RAAC

Who identifies RAAC, and does the home survey include a RAAC fee?

A chartered or incorporated structural engineer determines the condition of RAAC panels if they are present, which is the Institution of Structural Engineers’ position. A home survey can record what it saw and can suspect, but it does not finish that identification. The RICS consumer guide says the cost of a survey is variable and that there is no national tariff. It does not state a RAAC fee, so do not invent one.

Last reviewed 24 October 2026. Written for buyers in England and Wales unless this answer says otherwise. No named surveyor has signed this page. It is general guidance, not a report on your house, and not legal advice.

What is the fuller explanation?

IStructE’s guidance is for engineers appraising panels, not for a buyer circling a grey soffit. If the surveyor has used the word, ask what they saw and then follow that route. If they have said the deck was not identified, the next step is still an inspection by someone who can name it, not a louder sentence in the same report. A roofer can talk about felt. The engineer talks about the panels.

Do not import a headline about how these panels behave. The RICS consumer guide does not add a number, and neither should you. There is also no published RAAC supplement inside the variable survey fee. If an engineer is instructed, their fee is whatever they quote for that building. The home survey remains the visual report you have. Do not ask it to pretend it was the assessment IStructE describes.

What should you ask your surveyor?

Are you suspecting RAAC, or have you left the deck unidentified?
What should an engineer be shown?
Are you adding an engineer’s RAAC charge that the consumer guide does not state?

What are the typical next steps?

Instruct a chartered or incorporated structural engineer if panels may be RAAC.
Do not add a fee the consumer guide does not state.
Do not ask a roofer to sign a RAAC clearance.

Costs vary with the building and with who you instruct. Where this page does not cite a published figure, ask the surveyor, a relevant specialist, or your solicitor for a written quote. Do not treat a forum average as the price.

Also asked about this

Can the mortgage valuer identify it instead?

A valuation is for the lender. It is not the engineer’s RAAC assessment IStructE describes, and it is not a reason to invent a fee.

Does a higher survey level include the engineer?

No. A home survey at any level is still not that structural assessment. The engineer is a separate instruction.