Spray foam and lenders
Does a surveyor’s comment on spray foam replace the lender’s own policy?
No. RICS tells you to check with the mortgage provider whether their policy allows the product. The survey describes the roof and the limits on the inspection. The lender decides whether they will lend on it. A sentence that foam is present is not a refusal, and a sentence that the roof looked tidy is not a lender’s consent.
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?
The consumer guide says there is often limited understanding of how spray foam affects valuation, surveys and lender decisions, and that an incorrect installation will be reflected in a valuation that has to follow the lender’s instructions. Those are three different documents: your survey, the valuation for the lender, and the lender’s criteria. You can pass all of them round. You cannot make one of them do the other two jobs.
Ask the lender, or the broker who will ask them, what evidence they want: removal, a specialist report, or the document pack. Do it before you pay for removal. RICS does not say every lender refuses foam. Anyone who tells you otherwise is adding a rule the guide does not contain.
What should you ask your surveyor?
- What will you be telling a lender about what you could not inspect?
- Are you advising removal, or only reporting the foam and the missing access?
- What documents should we attach if the lender asks for the installation pack?
What are the typical next steps?
- Get the lender’s answer in writing before you agree a price change or a removal.
- Give the valuer the survey limitation, not a shortened version.
- If the lender is content and the surveyor could not see the timbers, decide whether you are content. Those are separate decisions.
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 a broker waive the lender’s rule?
No. Only the lender can apply the lender’s policy. Ask them.
If one lender refuses, will the next one refuse?
Not by any rule in the RICS guide. Policies differ. Ask the next lender rather than assuming a ban.