We can inform customers that our homes do not contain any visible signs of the concrete which previously saw many schools fully or partially closed, following an investigation of our properties.
Back in September 2023, after the sudden collapse of a beam in a school during the summer holidays, the Department for Education ordered more than 100 schools in England to fully or partially close due to structural safety fears in buildings where reinforced autoclaved aerated concrete (RAAC) was present, after the sudden collapse of a beam in a school during the summer holidays.
Following this, the Regulator of Social Housing wrote to housing associations emphasising that all landlords would be expected to know if RAAC components were present in their customers’ homes and to take appropriate action to address any safety concerns.
RAAC is a lightweight, bubbly form of concrete used between 1950s and the late 1980s, most commonly as part of flat roof construction, and to a much lesser extent floor and wall construction, due its lighter weight and lower cost compared to traditional concrete.
Although RAAC was not thought to be widespread within social housing, with its use primarily concentrated to public buildings, there was an understanding there may be some RAAC present within the social housing stock, particularly in buildings with a flat roof construction built during the 1950s to 1980s.
Responding to this, we identified all of our properties built between 1950 and 1989 which had a flat roof as part of their original construction. 1,122 properties meeting these criteria were then grouped into 14 distinct property types and a sample of each property type was surveyed by a qualified building surveyor to confirm the presence or absence of RAAC.
Non-invasive surveys to examples of each property type where the roof structure was visible where then carried out. Invasive inspections were undertaken at properties where the roof construction was not visible, which involved cutting small holes in the ceilings to expose the roof construction, which was particularly necessary on flat roof properties with no loft space. 197 properties were externally visited by surveyors and 70 properties across all 14 property types, had their roof construction confirmed. All properties inspected had no visible signs of RAAC construction.
Adam Stanley, Gentoo’s Surveying Services Manager, said: “Our customers’ safety and wellbeing are our highest priorities, especially when it comes to their home. We understand that recent reports about RAAC may have caused some concern. Our team of experts have visited properties where RAAC would potentially have been used in its construction. Of all the properties visited, no RAAC was identified. If you do suspect RAAC in your home, please notify your local housing officer.”
