Difficulty in selling, damages to property, and scammers revealed as potential side effects to the service
Homeowners have been warned about the potential dangers and consequences of using spray foam insulation in their homes.
Nationwide Building Society have highlighted the potential damage unreputable firms offering the service could cause to homes, as more and more households seek to better insulate homes amid rising energy costs. This follows reports of some people’s ceilings collapsing after installing the foam.
Nationwide have claimed they have seen a large rise in enquiries relating to spray foam insulation. This phenomenon is explained by Rob Stevens, head of property risk at Nationwide, who stated:
“Given the cost-of-living crisis, given the fact people are worried about climate change… this is a time when people are susceptible to taking out these products.
We want to make sure people know the right way to do it and are able to insulate their houses in a safe way which saves them money.”
What could prove an equally concerning issue to homeowners with foam insulation is reported difficulties in selling, taking out a mortgage, or releasing equity from such properties. A reason for this is there is significant difficulty in recognising foam insulation from legitimate and illegitimate companies.
Simon Storer, who works for the Insulation Manufacturers Association (IMA), has said:
“We are well aware of the issues being raised.
Therefore collectively, with insurers, mortgage lenders, with surveyors and other people within this sector, we are working to create a protocol which should give the reassurance to them, so they can lend against these properties when the installation has been done professionally and correctly.”
Storer added that there spray foam does possess a bad reputation, even when installed by a reputable firm, an attitude he hopes to rectify as he continued:
“It is completely unhelpful to have a blanket response to spray foam applications. What this does is… spread fear and doubt and opens the way for unscrupulous operators to target all applications for removal when this is patently not necessary.”
Paula Higgins, HomeOwners Alliance Chief Executive, commented:
“For years spray foam roof insulation has been on a government list of approved measures. And homeowners have been able to access government grants to reduce the cost of installing it in their homes. So we are shocked and dismayed that homeowners doing the right thing are now being financially penalised: they either pay over the odds to remove the spray foam or remain stuck with homes they will find difficult to remortgage or sell.
Before it makes it to ECO+scheme government needs to sort the mess out. Homeowners can’t be expected to pay for government-backed energy efficient measures only to have to pay twice over again to get it removed when they come to sell or remortgage. If lenders and surveyors can’t agree a sensible view on spray foam insulation then homeowners need to be warned up-front and the government needs to require insulation companies to run a warning of the consequences of installation on their marketing material.”
However, the Royal Institute of Chartered Surveyors has advised homeowners to hire an independent expert to assess whether the insulation is right for their home and encouraged people to seek alternative solutions to better insulate their homes.
