The short answer
Demolition is construction work, so the Construction (Design and Management) Regulations 2015 (CDM 2015) apply to it. CDM 2015 places legal duties on the people involved in a project — the client, principal designer, designers, principal contractor and contractors — to plan, manage and carry out the work so that health and safety risks are controlled. Demolition specifically must be planned so that the risks are identified and managed, and where a building is to be demolished or dismantled, arrangements must be put in place to do it safely. The regulations sit alongside other duties such as the Control of Asbestos Regulations 2012 and the Section 80 notice. The HSE is the enforcing authority. CDM 2015 applies whether the project is large or small.
CDM 2015 is the backbone of construction health and safety law in Great Britain, and demolition falls squarely within it. This page explains who carries the duties and what the regulations require for demolition work.
Key facts
- Applies becauseDemolition is construction work
- Duty holdersClient, designers, contractors
- Senior rolesPrincipal designer / contractor
- EnforcerHSE
- Sits alongsideCAR 2012, Section 80 notice
Why CDM 2015 covers demolition
The Construction (Design and Management) Regulations 2015 apply to construction work in Great Britain, and the definition of construction work includes demolition and dismantling. That means a demolition project — from a single building to a large site clearance — is subject to CDM 2015 just as new building work is.
The purpose of the regulations is to make sure health and safety is considered and managed throughout a project, from planning to completion, rather than left to chance on site. For demolition this is especially important because the work involves significant hazards: structural collapse, working at height, falling materials, dust including asbestos, and risks to neighbours and the public. CDM 2015 requires these to be thought through and controlled before and during the work.
The duty holders and their roles
CDM 2015 assigns duties to specific roles. On a demolition project the main duty holders are:
- Client: the organisation or person for whom the project is carried out. The client must make suitable arrangements for managing the project, provide information, and ensure the right people are appointed. On commercial projects, additional duties apply, and on projects with more than one contractor the client must appoint a principal designer and principal contractor.
- Principal designer: plans, manages and coordinates health and safety in the pre-construction phase, including identifying and controlling foreseeable risks.
- Designers: anyone preparing or modifying designs must eliminate, reduce or control risks so far as is reasonably practicable.
- Principal contractor: plans, manages and coordinates the construction phase, including the demolition itself, and ensures it is carried out safely.
- Contractors: plan, manage and monitor their own work and that of any workers under their control.
Workers also have duties to take care of their own and others' safety. The exact appointments depend on the project, but the principle is that everyone in the chain has a defined responsibility for safety.
Planning demolition safely
CDM 2015 requires demolition or dismantling to be planned and carried out so that risks are managed. In practice this means the work is thought through before it starts and controlled as it proceeds. Key elements include:
- a survey and assessment of the structure, including its condition, how it will behave as it is taken down, and the presence of hazards such as asbestos;
- a written plan or method statement setting out the sequence of demolition and the controls to prevent collapse, falls and uncontrolled material movement;
- arrangements to protect the public and neighbouring properties, such as exclusion zones, hoarding and dust control; and
- competent workers and supervision, with the right plant and equipment for the method chosen.
These CDM duties run alongside the other legal requirements: the Section 80 demolition notice under the Building Act 1984, asbestos management under the Control of Asbestos Regulations 2012, and utility disconnections. The HSE enforces CDM and can take action where demolition is carried out unsafely. A well-run project treats CDM not as paperwork but as the framework that keeps everyone safe.
What the client needs to do
Clients often underestimate their responsibilities under CDM 2015, assuming safety is entirely the contractor's job. In fact the client sets the tone for the whole project and has specific duties. In practical terms, a client should:
- Appoint competent people: ensure the designers and contractors engaged have the skills, knowledge and experience for the demolition.
- Make suitable arrangements: ensure the project is set up and resourced so it can be carried out safely, with enough time and budget for proper planning.
- Provide pre-construction information: share what is known about the building, including survey findings such as the asbestos report, so risks can be planned for.
- Make the right appointments on multi-contractor projects: where more than one contractor is involved, appoint a principal designer and principal contractor in writing.
- Check arrangements are working: maintain oversight that the safety arrangements are being implemented, rather than appointing and forgetting.
For domestic clients having work done on their own home, some of these duties pass to the contractor or principal contractor, but the underlying expectation — that the work is planned and carried out safely by competent people — remains. Understanding the client role is important because the client's decisions on time, budget and appointments shape how safely the demolition can be done.
CDM in the wider demolition picture
CDM 2015 is best seen as the management framework that ties the safety of a demolition together, sitting alongside the other controls rather than duplicating them:
- With Building Control: the Section 80 notice and any Section 81 conditions deal with the council's safety requirements; CDM deals with how the project is planned and managed overall.
- With asbestos law: the Control of Asbestos Regulations 2012 govern asbestos specifically, and the survey and removal feed into the CDM planning of the demolition.
- With planning: planning permission or prior approval deals with whether and how demolition is acceptable in principle, separate from the CDM safety duties.
The HSE enforces the workplace health and safety side, including CDM. A demolition that is well managed under CDM — with competent duty holders, proper planning, a sound method statement and effective control of the principal hazards — is far less likely to harm workers or the public. Treating CDM as the organising framework for safety, and addressing the other controls in parallel, is the hallmark of a properly run demolition.
How CDM works on a typical demolition
It can help to see how the CDM duties translate into the actual stages of a demolition, because the regulations are designed to run through the whole project rather than sit at one point. In broad terms:
- At the outset: the client makes suitable arrangements, appoints competent people, and gathers pre-construction information including any asbestos survey, so risks are understood before anyone is on site.
- In the planning phase: the principal designer (or designer) and contractor identify the hazards, plan the demolition sequence and method, and decide the controls for collapse, falls, dust and the public.
- Before work starts: the principal contractor draws up the construction-phase plan, ensuring the method statement, exclusion zones, plant and competent workers are in place.
- During the work: the contractors carry out the demolition to the plan, supervise it competently, and adjust if conditions change as the structure comes down.
- Throughout: everyone, including workers, observes their duties, and the arrangements are monitored rather than assumed to be working.
This staged approach is why CDM is described as a management framework. It is not about producing paperwork for its own sake but about making sure that, at each point in the project, the right people have planned for the risks and are controlling them. On a small project the steps are proportionate and may involve fewer formal appointments, but the underlying logic — plan, manage, carry out safely, monitor — is the same. Combined with the asbestos rules, the Section 80 notice and utility disconnections, CDM 2015 is what holds the safety of a demolition together from start to finish.
Frequently asked questions
Does CDM 2015 apply to small demolition jobs?
Yes. CDM 2015 applies to construction work, which includes demolition, regardless of size. The way the duties apply can be proportionate to the project, but the core responsibilities to plan and carry out the work safely still apply even to small jobs.
Who is the client under CDM 2015 for a demolition?
The client is the person or organisation for whom the demolition is carried out — for example the property owner or developer. The client has duties to make suitable arrangements, provide information, and, on projects with more than one contractor, appoint a principal designer and principal contractor.
Who enforces CDM 2015?
The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) is the enforcing authority for CDM 2015 and for workplace health and safety on construction and demolition sites. It can inspect sites and take enforcement action where work is carried out unsafely or duty holders fail to meet their responsibilities.
Sources & further reading
Figures on this page are typical UK ranges drawn from published sources and depend on your specific building. They are guidance, not a quotation.