The short answer
Only your lender can say. A lender decides for itself what evidence it will take, and no roofer can speak for it. The RICS consumer guide tells owners to put that question to their mortgage provider. So ask the lender in writing what evidence it wants, then have the removal report written to meet that request.
A certificate is only as good as the lender's willingness to read it. Ask first, then shape the paperwork around the answer.
Why we cannot promise a lender will accept it
People often ask for a certificate as if it were a pass mark. It is not. A lender is a separate business with its own valuation rules and its own surveyors, and what it accepts is its decision alone. We cannot tell you how a particular lender will treat a particular report, and nobody honest in the trade can.
What does RICS say you should do?
In its consumer guide on spray foam insulation, RICS puts the first question to your mortgage provider: does its lender policy allow such products in the home at all? The same logic applies to a home that has had foam taken out, since the lender may have a view on that too. The lender's policy is the thing to read, before you spend money on paperwork nobody asked for.
So the first step costs nothing. Phone or write to your mortgage provider and say the property has or had spray foam in the roof, and ask what evidence it wants. Keep the reply, as an email or a letter, with the date on it, because it is the instruction your paperwork is written to. If a buyer's lender is involved, ask the buyer's solicitor to pass the same question to that lender.
What a good removal report contains
A lender or valuer reading a report wants to see that the work was done properly, that the roof structure was left sound and that nothing was simply covered over again. That means clear, dated evidence, not a single line saying the job is finished.
What should the report actually say?
The useful ones cover the address and the dates of the work, where the foam was and which parts of the roof it covered, how it was removed and how much of it was taken out, and what was found underneath. They record the condition of the felt, battens and rafters once uncovered, and any timber or felt that had to be repaired or replaced. They also say what was done with the waste and who carried it away, which tells the reader the job was handled start to finish.
Photographs matter most. Dated pictures of the roof as found, part-way through and finished show the surveyor what the roof looked like under the foam, which is exactly what a valuer cannot otherwise see. We take them as part of every job, and they are the same photos you see yourself during the survey and the work.
Getting the lender's wording right
Lenders and valuers use different language from roofers, and a report that answers the wrong question gets sent back. Once your lender has told you what it wants, show us the wording before the work starts.
Can the report be written to match the lender's request?
Within what we actually do, yes. If the lender asks for a statement that all foam was removed from the roof void, we can give one only if that is true when the job ends. If it asks for an opinion on moisture or timber condition that needs a specialist, we tell you that plainly and suggest the right person to ask. A report that claims more than the work delivered is worse than no report, because a surveyor who finds the gap will doubt the rest.
Some owners also pay for a separate survey after removal from a surveyor who has no stake in the work. The lender may prefer that independent view, and it is worth asking. Our page on what to do when a surveyor flags spray foam explains how that conversation usually starts.
Keeping the paperwork for a sale or remortgage
A report is useful for far longer than the job itself. Whoever buys the house, or whichever lender reviews the mortgage later, will ask what happened to the foam. Put the report with the deeds and keep the digital copy of the photos.
What should I do with the report afterwards?
Give a copy to your solicitor when you sell, and tell the buyer's solicitor it exists before they ask. A seller who can hand over a dated report and photographs has a far smoother conversation than one who says the foam came out some time ago and cannot show how, or by whom. Our guide to selling a house with spray foam covers the sale side in more detail.
If a removal is going ahead with a lender's request on the table, send us the lender's letter. We survey first, quote one written price afterwards, and draw the report up around what you have been asked to supply. The whole process sits on the spray foam removal page.
More on lenders and reports
Should I ask my lender before or after removal?
Before. The lender's answer tells you what evidence to collect, and some of it, such as photographs taken while the roof is open, cannot be collected afterwards. Asking first also lets you plan the work around any inspection or sign-off the lender wants.
Is a removal certificate the same as a surveyor's report?
No. A certificate or report from the roofer records the work that was carried out, in the roofer's own words. A surveyor's report is an independent opinion on the condition of the roof. A lender may want one, the other or both, which is one more reason to ask for its requirements in writing before anything is booked.
The full picture: Spray foam insulation removal in Taunton ยท More short answers