Can you get a mortgage on a house with spray foam? What lenders publish

One reason is that the foam hides the roof timbers. RICS, the surveyors' professional body, says a timber roof covered in spray foam cannot be fully seen or inspected, and leaks may go unnoticed^[9]. The Property Care Association (PCA) says foam hides the trusses, rafters and sarking (the layer under the tiles), so rot, cracks and leaks cannot be seen^[10].

RICS says spray foam may affect a surveyor's opinion of value, that the surveyor may ask for an independent specialist report, and that surveyors must follow the lender's instructions^[9].

The PCA said in February 2025 that lenders fear some foams trap moisture and cause decay; it cited no evidence^[11]. Modelling for the Building Safety Regulator found low risk for open-cell foam installed to the British Standard BS 5250:2021, and high risk wherever foam was sprayed directly onto the tiles or slates^[12]. The detail is in does spray foam cause condensation or rot?.

In November 2024 the BBC asked the 20 largest mortgage lenders about homes with spray foam in the roof space. Five (TSB, Skipton, the Co-operative Bank, Principality and the lifetime mortgage provider Aviva) said they would not lend, two would not usually lend where the foam is significant, one would lend only on an authorised new build with documentation, and five decided case by case on the valuer's report. The published reports name 13 of the 20; the table below gives each lender's latest published position^[1].

Since then, the Co-operative Bank's own criteria say it can consider open-cell foam under conditions^[3], and More2life was reported in September 2026 to consider homes with spray foam through a managed-repairs route^[13]. In October 2026 a DESNZ policy paper listed the Co-operative Bank among eight lenders open to lending, subject to their own requirements^[31].

A line repeated in several articles says only 25% of lenders will lend on spray foam. That reverses the BBC finding: about a quarter refused outright, and most of the rest decided case by case^[1].

These are dated snapshots, not advice: check current criteria, or ask a broker, before relying on any row.

A missing entry in a lender's criteria does not mean the lender has no position. For new-build homes, a major new-home warranty provider said in August 2025 it will not accept spray foam on pitched or flat roofs, even with a UKAS-recognised third-party approval^[20].

The criteria and statements above name these kinds of evidence:

• Installation documents showing the work followed the manufacturer's instructions, or was done by an authorised installer^[3][15].
• A product approval from the BBA, BRE or Kiwa^[3][2].
• A pre-installation survey and a condensation risk assessment (a check of whether moisture is likely to condense in the roof)^[2].
• A transferable warranty, insurance-backed for the Co-operative Bank; Nationwide counts it as one part of the pack, not a substitute for the rest^[14][2].
• An invasive inspection by an MRICS or FRICS Chartered Building Surveyor, reporting on the roof frame, any remediation or removal needed, and the costs (Nationwide)^[2].
• A specialist report following the PCA protocol (HSBC's statement), or a structural engineer's report if the surveyor asks (Santander's statement)^[16].

These mirror the handover pack in the PCA inspection protocol (March 2023), which also expects moisture readings taken before installation and confirmation that the work followed the product approval^[21]. See what paperwork you should have. Warranty evidence can be hard to produce once the companies behind it have gone, as in Installer in liquidation, sale planned: all 23 timber readings elevated in midsummer.

Where an independent inspection fits. An independent inspection is evidence for your own decision: whether to keep the foam, remove it or renegotiate. It is not a report for a lender, and no one can promise what a lender will do. If a lender names a particular kind of report, such as Nationwide's Chartered Building Surveyor inspection, that is the lender's requirement^[2].

Ministers have said several times that spray foam on its own should not stop a mortgage, while leaving lending decisions to lenders^[22][8].

• June 2022: a written answer said lending is a matter for lenders and the government had no plans to intervene^[22].
• 7 May 2024: Housing Minister Lee Rowley wrote that spray foam should not by itself prevent lending, and that surveyors should check against BS 5250:2021 and keep using the industry protocols^[23].
• 6 December 2024: in a Commons debate, the minister said there should be no blanket mortgage exclusion^[24].
• 17 June 2025: a written answer said work meeting scheme standards would not be expected to need removal or prevent a mortgage, as surveyors can apply a published inspection protocol^[25].
• 18 August 2025: the government's response to the Energy Security and Net Zero Committee (HC 1260) said spray foam alone should not automatically prevent lending; cases should be decided individually after a survey^[8].
• 22 October 2026: a DESNZ policy paper said many mortgage providers are open to lending on homes with spray foam, subject to their own requirements, and named Nationwide, Lloyds, Santander, Barclays, NatWest, Coventry Building Society, the Co-operative Bank and HSBC as examples. Being named is not a promise to lend: each lender's own criteria still apply, and the paper says removal will not always mean a lender will lend^[31].

The full list is on what the government and Parliament have said.

Some later-life lenders now consider homes with spray foam and others decline; this section is information only^[26][13].

• Aviva's lifetime mortgage criteria (March 2026) list homes with spray foam applied after construction as not acceptable^[26].
• Legal & General's later-life criteria (23 June 2026) decline retrofitted foam still in place, accept original-build foam with conditions, and accept removed foam only if removed by a PCA member "or similar", with residue cleared, a roof report by a structural engineer or chartered surveyor, repairs and building control sign-off^[5].
• More2life was reported on 1 September 2026 to consider cases with spray foam present, with repairs managed through a third party^[13].
• Another later-life lender was reported on 22 July 2026 to offer remortgage and equity release routes for these homes^[27].

So it is no longer accurate to say no lifetime mortgage provider will consider them^[27]. The industry consumer guide advises taking advice before refinancing or releasing equity^[28].