Is RAAC Only Found in Schools and Hospitals?

Public attention around RAAC has focused heavily on schools and hospitals. This is understandable. These buildings serve vulnerable populations and were therefore prioritised when concerns about RAAC roof panels became more widely known.

However, this focus has created a misleading impression that RAAC is confined to the public sector.

In reality, RAAC was used widely across the UK construction industry for several decades. While schools and hospitals were major users, the material also appears in many other types of buildings, including those owned and operated by private organisations.

Understanding this wider distribution is important. Many building owners may assume they are unaffected simply because their properties fall outside the sectors most frequently mentioned in news coverage.

Why schools and hospitals dominate the headlines

Schools and NHS estates were among the first large building portfolios to carry out systematic RAAC investigations. These organisations manage thousands of buildings, many of which were constructed during the same post-war period when RAAC was widely used.

When issues were identified, the scale of those estates meant that large numbers of buildings were affected at once. This naturally attracted media attention.

The focus on public buildings, however, reflects where investigations began rather than where RAAC exists.

Where RAAC is actually found

Site surveys and research have shown that RAAC appears across a wide range of building types. Examples include industrial buildings and warehouses, offices, retail and commercial premises, leisure and sports facilities, government and civic buildings, and residential blocks and student accommodation.

Many of these structures share similar characteristics: flat or shallow-pitched roofs, lightweight structural systems and construction dates that coincide with RAAC’s peak use.

Because ownership and records can be fragmented in the private sector, identifying these buildings can be more challenging than within public estates. RAAC has also been noted to be widely used in rooftop extensions due to its lightweight nature and reduced impact on overall building loading. We have witnessed a number of lightweight mansard roof extensions on large properties, where the rest of the building is of a different age of construction and the presence of RAAC is unexpected.

RAAC in Industrial Buildings: an overlooked risk

Industrial estates and business parks are particularly important in the RAAC discussion.

Thousands of warehouses, factories and storage facilities built during the 1960s and 1970s used lightweight roof systems that may include RAAC planks. These buildings often remain in active use today.

Unlike schools or hospitals, many industrial properties lack continuous on-site maintenance teams or need for regular condition surveys. As a result, RAAC may remain unidentified for long periods. For businesses operating from these buildings, a key concern is often continuity of operations. Unexpected structural issues can disrupt production, logistics and supply chains and therefore have a very significant economic impact.

Why identifying RAAC matters

The presence of RAAC in an industrial unit does not automatically mean a building is unsafe, of course. Just like any structural material, the condition and configuration of the RAAC will determine the risk it poses, and a proper survey and structural assessment by a RAAC expert is absolutely vital. An expert-led inspection enables building owners to:

• Assess structural condition and risk profile properly
• Manage maintenance and inspection regimes
• Plan proportionate remediation where required
• Avoid unexpected disruption or emergency closures
• Control cost impacts

What RCS is seeing in practice

Investigations carried out by RCS increasingly involve commercial and industrial buildings, not just public-sector estates. In many cases, RAAC elements remain structurally adequate where panels have stayed dry, well-supported and within their original loading assumptions. In others, deterioration has occurred, necessitating targeted intervention. The key issue is not the type of building but the condition and structural role of the RAAC elements themselves.

A broader understanding of RAAC in the built environment

RAAC was used across the UK construction industry during a period when speed, efficiency and material availability shaped building design. As a result, the material is present in far more locations than early headlines suggested. The challenge now is to identify where it exists, assess its condition and manage risk proportionately.

For a wider overview of common misunderstandings about the material, see our guide to the five misconceptions about RAAC.

Frequently Asked Questions

Below are answers to some of the most common questions about where RAAC is found, which buildings may be affected, and how to identify it. If you can't find the information you're looking for, please get in touch with our team.

1. Is RAAC only found in schools and hospitals?

No. While schools and hospitals have received the most attention, RAAC has been used in many other types of buildings, including offices, warehouses, industrial units, retail premises, universities, and residential developments.

2. Can private buildings contain RAAC?

Yes. RAAC was widely used across both public and private construction during the post-war decades. Many privately owned buildings constructed between the 1950s and 1990s contain RAAC roof panels or structural elements.

3. Are industrial buildings likely to contain RAAC?

Many industrial buildings constructed during the 1960s and 1970s contain RAAC, particularly where lightweight roof systems were used. Warehouses, factories, and storage facilities from this period should not automatically be assumed to be unaffected.

4. How can you tell if a building contains RAAC?

RAAC cannot always be identified from drawings or external appearance alone. A professional RAAC survey by an appropriately skilled and experienced surveyor expert is needed to confirm whether the material is present.

5. Does finding RAAC mean the building must close?

Not necessarily. Many buildings containing RAAC remain safe to occupy once the material has been properly assessed and managed. Decisions should be based on structural condition and engineering evidence.