- Asbestos removal
- Soweto
Asbestos roof removal in Soweto
Asbestos roof removal in Soweto costs R150 to R250 per m², with a new steel roof from R500 per m². Asbestos cement was the standard roof on Soweto’s houses from the 1950s into the 1970s, and many of those roofs, ceilings and gutters are still in place.
Registered removal teams only, a fixed quote after the site visit and a certificate on every job. About three weeks start to finish. Type the address, draw the part that needs to go, and the price is on the screen.
- Registered contractorsDepartment of Employment and Labour, Type 2 and 3
- Certificate on every jobAir monitoring and clearance certificate
- Licensed disposalLicensed landfill, disposal certificate
- Itemised quoteEvery quote itemised line by line
- Prices you can seeR150–R250/m², our Gauteng rates, Sept 2026
Asbestos roofs in Soweto
Asbestos-cement was the standard roof on Soweto’s houses from the 1950s into the 1970s, in Orlando, Meadowlands, Diepkloof, Dobsonville, Zola, Naledi, Jabulani and Pimville among others. Many of those roofs are still in place, sixty years on, often with asbestos ceilings and gutters to match.
Intact roofs are not an immediate hazard, and the rules apply exactly as elsewhere: removal above 10 m² by a registered contractor, licensed disposal, and no solar on the asbestos. Single-storey houses with street access are straightforward jobs at the standard rate.
Soweto, at a glance
- Strip and dispose
- R150 – R250 per m²
- 150 m² house, new steel roof
- R97,500 – R142,500
- Disposal
- Holfontein hazardous-waste landfill, Springs
- Notice
- 7 days to the Department
- Time on the roof
- 1 to 2 days for a house
- Region
- Johannesburg
- Municipality
- City of Johannesburg
- Typical job
- 1950s–70s single-storey house
our Gauteng rates, September 2026, VAT included. Priced after photos and a site visit.
Check the registration before you sign
A corrugated asbestos roof is Type 2 work, which only a contractor registered with the Department of Employment and Labour may do. Some contractors' registrations ran out on 25 September 2026, so check the expiry date before you sign. Every registered name and expiry date is on the list of registered asbestos contractors in Gauteng.
Questions people in Soweto ask
Is it safe to live under an old asbestos roof in Soweto?
An intact roof is not an immediate hazard; the risk comes when sheets are broken, drilled, sanded or cleaned, which releases fibres. Do not pressure-wash or scrub it, and have a cracked or crumbling roof looked at. The paint-or-replace guide covers what the law allows.
Can asbestos ceilings come out at the same time as the roof?
Yes, if you mention them when you ask for a quote. Indoor asbestos is removed under the same notice to the Department and cleared with air monitoring before the room is used again.
If I paint my Soweto roof, can I put solar on it?
No. Painting does not change what the sheets are made of, and the Department of Employment and Labour's November 2022 instruction bars installing solar panels on asbestos roofs. The roof has to be replaced first.
Soweto's 1950s to 1970s houses often have asbestos in the roof, the ceilings and the gutters, so ask for all three on one quote. Stripping costs R150 to R250 per m², a new steel roof from R500 per m². Some contractors' registrations ran out on 25 September 2026, so check the expiry date before you sign.
Get a checked, compliant quote in Soweto
Send the address or a photo on WhatsApp, or call. An estimate in minutes during business hours, then a fixed quote, itemised line by line, after a site visit.