PCA Call on Government to support homeowners
A couple of weeks ago, we reported on the government stepping in to support homeowners who had improperly installed Internal and External Wall Insultation fitted (EWI and IWI).
In support of this, we joined forces with the HomeOwners Alliance in early February to write to the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero (DESNZ) and the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG) to request action on spray foam.
Over the last year, both the PCA and our members have seen an increase in queries relating to spray foam installations. Many are as a result of homeowners being unable to sell their homes or seeing exposés on the BBC.
In our joint letter to government, the HomeOwners Alliance stated that their work with the BBC highlighted that 25% of mortgage lenders would not lend, and no equity release providers, would lend on properties that have spray foam installed as a retrofit measure. The HomeOwners Alliance’s experience is that many more still struggle to access mortgages from the 75% of lenders which said they offer the product. We have also been made aware by members, that in some new build properties installed with spray foam, their owners are unable to access mortgages either.
Companies are continuing to advertise that spray foam can be installed via the government’s ECO4 and Great British Insulation Scheme grants.
Spray foam is not a popular form of insulation amongst our members. Regardless of your position on the material, government grants to install something, which may then need to be removed at great expense, is ineffective and does not represent a good use of taxpayer money.
As a result of this, the HomeOwners Alliance has advised homeowners not to install spray foam.
Our joint letter therefore calls on the government to bring together a roundtable of specialist property experts, lenders and equity release companies, to agree whether spray foam should continue to be included within government grants and to agree a process to support homeowners who have retrofitted spray foam installed.
We will share further updates as we receive a response from government.
To help those with spray foam installed, last year we established a register of spray foam surveyors to support those who were concerned, or needed support before obtaining a mortgage. This was further to the Sprayed Foam Inspection Protocol which was developed in 2023 and which all surveyors should follow when inspecting sprayed foam in-situ.