UK: The UK RAAC Campaign Group has formally submitted a letter and supporting research on Reinforced Autoclaved Aerated Concrete (RAAC) in residential buildings, calling for coordinated action to address what it describes as a national building safety failure affecting homeowners across the UK.

The correspondence was sent to the UK Secretary of State for Wales, Jo Stevens MP, and the UK Secretary of State for Scotland, Douglas Alexander MP, and copied to the Welsh Government’s Cabinet Secretary for Housing and Local Government, Jayne Bryant MS, and the Scottish Government’s Cabinet Secretary for Housing, Màiri McAllan MSP.

The submission includes a detailed letter and an accompanying research dossier focused specifically on the risks posed by RAAC in housing, rather than public sector estates alone. The Group is urging ministers in both devolved governments to press collectively for action at UK level.

In its letter, the UK RAAC Campaign Group argues that the widespread use of RAAC in residential housing represents a historic failure rooted in decisions taken before devolution and long before current homeowners had any involvement or knowledge. The Group maintains that devolved administrations should not be left to deal with the financial consequences of this legacy alone.

The Group highlights the growing impact on homeowners, many of whom face prolonged uncertainty, significant financial hardship, and the inability to sell, remortgage, or insure their homes. In some cases, residents have been displaced from their properties altogether, while others face remediation or roof replacement costs running into tens of thousands of pounds.

The supporting research submitted alongside the letter examines the historical promotion and use of RAAC and related building systems across the UK. It highlights warnings dating back to the 1980s and 1990s, missed opportunities to identify RAAC during housing surveys and stock transfers, and inconsistencies in inspection, identification, and reporting between England, Wales, and Scotland.

The UK RAAC Campaign Group also raises concerns about potential under-identification of RAAC in England compared with Wales and Scotland, suggesting that differences in regulatory oversight may be obscuring the true national scale of the problem.

In its submission, the Group calls for parity of support for affected homeowners regardless of where they live, and for a coordinated funding solution that prevents households from being forced into debt to make their homes safe.

Commenting on the submission, Wilson Chowdhry, Chairman of the UK RAAC Campaign Group, said:

“This submission has been made to ensure that ministers in both the UK Government and the devolved administrations are formally presented with the evidence on residential RAAC and the lived reality facing homeowners.

Families are trapped in homes they cannot sell, cannot insure, and in some cases cannot safely occupy, through no fault of their own. These are the consequences of historic construction decisions taken decades ago, yet it is residents who are now expected to shoulder the financial and emotional burden.

Our aim is to ensure that responsibility is properly recognised at the appropriate level and that homeowners are not left paying the price for failures that were never theirs.”

The UK RAAC Campaign Group has requested acknowledgment of receipt and clarity on next steps from both UK and devolved ministers. The Group says it will continue to engage with government until fair, consistent, and adequately funded solutions are put in place for homeowners affected by RAAC in residential buildings.