In short and in plain language
Many old houses contain asbestos. Asbestos is a material that can make people ill. It is found, for example, in glue, in plaster or in sheets on the roof.
If you hire a tradesperson, you must tell them the year your house was built before the work starts. This is in a rule for dangerous materials. For houses from 1993 to 1996, the firm needs the day building work began.
This also applies to private people. The customer can tell the firm on paper or by email. They can also write it into a form on the website.
The firm asks for the year in its form. Two short sentences explain why it asks. Whether there really is asbestos in the house, the firm checks afterwards itself.
We build forms like this and write the right texts for your website.
A painter is due to sand down old filler in a stairwell, a tiler to retile the bathroom of a row house, a roofer to replace a corrugated sheet on a carport. Before any of them starts, the client has to tell them something that often used to come up only on site: the year the building was constructed. Since December 5, 2024 (BGBl. 2024 I No. 384), § 5a of the German Hazardous Substances Ordinance (GefStoffV) has required whoever commissions work to give the firm carrying it out the construction year before work begins, and for buildings constructed between 1993 and 1996 (§ 5a (2) GefStoffV) the date construction started. This expressly applies to private households as well. For a trade business website, that means a small but effective change: the enquiry form asks for the construction year, and an explanatory note says why in two sentences. This article shows what the ordinance requires of the client and of the firm, which trades it affects, what the field looks like on a phone and what goes on the service page, without turning the website into legal advice.
Key takeaways
- Before work starts, the client gives the firm the construction year in writing or electronically, and for construction years 1993 to 1996 the date construction began (§ 5a (2) GefStoffV). This also applies to private households (§ 5a (4) GefStoffV).
- If construction began after October 31, 1993, asbestos is generally not presumed (§ 11a (1) GefStoffV). For certain products, transition periods ran until December 31, 1994 (Annex I No. 3.8 GefStoffV).
- If the client's details are not enough, the firm checks for itself as a special service, with outside expertise if needed (§ 6 (2b) GefStoffV). It notifies the authority of work involving asbestos at least one week in advance (§ 11a (4) GefStoffV).
- The form asks for the construction year with three options: before 1993, 1993 to 1996, after 1996. Only the middle one opens a date field for the start of construction; the state of the work area and existing documents are added.
- Two sentences of explanation next to the field are enough: what is asked and why the firm needs it. The page does not declare any building asbestos-free and does not threaten the fine of up to 50,000 euros (§ 26 (3) ChemG).
- Every service page whose work affects existing buildings states in one paragraph that the firm needs the construction year before work starts and how an additional check or sampling is charged.
What § 5a GefStoffV requires of the client
The Hazardous Substances Ordinance is largely addressed to employers. § 5a is an exception: it places the duty on whoever commissions work on buildings or technical installations. The ordinance calls this person the Veranlasser, the commissioning party. That can be builders, owners or tenants who hire a firm, but also contractors who pass jobs on to subcontractors in whole or in part (BAuA). Under paragraph 1, the commissioning party gives the firm carrying out the work all information available to it on the construction or usage history concerning existing or suspected hazardous substances before work begins, in writing or electronically. To do so, it uses the documents accessible to it with reasonable effort. § 5a says nothing about having the building inspected.
Damit festgestellt werden kann, ob Asbest vorliegt, hat der Veranlasser vor Beginn der Tätigkeiten an Objekten mit Baujahr zwischen 1993 und 1996 das Datum des Baubeginns des Objekts oder das Baujahr des Objekts, sofern das genaue Datum des Baubeginns nicht bekannt ist, an das ausführende Unternehmen schriftlich oder elektronisch zu übermitteln.
In English: so that it can be established whether asbestos is present, the commissioning party must send the firm the date construction began for buildings constructed between 1993 and 1996, or the construction year if the exact start date is not known. Sentence 2 adds the rule for all other buildings: for buildings constructed before 1993 or after 1996, the construction year is enough (§ 5a (2) GefStoffV). For the website, this means a year is sufficient for every construction year except 1993 to 1996; only in that window does the firm need a more precise date. Paragraph 3 makes clear that further duties under other regulations remain unaffected. Paragraph 4 expressly extends paragraphs 1 to 3 to private households (§ 5a (4) GefStoffV). The duty therefore also applies to the couple booking a tiler for the half bath and to the tenant who, with the landlord's consent, brings in a painter.
The rule has applied since December 5, 2024. The ordinance amending the Hazardous Substances Ordinance of December 2, 2024 inserted § 5a; it was promulgated on December 4, 2024 and entered into force the following day (BGBl. 2024 I No. 384). Anyone who, contrary to § 5a (2) sentence 1, that is for buildings constructed between 1993 and 1996, intentionally or negligently fails to send the start date or the construction year, or sends it incorrectly, incompletely or late, commits an administrative offense (§ 22 (1) no. 1 GefStoffV); the fine can reach up to 50,000 euros (§ 26 (3) ChemG). That sentence does not belong on the website. It does explain, however, why a careful client is grateful when the form reminds them of the detail before the first appointment is set.
Why the line is drawn at 1993
The general ban on manufacturing and using asbestos and asbestos-containing materials took effect in Germany on October 31, 1993 (BAuA). The Hazardous Substances Ordinance ties a presumption to that date that a firm may work with: if construction of the building began after October 31, 1993, it can generally be presumed that no asbestos is present (§ 11a (1) GefStoffV). What matters, then, is not the year the house was finished but the day construction started. A house with construction year 1994 may have been started in the summer of 1993, and then the presumption does not hold.
On top of that come transition periods, to which § 11a expressly refers. Until April 20, 1994 (Annex I No. 3.8 GefStoffV), the bans on placing products on the market did not apply to substances, preparations and products manufactured before October 20, 1993. For certain chrysotile-containing products, such as sewer and pressure pipes for civil engineering or seals for commercial use, they applied only after December 31, 1994 (Annex I No. 3.8 GefStoffV). § 5a (2) names only one purpose: establishing whether asbestos is present. In practice, this means that for construction years 1993 to 1996 the start date decides whether the presumption applies, and the firm keeps the transition periods in view.
| Construction year of the building | What the client sends | What the firm takes from it |
|---|---|---|
| before 1993 | the construction year | Asbestos-containing building products are to be expected; the risk assessment takes asbestos into account. |
| 1993 to 1996 | the date construction began, otherwise the construction year | If construction began after October 31, 1993, asbestos is generally not presumed; note the transition periods until the end of 1994. |
| after 1996 | the construction year | Asbestos is generally not presumed; the client's notes on other hazardous substances still need checking. |
| not yet known | send it before work starts, for example from the building file | Until clarified, treat it like an older building or check for itself. |
A year is only half the answer, though. BAuA points out that buildings from before the asbestos boom, that is before 1960 (BAuA), can also be affected, because asbestos-containing products may have been introduced during conversions and renovations. Conversely, for the question of protective measures, it is not only the start of construction that counts but also when conversion and extension work took place. For a tiler, it can therefore be more revealing when the bathroom was last tiled than when the house was built. That is why the form asks a second, optional question: was the area in question renewed after 1993?
What the firm has to do with the information
The client's information is not an end in itself; it feeds into the firm's risk assessment. Since the amendment, § 6 GefStoffV expressly lists the commissioning party's information under § 5a (1) and (2) among the points the employer assesses there (§ 6 (1) GefStoffV). The employer checks whether hazardous substances can be released during the work and endanger employees (§ 6 (2a) GefStoffV). If the information is not sufficient, the employer checks this itself as a special service and brings in outside expertise if it lacks the knowledge (§ 6 (2b) GefStoffV). If a technical survey is needed, it is a prerequisite for carrying out the work (§ 6 (2c) GefStoffV). For work where asbestos may be involved, § 11a (1) GefStoffV requires these steps before work begins:
- check the commissioning party's information under § 5a (1) and (2) for plausibility and take it into account,
- take the start date or the construction year into account,
- establish whether the work to be carried out is permitted under § 11,
- establish whether the work can release asbestos fibers,
- determine whether, given the planned protective measures, the work falls in the low, medium or high risk range,
- draw up a work plan in line with Annex I No. 3.2.
Two consequences reach all the way into the schedule. The firm notifies the competent authority of work involving asbestos at least one week (§ 11a (4) GefStoffV) before it starts, in writing or electronically; the type and scope of the notification depend on the risk range. And for work with exposure below 1,000 fibers per cubic meter (§ 11a (6) GefStoffV), paragraphs 1 to 5 do not apply; dust-reducing measures must be taken there. How work is classified in practice is described in the technical rule TRGS 519; if it is complied with, the statutory minimum requirements are deemed to be met (BAuA). A firm that learns the construction year only on the morning work begins cannot go through these steps calmly. A firm that receives it with the enquiry plans lead time, method and price at the same time.
The website does not replace a risk assessment
Which trades are affected
Asbestos is not only found in corrugated sheets on the roof. According to BAuA, it was used above all from the 1960s to the 1980s (BAuA) in boards, pipes and molded parts made of fiber cement, in seals, insulation, plasters, adhesives, fillers and coatings. More than 3,500 (BMAS factsheet 2016) different products were made from asbestos in Germany, and between 1950 and 1985 some 4.4 million metric tons (BMAS factsheet 2016) of asbestos were imported into West and East Germany. The factsheet from the Federal Ministry of Labour also noted that 80 percent (BMAS factsheet 2016) of Germans live in houses built before the asbestos ban. The construction year field therefore belongs not only on the page of a demolition firm but in the form of almost every finishing trade.
Painters and decorators
Plasters, fillers and coatings in older buildings. Sanding, stripping and scraping reach into these layers. The form asks for the construction year and when the surfaces were last replastered or filled.
Tilers
Tile adhesive was applied across whole surfaces, including in bathrooms. Anyone knocking off old tiles works on the adhesive underneath. Besides the construction year, what counts here is when the bathroom was last tiled.
Roofers
Asbestos cement in roof and corrugated sheets, facade panels and chimney pipes. The enquiry asks for the construction year and the type of roofing; a photo of the sheets helps with an initial assessment.
Joiners and window fitters
Window putty, seals, door and window reveals and flush doors are among the typical locations. When replacing windows or doors, the firm reaches all of them.
Electrical contractors
Drilling dowel holes and milling cable channels in walls with asbestos-containing filler counts as maintenance work. Insulation in electrical installations and night storage heaters comes on top.
Plumbing and heating
Radiator niches, pipe insulation, flange seals and asbestos cement pipes for fresh and waste water. When a heating system in an older house is replaced, the question belongs in the first enquiry.
The locations in the cards come from the guideline on asbestos surveys and the factsheet of the Federal Ministry of Labour (BAuA asbestos survey guideline 2020; BMAS factsheet 2016). The figures of the statutory accident insurance show how serious the subject is: in 2024, 1,888 (DGUV) insured persons died as a result of an occupational disease, and the majority (DGUV) of these deaths were due to asbestos-related illnesses. In the same year, 617 (DGUV) insured persons died of asbestos-related mesothelioma alone, a cancer of the lining of the lungs or abdomen. The illnesses follow exposure after a long delay: the factsheet gives an average latency of almost 40 years (BMAS factsheet 2016) between exposure and onset.
None of this calls for an alarmist tone on the website. A firm that takes asbestos seriously writes about it as matter-of-factly as about scaffolding, travel and disposal. Anyone planning websites for painters and decorators or for tilers puts the construction year field into the renovation and bathroom enquiry, for roofers into the repair and refurbishment enquiry, and for plumbing and heating into the heating replacement enquiry.
The form field: three options and a date
The form does not need to ask a legal question, just an everyday one: when was the house built? The answer options follow the thresholds of the ordinance. Anyone choosing before 1993 or after 1996 needs no further field; the actual year, which § 5a (2) accepts as the construction year detail, goes into the notes field or is given when the firm follows up before the quote. Anyone choosing 1993 to 1996 gets an additional field for the date construction began. This field appears only for that choice, and everyone else does not see it at all. The form thus stays as short as before for all other construction years. How many fields a trade enquiry can bear at all is covered in the article on fields in the enquiry form. The construction year joins those fields as an optional choice, not as another required asterisk.
| Field | Input | Required with the enquiry | Reason |
|---|---|---|---|
| Construction year of the building | Choice: before 1993, 1993 to 1996, after 1996, don't know yet | no, but needed before work starts | § 5a (2) GefStoffV, basis of the risk assessment |
| Start of construction | Date, appears only for 1993 to 1996; otherwise the construction year | not included | § 5a (2) sentence 1 GefStoffV |
| State of the work area | Choice: renewed after 1993, renewed before 1993, don't know | not included | shows how old plaster, adhesive or filler in the work area are |
| Notes on older materials | Free text and file upload, for example a survey report or an extract from the building file | not included | § 5a (1) GefStoffV: pass on available information |
| Role | Choice: owner, tenant, property manager | not included | shows who the commissioning party is and who holds the documents |
On a phone, ease of use is what counts. Three options stacked one below the other are quicker to hit with a thumb than a dropdown that has to be opened first, and the chosen option stays visible. The date field accepts a date in the format MM/DD/YYYY and, if the exact date is unknown, accepts the construction year as a substitute; the ordinance allows exactly that. The option "Don't know yet" is not a flaw in the process. It leads to a short note on where the construction year can be found and to a follow-up question from the firm before the quote.
Where clients find the construction year
Anyone who does not know the construction year can look for it in their own documents. BAuA names the building permit and the notice of commencement of construction, invoices or acceptance records; if these are missing, the owner can ask the local building authority to inspect the building file (BAuA). That sentence belongs under the field as a small aid. It fits what § 5a (1) requires: the commissioning party uses the documents accessible to it with reasonable effort. A tenant can simply ask the landlord or the property manager, who are more likely to have the building file at hand.
The explanatory note: two sentences, no legal advice
A field without explanation comes across as curiosity or as red tape. Two sentences right next to the field answer the question the client is asking: why does the firm want to know? The first sentence names the duty, the second the benefit for the client. Nothing more is needed, and nothing more should be there. The longer the text, the more it reads like a legal assessment, and a trade business does not want to give its clients that on its website. The firm helps the client meet their duty without effort and does not explain what the consequences of failing to do so would be.
Sample text next to the form field
What is not there matters just as much. The page does not promise that a building is asbestos-free, it does not threaten a fine, and it does not turn the detail into a required asterisk that blocks the enquiry. The duty is to send the information before work begins, not at the first click. The following table shows typical wordings and a more factual version.
| Instead of | Better |
|---|---|
| "There is no asbestos risk with us." | "For buildings where construction began before October 31, 1993, we check before work starts whether asbestos is to be expected." |
| "We are not allowed to start without the construction year." | "We need the construction year before work starts. If you don't know it yet, we will ask." |
| "You are legally obliged, otherwise you face a fine." | "Under § 5a GefStoffV, clients give us the construction year. That helps us plan safely and at the right price." |
| "Your house was built after 1993, so no asbestos." | "If construction began after October 31, 1993, asbestos is generally not to be expected. We are glad to note any older components." |
The service page: where the note goes
The form is the place for the detail, the service page the place for the explanation. Almost every firm already has a spot for it: 94 percent (Bitkom 2025) of the trade businesses surveyed use their own website. On every page whose work affects existing buildings, a short paragraph belongs under the service description: that the firm needs the construction year before work starts, what it does with older buildings and whether a check or sampling is charged separately. For tiling, it goes under bathroom renovation, for painters under renovation and facades, for roofers under refurbishment and repair. Why a separate page per service carries more than a combined page is explained in the article on service pages instead of one combined page.
The special service under § 6 (2b) deserves a sentence of its own. If the client's details are not sufficient, the firm checks for itself whether hazardous substances can be released and brings in outside expertise if needed. Whether and how this is charged should be stated on the service page already and later in the quote, as the article on the cost estimate under § 649 BGB describes for measuring up and preparation. A client who knows in advance that a material sample costs money is not surprised by the item in the quote. Incidentally, BAuA describes it as a safe and permissible approach to forgo a further survey and to base protective measures on the worst case (BAuA). This choice can also be explained on the page in one sentence.
Jobs from property managers and landlords are a special case. Firms that work regularly for property managers add the same note to their own page for property managers and ask in the form for the role of the person enquiring. The property manager is more likely to have the building file and earlier survey reports at hand than the tenant on the third floor, and often commissions several trades in the same building. The construction year of the building does not change, so the property manager can include it with every job in that building; notes on conversions differ from apartment to apartment.
From the form to the order
Enquiry with construction year
The form delivers the construction year, for 1993 to 1996 the start of construction, the state of the work area and any existing documents. These details appear at the top of the email to the firm, not somewhere in a long text.
Follow-up if something is missing
If the construction year is missing or the detail does not fit the photos and description, the firm asks before the quote and names the building file as a source. It checks the plausibility of the information under § 11a (1) anyway.
Quote with a note
The quote states the construction year received and how older buildings are handled: work method, possible sampling and how it is charged.
Confirmation before work starts
By the time the order is placed at the latest, the construction year is available in writing or electronically. The detail goes into the risk assessment, which the firm documents before work begins (§ 6 (8) GefStoffV).
The form delivers the construction year, for 1993 to 1996 the start of construction, the state of the work area and any existing documents. These details appear at the top of the email to the firm, not somewhere in a long text.
If the construction year is missing or the detail does not fit the photos and description, the firm asks before the quote and names the building file as a source. It checks the plausibility of the information under § 11a (1) anyway.
The quote states the construction year received and how older buildings are handled: work method, possible sampling and how it is charged.
By the time the order is placed at the latest, the construction year is available in writing or electronically. The detail goes into the risk assessment, which the firm documents before work begins (§ 6 (8) GefStoffV).
Sending in writing or electronically can be done just as well by form, email or a confirmed quote. Many firms already work digitally along this route: 85 percent (Bitkom 2025) of the 504 trade businesses surveyed offer at least one digital service, most often sending quotes or invoices digitally. Carrying the construction year from the form into exactly that quote then costs no extra step. The same principle of showing fields only when needed also carries a firm's other forms, for example for fault reports or maintenance appointments, just with different questions.
Technically, the detail ends up where every enquiry ends up: in the firm's inbox. For it to arrive there and not get stuck in the spam folder, the same rules apply as for every form email. Two things are added. The construction year fields appear visibly at the top of the email so that nobody overlooks them in a long message. And uploaded documents such as a hazardous substances report are filed like other job documents and deleted according to the periods the firm has set for enquiries that did not lead to an order.
What implementation costs
For an existing website, the construction year field is a manageable change: one choice field, one conditional date field, one explanatory note, one paragraph per affected service page and an adjusted email template. Ongoing website maintenance from 49 euros per month net, which can be canceled monthly with no minimum term, includes text changes on request and a monthly test submission of the form; a new conditional field is a small extension whose effort we state in advance.
If a new website is due anyway, the field is part of the planning: new website at a fixed price from 1,490 euros net, relaunch of an existing website from 2,900 euros net, hosting in Germany from 15 euros per month net, ongoing services can be canceled monthly with no minimum term, prices as of September 2026 (all prices at a glance). If you first want to know which of your service pages need the note, send us your website address via the contact page.
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