A concerned mother is urging house hunters to check for asbestos in their homes before they move in.
There are thermoplastic floor tiles underneath her laminate floor coverings.
Mrs Sandhu says she only learned the property contained the killer material during a visit from her landlord last month.
She said: “They say it is only dangerous if it is disturbed, but the landlord knew as soon as I moved into the property that I wanted to pull the floor up and at no point did anyone say to me that I had to be aware of the asbestos.”
Mrs Sandhu has reported her concerns to Gravesham council but she remains worried about her children’s welfare.
She hopes her experience can now act as a warning for others who are looking to move in to a house.
Mrs Sandhu said: “People are moving into their homes without being told because they do not have to tell you by law.
“Home buyers need to be aware that no one is going to tell them.
“My children have been playing on an asbestos floor, they could have been exposed to it for the last seven months.”
We provide Asbestos Awareness Training courses.
A spokesman for Gravesend Churches Housing Association (GCHA), Mrs Sandhu’s landlord, said: “GCHA holds an up-to-date Asbestos Register as required by The Control of Asbestos Regulations 2012.
“The register is updated by a rolling programme of specialist surveys which categorises the presence of materials which may contain asbestos fibres in our properties.
“Based on these surveys, GCHA has no high level risk properties and Thanet House has been identified as having the lowest risk – category D – materials in thermoplastic floor tiles.
“In the past, GCHA has advised tenants via a mail shot about the possible presence of asbestos and we will gladly do so again; we will also include an article in our next newsletter to keep tenants up to date.”
Asbestos is now illegal in the construction or refurbishment of any premises. Any buildings built or refurbished before the year 2000 may contain asbestos.
