Spray foam in UK homes: history, schemes and how many homes have it

The earliest firm UK date found is 2008, when the British Board of Agrément (BBA) issued product approval 08/4598 for an open-cell foam system^[1]. The earliest approval found specifically for foam on the underside of roofs is BBA 10/4771, first issued on 20 August 2010 for a closed-cell foam, including its use to re-fix tiles and slates^[2]. A 2011 approval, BBA 11/4816, covered spraying closed-cell foam directly onto the underside of clay tiles and slates on roofs with no underlay^[10].

Foam insulation more broadly is older. The installers' trade body BUFCA says it was registered in March 1986^[11]. The chemistry behind polyurethane foam dates from 1937, but no source found shows foam being sprayed in the 1940s, a claim that circulates online^[12].

A common claim is that spray foam has been used successfully in UK homes for about 30 years. No primary record behind that figure was found: a 2020 RICS journal article repeats it and describes one 1970s installation on a Cornish slate roof as an example, not as evidence of wider use^[13]. The modelling for the Building Safety Regulator records that spraying straight onto tiles was more common in the past^[14].

Concern grew from 2021, when the RPSA and the PCA warned about hidden roof timbers and lending^[3]. A government consultation on consumer protection closed in September 2026, with no response published by 20 October 2026^[15].

The PCA survey figures come from homes already under suspicion, not a random sample^[29]. For what Parliament and ministers said in detail, see what the government has said about spray foam. For the BBA suspension, see spray foam product approvals explained.

Nobody knows. The estimated figure of 250,000 comes from a December 2021 statement by the surveyors' association RPSA and the Property Care Association (PCA), a trade association, which said there "may be as many as 250,000" UK homes with spray foam^[3]. That wording makes it an upper bound, and no method for reaching it has been published^[3].

Since then the number has been repeated as if it were a count. A Commons Library article carried "around 250,000"^[38], and the manufacturers' trade body says "more than 250,000" properties have been treated with spray or injected foam, without giving a source^[39]. RPSA withdrew its guidance in October 2022, but the figure stayed in circulation^[21].

The government holds no figure for spray foam installations, and its schemes keep no list of eligible products^[5]. A Citizens Advice poll of 12,476 adults in January 2025 found 15% saying they had spray foam in their loft^[30]. That share is far higher than any other figure, so the poll's detailed percentages need caution. Other figures seen online, such as 150,000 or 300,000 homes, could not be traced to any source; see spray foam claims we checked.

One more caution: 250,000 was an estimated upper bound for homes that may have foam. It was never a count of homes refused a mortgage or unable to sell^[3].

Some was, but the government says most was not. In January 2026 the energy department said "most spray foam loft insulation has been installed outside of our schemes"^[4]. Outside a scheme, a homeowner's protection depends on their own contract with the installer^[40].

The schemes did not name spray foam. The Green Homes Grant did not specify which types of insulation could be installed, only that TrustMark-registered installers work to the relevant standards^[41]. Its list of measures named pitched-roof insulation but not spray foam^[6]. In 2022 a minister said spray foam was acceptable under the installation standards used for government schemes, and that installers were responsible for recommending suitable products^[42].

The government's counts cover all pitched-roof insulation, not spray foam alone^[5]:

• Green Homes Grant: 6,217 pitched-roof measures.
• ECO4: 1,698, to August 2025.
• Great British Insulation Scheme (GBIS): 130, to August 2025.

The spray foam share of those numbers is lower and unknown^[5]. Even so, some people who got foam through a scheme trusted it for that reason: Citizens Advice found clients naming the Green Homes Grant and ECO4 as their funding, and trusting the product because a scheme provided it^[30].

The Green Homes Grant ran for about six months; ECO4 is still open until the end of 2026 (as at 20 October 2026)^[6][7].

The Commons Library's January 2026 briefing gives the Green Homes Grant closing date as March 2022, and its July 2026 update left this unchanged^[34]. The government's own scheme guidance gives 31 March 2021^[6].

Scotland note. Home Energy Scotland's grant and loan pages now state that funding is not available for spray foam insulation (read 20 October 2026)^[47]. Older guidance saying some spray foam measures could be funded is out of date.

No. In March 2025 a minister said "There are no government schemes to support private homeowners" to pay for removal^[9]. For scheme-funded work, the route the government describes is for the installer to put things right, then a claim on the installation warranty, with TrustMark's support^[48]. Ministers say scheme customers can claim on their warranty even if the installer has ceased trading^[40].

Be cautious of anyone who says a grant will pay for removal. For warranties when the installer has gone, see spray foam installer gone bust?, and for removal sales tactics see spray foam cold calls and scams.