RAAC

Nothing on the visit sampled a stain, opened a plank soffit or tested a diagnosis of RAAC the stain colour does not make. What has to stay undecided?

The diagnosis has to stay undecided, and so do the cause of the stain and the condition of the plank soffit. Nothing on the visit sampled the stain, opened the soffit or tested a diagnosis of RAAC. Stain colour does not make that diagnosis. A home survey has not investigated or sampled the plank. RAAC is a form of concrete panel that IStructE says needs investigation. The report can record a mark on a surface. It cannot decide that the panel is this material, or that it is not, from paint and a colour.

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?

Paint and a stain sit on the face the surveyor could see. Water, an old leak or decoration can all leave a mark, and none of those stories identifies the panel. Opening a soffit and sampling are a different job from a home survey. Until that happens, panel type and condition stay outside the report. Saying the colour looks like a known problem would invent a test the visit has already refused to claim.

Tell the solicitor that no sample was taken and that the panel type has neither been confirmed nor ruled out. Ask the seller for any records that name the roof or floor panels. A lender may want a specialist investigation rather than this visual limit. If you continue, instruct someone competent to investigate the plank. The home survey will not open the soffit and will not turn the stain into a diagnosis later.

What should you ask your surveyor?

Where was the stain, and what could be seen without opening the soffit?
Does the report state that no sample was taken?
Which questions are left for a specialist rather than answered?

What are the typical next steps?

Treat the stain as an untested mark.
Ask the seller for records that name the panels.
Instruct a specialist if the panel type must be known.

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 second look from the same room finish the diagnosis?

Another look from the same room still sees paint and a stain. It does not sample the plank or open the soffit. This visit did not investigate the panel. A diagnosis needs that separate investigation, not a repeated glance at the colour of the mark.

Should the seller repaint before anyone else attends?

Repainting would cover the mark the surveyor recorded. It would not identify the panel and it would not investigate the soffit. Leave the surface until a specialist has said whether the mark matters. The home survey has not called the coating sound and has not called it a failure.