Asbestos roof replacement

Which roofs might contain asbestos?

Asbestos-cement sheet roofing and some older decramastic tiles (in the bitumen coating) may contain asbestos ¹. You can't tell by looking. Testing should happen before any roofer starts ¹.

The rules, in plain English

• Removing more than 10 m² of non-friable asbestos (such as intact asbestos-cement roofing) at a workplace needs a Class B or Class A licence ².
• The 10 m² limit is cumulative for the whole project. It can't be avoided by splitting the job into smaller sections ³.
• Any amount of friable asbestos needs a Class A licensed removalist ³.
• Once you hire anyone to work on your home, it's a workplace and the rules apply to them ⁴.

How the job runs

1. Test samples and confirm the material.
2. The licensed removalist plans and notifies the work where required, then removes and wraps the material.
3. Waste goes to an authorised facility.
4. The roofer installs underlay and the new roof, usually straight after so the house isn't left open.

Cost

A September 2026 NZ guide puts asbestos roofing removal at roughly $50–$150 per m², with small residential jobs from about $1,500–$5,000, and notes testing, clearance and disposal can be separate line items ¹. The same guide cites Hutt City's 2026–27 asbestos disposal charge as a $205 minimum and $409 per tonne ¹. More in asbestos roof removal cost.