the property of an elderly neighbour who has been in hospital for some time. The house is an old property that was built in the 1950s or 1960s, and as I understand it my neighbour moved in 20 years ago.

The house was unoccupied for some time before I agreed to look after it, and it appears a leak has caused the bathroom ceiling to collapse. I have heard a lot of terrible things about asbestos and I am wondering if the ceiling was made from material containing asbestos.

The ceiling is a normal plaster ceiling and as I understand it there was no lagging in the attic when they moved in. I have heard this may indicate an increased likelihood that the plasterboards are made from asbestos insulating board.

Is this true and how can I remedy the problem?

A Many houses in the 1950s have asbestos ceilings. This is often fairly easy to distinguish, as typically the asbestos ceilings have strips over the joints.

In some cases there are no such strips and it is not possible to visually determine the difference between an asbestos ceiling and a plasterboard-type ceiling from below, as the ceilings will have been painted or papered over the years. But it is relatively easy for an experienced surveyor to establish this from above, say from within the attic, and a competent surveyor would always check this as part of a prepurchase building survey.

Clearly it is preferable not to have asbestos-based ceilings, but this is not necessarily a problem and it really only becomes a problem in the event of interference with the ceiling, eg drilling holes through this for services. Notwithstanding that, the perception of having an asbestos ceiling is not good, and this in itself can give rise to a devaluing effect on the property. Thus plans should ultimately be made for having the asbestos ceilings removed or replaced.

Significant health-and-safety concerns and asbestos regulations need to be followed in order to ensure the safe handling and disposal of the asbestos-based materials, and there is legislation governing this.

In your particular case, I note you say the ceiling is a normal plaster ceiling, and if this is the case, the ceiling itself will not contain any asbestos.

In this respect, asbestos ceilings are made from an asbestos-based lining and not from a plaster/plasterboard material. While it is also possible to have some asbestos-based insulation materials in buildings, this would be most unusual in a typical 1950s/1960s dwelling house and thus the risk of this is low.

Accordingly, from what you have described, it is unlikely that the ceilings are asbestos-based, however this could only be verified by an on-site inspection, and your local chartered building surveyor will be able to offer more specific advice on this.

Val O’Brien is a chartered building surveyor and a member of the SCSI, scsi.ie

Clarification

Following a recent query about the capital gains tax

charge on the sale of a rental property formerly used by the owners as their principal private property, it was incorrectly stated that the capital gains tax is solely based on any gain in the property’s value from the time it was vacated by the owners and the sale price. T

he property valuation at the time the house was vacated to sell seven years ago

is not applicable for the calculation of capital gains tax.

An illustrative example is outlined below of how the charge to capital gains tax is calculated in respect of a house that was partially occupied as a principal private residence.

Q About seven years ago, we traded up but were unable to sell our original house within the first year and so decided to rent it out. The property valuation at the time was €350,000. We have been renting now for almost six years, but returning a genuine loss each year to Revenue when mortgage allowances, repairs etc were calculated.

With property prices now on the rise we are considering trying to sell again but are completely in the dark as to how much capital gains tax we may have to pay. We have noticed the current market value for a similar house in the area is €300,000.

Any help in this regard would be greatly appreciated.

A A liability to capital gains tax will arise on the sale of your property if the difference between the original purchase price (plus costs associated with the purchase and adjusted for inflation if purchased pre 2003) and sale proceeds (less incidental costs of sale) result in a gain. The tax is levied on this gain at a current rate of 33 per cent.

Assuming you occupied your property as your family home up to seven years ago, you may partially avail of a relief from capital gains tax known as the principal private residence (PPR) relief on a pro rata basis.

The portion of the gain exempt under PPR is calculated by taking the number of complete years the house was occupied as your family home (including a deemed occupancy of the last 12 months before sale) over the total number of years of ownership. For example; if we assume the following:

Purchase date: May 2000

Vacated property to sell: May 2008

Rented property date: May 2009

Disposal date: May 2015

Gain on disposal: €100,000

Therefore total years of ownership: 15

Total years house occupied as home: 9

The portion of the gain which is exempt under PPR is calculated as follows:

100,000 x 9/15 = €60,000

The remaining gain of €40,000 is subject to capital gains tax at 33 per cent, which gives a tax liability of €13,200.

The rental loss to which you refer cannot be used to offset any gain that may arise on the sale of your property.

This is due to tax legislation; rent is taxed under the income tax and a gain on the disposal of assets is taxed under capital gains tax.

There is no crossover under these tax heads for individuals.

The rental loss you have accumulated over the past six years can, most likely, be carried forward to future years and used to offset any rental income that may arise if you happen to rent out another property. I hope this has helped provide some clarity on your situation.

Ciara McEntee is a tax consultant with Baker Tilly Ryan Glennon