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Asbestos removal in Johannesburg and Gauteng areas, disposal and prices
One Department-registered contractor covers Gauteng from the East Rand: Germiston to Springs, Johannesburg's 1950s to 1970s suburbs, Pretoria, the West Rand and the Vaal. Removal is R150 to R250 per m² across the province.
Estimate your roof
House roofs run 120 to 180 m². Warehouses start around 500 m².
- Strip only
- R22,500 – R37,500
- Strip + new roof
- R97,500 – R142,500
WhatsApp. Reply in minutes during business hours. Or show us the roof from above.
Where the roofs are
Gauteng has more asbestos roofing than any other province, concentrated in the East Rand industrial belt and in the suburbs and townships built between 1945 and 1985.
East Rand
Germiston, Wadeville, Alrode, Boksburg, Benoni, Springs, Alberton, Kempton Park, Jet Park, Isando. Factory stock from the 1950s to 1980s with Big Six asbestos roof and side-cladding. Closest to the landfill, lowest end of the band.
Johannesburg
Kensington, Malvern, Rosettenville, Turffontein, Florida, Roodepoort, early Randburg, the 1950s to 1970s houses of Soweto. Industrial Booysens, Selby, City Deep, Cleveland, Denver, Industria.
Pretoria and Centurion
Pretoria West, Hercules, Daspoort, Silverton industrial, Rosslyn, older Centurion and Lyttelton. Longer drive to Holfontein shows up as a transport line, not a different rate.
West Rand and the Vaal
Krugersdorp, Randfontein and Roodepoort’s mining-era housing; Vereeniging, Vanderbijlpark and Sasolburg’s steel-era houses and factories. Same rate, same certificate.
Where the waste goes
Asbestos waste may only be disposed of at a landfill licensed for it under the National Environmental Management: Waste Act, 2008. In Gauteng that means a Class A hazardous-waste site, and the one the trade uses is Holfontein at Springs, operated by EnviroServ since 1990 and the largest of its kind in southern Africa. The sheets arrive double-wrapped and labelled, are logged, and you receive a disposal certificate.
A contractor who cannot name the landfill or produce the certificate is not disposing of it legally. Loose asbestos on open ground on the East Rand is where the cheap quotes end up.
Photo: angelo0690, CC BY-SA 2.0Do prices differ by area?
The removal band is the same across Gauteng: R150 to R250 per m², VAT included, for straightforward single-storey sheeting. What moves a quote inside the band is access and height, the condition of the sheets, distance to Holfontein, and how much asbestos there is beyond the roof: gutters, cladding, ceilings. City stands with no room for a skip need scaffolding or a hoist. The cost page has the line-by-line for a house and a factory.
Do I need municipal permission?
The asbestos rules are national: the Asbestos Abatement Regulations, 2020 under the OHS Act, and the Waste Act for disposal. A like-for-like re-roof does not normally need building plans; changing the roof structure or pitch, or adding a solar array, may involve the municipality’s building control and, for solar, the electrical certificate of compliance. Your contractor tells you which applies.
Questions people ask about asbestos removal in Gauteng
Do you cover the whole of Gauteng?
Yes. One Department of Employment and Labour registered asbestos contractor serves the East Rand, Johannesburg, Pretoria and Centurion, the West Rand and the Vaal. The removal rate is the same across the province; distance to the landfill shows up as a transport line on longer trips.
Where is asbestos disposed of in Gauteng?
At a landfill licensed for asbestos under the Waste Act, 2008. The site the trade uses is the Class A Holfontein hazardous-waste landfill at Springs on the East Rand, operated by EnviroServ. You receive a disposal certificate.
Is asbestos removal cheaper on the East Rand?
It tends to sit at the lower end of the R150 to R250 per m² band, because Holfontein is close and most of the stock is single-storey factory sheeting with good access. Rates are otherwise province-wide.
Does Soweto have asbestos roofs?
Widely. Asbestos-cement was the standard roof on houses built from the 1950s into the 1970s. Intact roofs are not an immediate hazard; the rules on removal and on solar installation apply exactly as elsewhere.
Do I need council permission to remove an asbestos roof in Johannesburg?
The asbestos work itself is regulated nationally under the Asbestos Abatement Regulations, 2020, not by the municipality. A like-for-like re-roof does not normally need building plans; a change in structure or an added solar array may involve building control and the electrical certificate of compliance.
Tell us the suburb and we take it from there
Send the suburb, a rough size and a photo on WhatsApp. The registered contractor covering your part of Gauteng comes back with a fixed, compliant quote.