Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:

To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, if his Department will provide guidance to home owners with rotten loft timbers caused by spray foam insulation on taking steps to find appropriate insurance.

We are aware of issues that some homeowners are finding after having sprayed foam installed in their loft space and have worked with the industry and stakeholders to find a resolution.

The insulation, lending, and surveying communities published new protocols in March 2023 to allow an assessment of these spray foam installations. These describe a structured route to assessing risks from this type of insulation and are intended to provide reassurance to lenders and insurance providers. These can be found here: https://www.property-care.org/resources/spray-foam-insulation-inspections and Guides & Documents - IMA (insulationmanufacturers.org.uk). These include advice that building professionals surveying spray foam insulation should be familiar with the requirements of BS 5250:2021 where this relates to hygrothermal evaluation or suitable condensation risk assessment.

We will continue to work with regulators and industry to ensure that insurers and lenders take a fair and proportionate approach when considering building-related risks. Correspondence between departmental officials and the regulator has been published on the gov.uk website.