Dundee woman sold flat at half its value because of Raac as £21.6m repair scheme approved
Yvette Hoskins sold her £100,000 flat for £55,000. She says 237 private owners facing repair bills must get financial help.
Craigie Drive in Dundee, one of the areas affected by Raac. File photo. · Photograph: Richard Webb (CC BY-SA 2.0)
A Dundee woman who sold her home for almost half its value because it contained Raac has called for financial help for private homeowners, as the city council approved a £21.6 million repair scheme.
Dundee City Council says 783 homes in 171 cottages and 74 blocks of flats are affected by reinforced autoclaved aerated concrete (Raac). Work on the repairs is due to start in January, following a £500,000 pilot project last year.
But 237 privately owned homes in the affected buildings will have to contribute to the cost.
'Daunting and devastating'
Yvette Hoskins and her family were selling their flat in the Craigie area when Raac was found in the roof of the block. The flat, valued at £100,000, was on the market for more than a year, and the home they planned to buy fell through.
She eventually sold it for £55,000, after offers as low as £35,000. She said the experience was daunting, devastating and emotional.
Ms Hoskins, who chairs the Dundee Raac Campaign Group, said many owners believe they were mis-sold their homes because they bought them in good faith without knowing about Raac. She said they face a lifetime of debt with no support from local or national government.
Council asks governments for help
At Monday's council meeting, Ms Hoskins asked councillors to consider removing Raac entirely or offering a buy-back scheme for private owners. Officers said a buy-back scheme would not be viable.
Council leader Mark Flynn won unanimous support for an amendment asking the chief executive to write to the UK housing secretary Angela Rayner and Scottish housing secretary Shirley-Anne Somerville, seeking a dedicated funding scheme for owner-occupiers. He also asked for assurances that the repairs would be accepted by mortgage lenders and insurers.
What is Raac?
Raac is a lightweight, cheaper form of concrete used mainly in flat roofs, but also in floors and walls, between the 1950s and 1990s. It is less durable than standard concrete and can fail when exposed to moisture.
The council's chosen fix uses plywood, timber joists and, where needed, steel beams to support the Raac so that it no longer carries any structural load. Councillors were told the pilot showed this approach works across a range of house types using conventional materials.