RICS Spray Foam Guidance: What It Actually Says

The Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) has published one piece of guidance on spray foam: a consumer guide called "Spray foam insulation", published in March 2023. There are no RICS spray foam rules from 2024, 2025 or 2026. This page explains what the guide says and the separate industry inspection protocol that lenders' surveyors use.

RICS guidance is advice, not a pass/fail test

The RICS consumer guide explains how spray foam can affect a survey and a valuation. It does not set a minimum ventilation gap, timber moisture limits or a required survey level. Valuers follow their lender clients' instructions, so each lender's own policy decides whether it will lend.

What is RICS and Why Does Its Guidance Matter?

RICS (Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors) is the professional body for chartered surveyors, including many of the surveyors and valuers who inspect homes for buyers and mortgage lenders. You can check whether a firm is RICS-regulated on the RICS firms register.

What the RICS guide does and does not do:

It is a consumer guide
Written for homeowners and buyers, explaining what spray foam can mean for surveys, valuations and mortgages.
It is not an installation standard
Installation guidance comes from elsewhere, such as the Insulation Manufacturers Association code of practice for spray foam in roofs (May 2023).
It explains the lender link
Surveyors carrying out valuations must follow their lender clients' instructions and policies.
It tells you what to keep and who to ask
Keep the paperwork, and get advice that is independent of the installer and manufacturer.

Spray Foam Guidance: What Is on the Record

Much of what is written online about "new RICS rules" is wrong. These are the published documents and statements, in date order.

2021–2022

Early industry guidance withdrawn

Guidance published by the RPSA and PCA in November 2021 was withdrawn in October 2022.

2023

RICS guide and PCA protocol

• March: RICS publishes its consumer guide, "Spray foam insulation"
• March: the PCA publishes its Sprayed Foam Insulation Inspection Protocol
• May: the Insulation Manufacturers Association publishes a code of practice for installing spray foam in roofs

2024

Research and lender survey

• March: Building Safety Regulator research on the moisture risk of spray foam on timber sloped roofs
• October: IMA "Guide to Spray and Injected Foam Insulation"
• November: BBC research finds a quarter of the biggest lenders, and all equity release lenders, it surveyed would not lend with spray foam in the roof

2025–2026

Government position and current work

• March 2025: government says there is no public money for removal
• June 2025: government says foam installed to the relevant standards "should not require removal or prevent homeowners obtaining a mortgage"
• January 2026: House of Commons Library briefing CBP-10658 (updated July 2026)
• March 2026: the minister, lenders, manufacturers, Citizens Advice and the PCA agree further work on lending (HomeOwners Alliance)

What the RICS Consumer Guide Says

1. Spray Foam Can Affect a Valuation

RICS: "The presence of spray foam insulation is a factor that could affect a surveyor's professional opinion of value."

A surveyor valuing a home for a mortgage must follow the lender's instructions and policies. That is why the same roof can be acceptable to one lender and not another.

2. It Restricts Inspection and Is Hard to Reverse

RICS says spray foam restricts inspection of the roof space and is "not easily reversible". The Energy Saving Trust says it is "considered a permanent installation", and removal may mean replacing what it was applied to.

On moisture (not from RICS): Building Safety Regulator research (March 2024) found risks are low for open-cell foam applied in line with BS 5250:2021. The highest risk is foam applied directly onto the roof covering, and an air and vapour control layer reduces the risk. The Energy Saving Trust notes closed-cell foam is not vapour permeable.

3. Keep the Paperwork

RICS advises keeping:

• The installation contract
• Relevant calculations
• Details of works carried out to the roof
• Any guarantee or warranty
• Any independent test certificate, such as a BBA or Kiwa certificate

UKAS suspended the BBA's accreditation in February 2026 (still suspended at its June 2026 update). Existing BBA certificates remain valid until they expire.

4. Get Independent Advice, and Ask Your Lender First

RICS recommends getting "independent expertise, commercially separate from the installer and manufacturer", and checking with your lender before having spray foam installed.

The PCA Inspection Protocol (Not RICS)

The industry inspection protocol written for lenders' valuation surveyors comes from the Property Care Association, not RICS.

• Sprayed Foam Insulation Inspection Protocol, March 2023
• Written with the RPSA and a lender and surveyor working group
• Designed for valuation surveyors assessing pitched roofs
• The PCA has a spray foam assessor membership category, searchable on its website
• The PCA has no in-house surveyors and has warned about people posing as PCA surveyors

Ask which protocol a report follows

Before you pay for a spray foam survey, ask whether the report follows the PCA protocol and whether your lender will accept it. There is currently no dedicated British Standard for spray foam removal.

Common Misconceptions About RICS Spray Foam Guidance

Myth #1: "There are new RICS spray foam rules for 2024 or 2025"

Reality: The only RICS spray foam guidance is its consumer guide published in March 2023. RICS has not published any spray foam guidance since.

Myth #2: "RICS says spray foam needs a 50mm ventilation gap"

Reality: The RICS consumer guide does not set a minimum gap, timber moisture limits or a required survey level. Ask your surveyor what their report is based on.

Myth #3: "RICS bans spray foam"

Reality: It does not. It explains that spray foam could affect a valuation and that valuers follow lender policies. The government has said foam installed to the relevant standards should not need removal or prevent a mortgage.

Myth #4: "All spray foam has to come out"

Reality: A consumer guide from the PCA and other industry bodies says removal may not be needed where the risk is low. Get an independent survey before paying for removal.

Myth #5: "The PCA will send its own surveyor"

Reality: The PCA has no in-house surveyors and has warned about people posing as PCA surveyors. Find a PCA spray foam assessor yourself on the PCA website.

How to Find Out Where You Stand

Ask Your Lender or a Broker What They Need

Lender policies differ and change. Many ask for a survey to a recognised protocol, so find out what yours will accept before commissioning one.

Commission an Independent Spray Foam Survey

For example from a PCA spray foam assessor. The HomeOwners Alliance puts a specialist spray foam survey at £500–£700. Get a fixed quote first.

Gather the Paperwork

• Contract, calculations and details of any roof work
• Guarantee or warranty, and who provides it
• Product certificate (BBA, Kiwa or similar)
• Whether the installer is still trading

Note What You Know Before the Survey

Tell the surveyor:

• When it was installed and by whom
• Open-cell or closed-cell, if known
• Any roof leaks or repairs since
• What your lender has asked for

From the loft hatch, without disturbing the foam:

• Is foam sprayed straight onto the underside of the roof covering?
• Any damp stains or musty smells?
• Any stains on ceilings below the roof?

Sources

Last reviewed September 2026.

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