Spray foam insulation is an important and effective method of improving the energy efficiency of our homes and buildings, but as with many construction improvements, installation must be done in accordance with all necessary approvals and relevant permissions.
Spray foam must always be installed in line with the manufacturers’ instructions and be carried out by a registered and professional spray foam installer. There has been a lot of mis-information about spray foam, with some homeowners being advised to remove spray foam in order to sell their property. This has given rise to unscrupulous traders gaining information about where spray foam has been installed and targeting the homeowner to have it removed at significant cost.
The number of cases with a genuine reason to remove the spray foam is extremely small and in most cases where removal was carried out, no problems were identified, the roof was in good condition with no rot or additional moisture detected and the spray foam application had been correctly installed. Therefore, there was no technical or performance reason to remove the spray foam.
If an installation has been carried out correctly, with all accompanying pre-installation checks and post installation documents, there should be no reason for a lender not to provide the necessary finance.
If you do not have any paperwork for your installation, contact the original installer to request this. If they are no longer in business, you may need to have your property inspected by a qualified chartered surveyor.
To request a survey of your property, you should contact the Royal Institute of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) and appoint a surveyor with knowledge of spray foam insulation.
If you have spray foam installed in your property and are approached either by a spray foam removal company or a claims company please take time to carry out research into the company yourself and do not rely on the information they provide to you. Here are some points you should consider:
- What is their ulterior motive?
- Are they really experts in insulation and what are their credentials?
- If you check the company out with Companies House has the company changed its name and had different trading activities?
- Have the company’s directors listed at Companies House been involved in another company which installs spray foam?
- Are they making claims about Government grants or schemes that don’t hold up?
These are all tactics that are taking place now.
In 2022/23 IMA spent time working as part of a group to develop a protocol to assist surveyors when inspecting homes with spray foam in roofs. The group was established by the Residential Property Surveyors Association and the Property Care Association and drew in contributions from a wide range of organisations and individuals including lenders, surveying groups, surveyors, spray foam suppliers, trade bodies and heritage organisations. You can find a copy of the protocol here.
The protocol provides sufficient knowledge for surveyors to recognise competent and professional installations and to provide a route to lending approval.
If you are contacted by a company and are unsure about the veracity their claims, we strongly suggest you report this to Trading Standards. All complaints to trading standards go through a central point which is handled by the Citizens Advice Bureau. You can make a complaint via this link: https://www.citizensadvice.org.uk/consumer/get-more-help/report-to-trading-standards/
The claim that all properties with any spray foam application are un-mortgageable is as untrue and spreads fear and doubt, opening the way for unscrupulous operators to target homes for removal.
February 2026
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