Reinforced Autoclaved Aerated Concrete (RAAC): Housing Stakeholder Minutes - 13 August 2024

Attendees and apologies

Internal stakeholders

• Housing Standards and Quality (Chair), The Scottish Government
• Building Standards Division, The Scottish Government
• RAAC Coordination Team, The Scottish Government

External stakeholders

• Aberdeen City Council
• Almond Housing Association
• Angus Council
• Association of Local Authority Chief Housing Officers (ALACHO)
• The City of Edinburgh Council
• Clackmannanshire Council
• North Lanarkshire Council
• The Institution of Structural Engineers (IStructE)
• The Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS)
• Scottish Federation of Housing Associations (SFHA)
• Scottish Housing Regulator (SHR)
• South Lanarkshire Council
• Stirling Council
• UK Finance
• West Lothian Council

Items and actions

Welcome

The chair welcomed everyone to the meeting and explained the purpose of this group was to provide a platform to share best practice and have discussions around RAAC in housing across Scotland, and in particular, social housing. The Association of British Insurers (ABI) were scheduled to join today but have sent apologies. The aim is to have them along to a future meeting but in the meantime, any immediate queries for ABI can be shared via Scottish Government officials.

Updates

UK Finance

There have been discussions between UK Finance and the Scottish Government around RAAC within private homes. UK Finance have also written to the Minister for Housing with a number of recommendations for actions. Key points from the discussion include:

• industry lines have been developed to assist homeowners who have found RAAC within their properties. This information is intended to provide assurance that mortgage lenders will be supportive however this depends on the level of insurance cover homeowners have in place:
  • if homeowners are worried about their mortgage payments, they should engage with their lender in the first instance
  • lenders will support customers and consider requests for mortgage switching (including both to new products with current lender, and external switching from current lender to a new lender). The challenges that homeowners may be faced with include obtaining accurate valuations of the property and uncertainties around how RAAC remediations will be paid for
  • lenders will consider requests for consent to let, however this is subject to the incoming tenant being made aware of the presence of RAAC in the property in addition to the property being safe for cohabitation
• UK Finance asked Ministers in their letter to provide funding for affected homeowners and clarity on remediation costs
• UK Finance also asked Ministers to introduce a scheme similar to that for pre-cast reinforced concrete. They feel that these measures in tandem will provide assurance to homeowners and the market
• the Scottish Government will be responding to these suggestions in due course

RICS

A representative from the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) provided an update, with key points noted below:

• RAAC is not currently viewed as a widespread concern across housing in the UK but rather a localised issue, and more prevalent in Scotland
• RICS feel that certain measures could help reduce uncertainties and help provide meaningful valuations, including:
  • clear mitigation and remediation plans being in place
  • certainty over the costs
  • certainty about who will foot the bill, and
  • the length of time needed to complete any remedial works
• it is important to note that there is no one size fits all solution, and that each property will be assessed on a case-by-case basis
• the traditional 'comparable method' is generally used when creating valuations for homes, and adjustments would be made for the nature of any RAAC remedial works required for properties
• RICS have created a RAAC hub at RAAC: Advice and FAQs (rics.org) which provides a number of free resources for homeowners to access
• RICS suggest a joint statement from the Scottish Government, UK Finance, RICS and IStructE which clarifies the messaging around the safety of RAAC would be helpful in order to promote a consistent approach and help alleviate any misunderstanding around RAAC

IStructE

An update was provided by the Institution of Structural Engineers (IStructE):

• a specialist RAAC study group which has pulled together technical experts, knowledge and resource has been created. The group has produced guidance which was previously commissioned by health and education establishments (initially this is where the main risks were seen)
• in terms of providing individual advice to councils and homeowners, this would be conducted through the members of IStructE
• there are roughly 700 chartered and incorporated members across 250 companies in Scotland that are able to carry out RAAC related work
• there is a significant amount of information on the IStructE website which homeowners can access including non-technical information. There is a find an engineer service in Scotland whereby homeowners can search by area and service need to find a suitable professional
• where there is a need for surveys in a particular area, the relevant local authority can provide a statement of need and IStructE will try to align them with the relevant professionals
• IStructE cannot instruct firms on fees that should be charged for RAAC surveys due to the Competition Act, however would consider producing a standard scope of work required to investigate RAAC
• where local authorities are already working with member companies within Scotland, they are advised to inform IStructE so they can ask them to join the study group, if they are not already members. This will help to ensure best practice is being shared
• IStructE were in agreement with earlier suggestions for jointed up consistent messaging on RAAC. If RAAC has been properly designed, installed and maintained, then it is as reliable as any other building material

Scottish Housing Regulator

An update was provided on social housing data collection:

• the SHR have been conducting data collection over the past few months around RAAC within social housing
• two formalised data collections have been completed, with the last one being in March 2024. Landlords provided updates as and when RAAC is found, or when investigations have concluded
• 140 landlords have not found any RAAC within their properties. 15 landlords have identified RAAC, of which 2040 homes have been affected. 10 landlords are still investigating if they have RAAC (within 3016 properties). An update is expected from these landlords by the end of September
• SHR's landlord engagement plans include requests for assurances that plans are in place to manage any RAAC found
• landlords continue to advise SHR if any new RAAC properties are found through 'notifiable events'
• an update will be provided to the public in due course

AOB

No other business was discussed.

Date of next meeting

To be confirmed.