There's a lot of noise around spray foam, from installers who insist it's fine to removal firms talking up the fear. So here's something more useful: what the professional bodies have actually said, on the record, with sources you can check yourself.
Key takeaways
- The Property Care Association says lenders and surveyors are "rightly concerned" about defects from poorly installed or inappropriate spray foam.
- A joint RPSA and PCA investigation could not identify any circumstances in which a spray-foamed roof could be given a clean bill of health while the foam is in place.
- RICS published a consumer guide in 2023 so homeowners can make informed decisions, and lender caution has hardened since.
What the Property Care Association says
The PCA is the trade body for property care specialists, and it published an inspection protocol for spray foam in 2023. Its chief executive Stephen Hodgson put the position plainly: "many lending institutions, surveyors and property professionals are rightly concerned about the risks of defects that can occur as a result of poorly installed or inappropriate sprayed foam" (2023).
Note the framing: the concern is professional and structural, not hysteria. The protocol exists because surveyors needed a consistent way to assess foam they cannot see behind.
What the surveyors' associations found
The Residential Property Surveyors Association went further. A joint RPSA and PCA investigation reported that it had "failed to identify any circumstances" in which a spray-foamed roof could be given a "clean bill of health", and the RPSA estimated up to 250,000 UK homes could be affected (RPSA, 2021).
That's the single most consequential finding in this subject: not that every foamed roof is rotten, but that no professional can certify one sound while the foam hides the timbers.
What RICS tells homeowners
The Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors published a consumer guide to spray foam insulation in March 2023. Sam Piplica, RICS senior specialist in building standards, said its focus is "to educate and raise public awareness of potential issues surrounding spray foam, so that people can make informed decisions based on research and due diligence" (2023).
When the surveyors' professional body writes a public explainer about an insulation product, that tells you where the profession stands.
What the lender research shows
Research by the BBC with the HomeOwners Alliance found that a quarter of the UK's biggest mortgage providers will not lend against homes with spray foam in the roof (BBC, 2024), and in equity release the door is all but closed to homes where foam was added after construction.
Our own sourced summary of where individual lenders stand is kept alongside this, with the same caveat the experts give: policies change, so always confirm your lender's current position.
What this means if you own a spray-foamed home
Put the expert positions together and the picture is consistent. The foam isn't banned and isn't an emergency if you're staying put, but it blocks inspection, and inspection is what mortgages run on. That's why lenders respond the way they do, and why the professional consensus points to removal with documentation when a sale or mortgage is in play.
If that's where you are, the fix follows the same logic the experts describe: professional removal, an independent look at the timbers, and the paperwork that lets a surveyor sign off. Check your eligibility in 60 seconds using the button below.
