Many of you will have been aware that a number of schools around the country have been unable to reopen after the summer holiday due to the presence of RAAC (reinforced autoclaved aerated concrete) being discovered.
This is a material that was used for non-load bearing structures, typically found in public buildings erected between 1950 and 1990.
In the last week there has been an increased focus on the potential for RAAC to be present in social housing stock and we wanted to be transparent with you, our residents on what this means.
The safety of our residents is always paramount, which is why we conduct surveys of our portfolio on an ongoing basis to identify any risks or hazards. Our regular stock condition surveyors have not identified RAAC in any of our homes and buildings, having surveyed almost 21,000 of them as part of our wider building safety measures.
Given these surveys, and recent analysis of our entire portfolio, we deem the risk of RAAC being present in our properties to be low. Despite this, we’re carrying out dedicated investigations into 67 specific blocks built during the period of RAAC being used. Twenty of these reviews have already been completed with no RAAC found and we expect to complete checks on all residential blocks and housing in the coming weeks.
We are working with fellow G15 housing associations (the major housing associations in London) to ensure our response to the issue is joined up and are on hand to offer assistance and statistics to relevant bodies where necessary. Residents in any affected homes would be kept fully informed throughout this process.
