RAAC

Does a seller’s letter that says there is no RAAC replace an inspection?

No. A letter is only a sentence, and if no survey or engineer sits behind it, nothing has been identified. IStructE says that where the construction is unclear it should be inspected, and that if RAAC planks are present a chartered or incorporated structural engineer should determine their condition. The letter does not do that, and the home survey does not become an engineer’s report because the seller is confident.

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?

Sellers write these notes when a buyer’s lender asks a blunt question. Confidence is not a soffit. If your surveyor could not see the deck, the honest answer is that it was not identified, not that the seller’s letter cleared it. If the surveyor saw timber, the letter is unnecessary but harmless. If the surveyor suspected RAAC, the letter does not overrule the suspicion.

Do not edit the survey to match the letter, and do not accuse anyone of a motive. Ask what the letter is based on. A previous engineer’s report, if it exists and refers to this building, is a document to read. A line in an email is not. The RICS consumer guide says cost is variable and that there is no national tariff. Do not invent a fee for “RAAC clearance” the seller thinks the surveyor owes them.

What should you ask your surveyor?

What did you see, regardless of the seller’s letter?
Is the deck identified, unseen, or suspected RAAC?
Are you treating the seller’s letter as your inspection?

What are the typical next steps?

Give the lender the survey, and the engineer if there is one, not only the letter.
If the deck was not seen, say it was not seen.
Do not pay anyone a made-up RAAC fee quoted from this report. There is not one.

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

Does the letter count if a builder signed it?

A builder’s note is still not the structural assessment IStructE describes. Read what they actually inspected.

Can the home surveyor sign the seller’s sentence to be helpful?

Only if it matches what they saw. They should not sign a clearance of a deck they did not identify.