Spray foam: a reference for conveyancers, estate agents, surveyors and claims teams

Stick to what is documented. RICS says spray foam may affect a surveyor's opinion of value, and that surveyors must follow lender instructions^[3].

No one can predict a buyer's lender. A BBC survey of the 20 largest lenders (19 November 2024) found five would not lend and five decided case by case^[10], and the government said in August 2025 that spray foam alone should not automatically prevent lending^[11].

Be wary of percentages for value falls: none that this guide checked could be traced to a study, and RICS says only that spray foam may affect value^[3]. See spray foam claims checked against their sources.

Sellers may have been misinformed: Citizens Advice found some had been told by a trader, not a lender, that they could not get a mortgage^[12], and in July 2026 the PCA warned of fraudsters citing a "national database" of homes likely to lose value^[13].

Since 6 April 2025 the Digital Markets, Competition and Consumers Act 2024 has prohibited unfair commercial practices, including misleading omissions^[14]. How it applies to a listing is for your own compliance advice.

One-page checklist: estate agents

• Record where the foam is, when and by whom it was installed, and what paperwork exists.
• Pass on facts and documents; don't predict a lender's or valuer's decision.
• If a seller mentions a "national database" call, point them to how to check a caller.

More for agents: information for estate agents.

RICS's consumer guide (March 2023) says a foam-covered timber roof structure "cannot be fully seen or inspected" and that leaks may go unnoticed; it does not say removal is usually needed to inspect^[3]. The RICS Home Survey Standard sets roof-space inspection extents for its three survey levels, and its Level 3 survey does not mention spray foam, so reporting depends on the surveyor^[15].

The PCA and RPSA's Sprayed Foam Insulation Inspection Protocol (March 2023), published by the IMA, is a non-invasive visual framework with three outcomes: risk not significantly increased, risk increased, or insufficient information^[7]. It allows foam on the roof covering, or on a high-resistance (HR) underlay, to be assumed high risk, and sets no moisture percentage, no gap size and no fire section^[7].

HSE summarises BS 5250:2021, the British Standard on managing moisture, as requiring an air and vapour control layer (AVCL) plus a ventilated void of at least 25 mm under an HR underlay, and under a low-resistance (LR) underlay an AVCL plus an air gap in the counter-batten zone or, where no AVCL is practicable, treatment as HR^[16]. The modelling found low risk for open-cell foam applied to BS 5250:2021, and high risk for foam directly on the roof covering in every scenario^[16].

How does the Building Safety Regulator say its research should be used?

Its letter of 7 May 2024 says the research tests a limited number of scenarios by theoretical modelling, should not replace the industry-endorsed protocols, and is not installation guidance or a survey guide^[5]. The minister's letter the same day said spray foam should not by itself prevent lending, and that surveyors should check against BS 5250:2021^[17].

Product approvals, new homes and field data

Approvals are conditional: BBA product approval 23/7062 requires timber below 20% moisture by mass, and Kiwa BAR-19-132-P-A-UK a substrate below 19%^[18][19]. As published on 15 June 2026, UKAS has suspended its recognition of the BBA since 26 February 2026, until the BBA closes UKAS's findings or 25 November 2026 at the latest, with withdrawal possible otherwise; existing UKAS-backed BBA approvals stay valid to expiry^[6]. For new homes, a new-build warranty provider said on 11 August 2025 that it will not accept spray foam on pitched or flat roofs^[20].

Field data are limited: in May 2025 the PCA reported that, across more than 500 inspections by 15 register firms, 35% had a defect linked to the installation and major works were recommended in 27%, in homes already under suspicion; the figures rest on press reports^[21].

One-page checklist: surveyors and valuers

• State what the foam is applied to, and whether an AVCL is present.
• Note ceiling insulation left in place, services in the foam, and eaves ventilation.
• Check the approval number, its conditions and its status.
• Use "insufficient information" where that is the honest answer.

This section is information only. SprayFoamCheck inspection reports are independent evidence for the homeowner's own decisions; they are not prepared for lending purposes, and no one can promise what a lender will do.

As published on 11 August 2026, NatWest considers cases "subject to valuer's comments on their own merits"^[22]. Nationwide's 2026 criteria reconsider rafter foam on a full installation evidence pack, or on an invasive inspection by an MRICS or FRICS chartered building surveyor where the foam is over two years old^[23]. Accord's criteria page (checked 20 October 2026) lists homes where spray foam was used and later removed as unacceptable^[24].

For later-life lending, Aviva (March 2026) does not accept retrospectively applied foam^[25], while trade press reported new routes from other later-life lenders in July and September 2026^[26][27]. The dated table is in the mortgage guide.

One-page checklist: brokers (information only)

• Check the lender's criteria on the day; new later-life routes were reported in July and September 2026.
• Ask what the foam is, where it is, and whether it has been removed.
• Treat any inspection report as evidence for the client's decision, not a lender submission.

Section 75 of the Consumer Credit Act 1974 makes the creditor equally liable with the supplier for misrepresentation or breach of contract, within its cash-price limits^[28]. The decisions below show how the ombudsman reasoned in those cases; they are not predictions.

In two decisions on older sales, mortgage-warning arguments failed: the ombudsman found no evidence of lender restrictions at a 2020 sale, nor that all lenders opposed lending in July 2018^[34][32]. Time limits varied: the six-year limit was applied strictly to a 2016 sale in DRN-5561643, but was not argued by the lender in DRN-5455547^[35][32].

Why inspect independently before any removal?

In July 2026 the PCA advised an independent assessment before accepting removal advice from any firm with a commercial interest^[13], and the joint PCA and IMA consumer guide lists impartiality among its five tests for choosing an assessor^[36]. Removal takes some evidence with it^[31], though not always all: in one case file, foam already removed, Section 75 claim open: the evidence was still behind the felt, cured foam on the tiles showed where the felt had been holed when sprayed. Every loft is different.

What does an independent inspection report record?

It should separate what could be seen and tested from what the foam conceals, since a foam-covered roof structure cannot be fully seen^[3]:

• what the foam is sprayed onto, and any gaps in coverage;
• moisture readings at stated points, with the instrument used and its limits;
• visible timbers, battens, felt or membrane, and the covering;
• eaves ventilation, ceiling insulation left in place, and services in the foam;
• dated photographs, and a plain statement that timber behind the foam cannot be assessed without exposing it.

SprayFoamCheck reports follow that approach, from an inspector with no stake in removal; no report can promise a bank or ombudsman outcome.

One-page checklist: claims handlers and Section 75 teams

• Ask whether the foam is still in place.
• Check whether the report's author quoted for, or carried out, the removal.
• Look for actual damage evidenced by readings, photographs and locations.
• Make sure all evidence reaches the lender at the claim stage, and check the six-year limit: your consumer rights.

More for claims teams: information for claims firms.