Housing Time Bomb: Why Scotland’s RAAC Victims Are Taking to the Streets
“We are not invisible. We are not collateral damage. We are homeowners abandoned by the system.”
On Wednesday 18th June 2025, RAAC-affected homeowners from across Scotland will gather outside the Scottish Parliament in Edinburgh from 9:00am to hold a peaceful but resolute protest. Their goal is to demand real action from the Scottish Government on a crisis that has uprooted lives, drained finances, and left hundreds of families feeling forgotten.
The protest coincides with the scheduled hearing of a key public petition—PE2150, submitted by campaigner Wilson Chowdhry, Chairman of the UK RAAC Campaign Group—to the Citizen Participation and Public Petitions Committee. The petition calls for an urgent amendment to the remit of the Scottish Housing Regulator (SHR) or the creation of a new body altogether, to ensure that owners of ex-council homes are protected during structural crises like the one currently unfolding due to Reinforced Autoclaved Aerated Concrete (RAAC).
A Crisis in the Shadows
RAAC, a cheap and lightweight building material widely used between the 1950s and 1990s, has become synonymous with structural failure. In publicly built buildings across the UK, and especially in Scotland, RAAC has been found to crack, sag, and even collapse with little warning. Once praised for its affordability, RAAC is now a source of fear and instability.
Yet while the public sector has scrambled to inspect and mitigate risks in schools, hospitals, and social housing, one group has been consistently and cruelly overlooked: private homeowners who purchased former council houses. Many of these individuals—elderly residents, single parents, and low-income families—used Right to Buy schemes to achieve the dream of homeownership, only to find themselves trapped in crumbling, unsafe buildings. Local authorities had quietly offloaded liability for structural issues like RAAC, failing to declare these risks at the time of sale—despite growing evidence that councils were already aware of safety concerns related to the material. These homeowners were handed a ticking time bomb, with no warning, no support, and now, no protection.
In towns and cities like Tillicoultry, West Lothian, Dundee, Glenrothes, Aberdeen, and beyond, families have faced sudden evacuations, uncertain futures, and in some cases complete silence from authorities. Some are living in temporary accommodation far from work and school; others remain in RAAC-affected homes simply because they have nowhere else to go.
The Petition: PE2150
Wilson Chowdhry’s petition is a direct challenge to the institutional void homeowners find themselves in. Currently, the SHR’s responsibilities are restricted to social tenants—those who rent from councils or housing associations. This means that when a private homeowner in an ex-council house discovers dangerous materials like RAAC, they have no regulator to turn to, no statutory advocate, and no coordinated government response. Responsibility for a solution currently rests with local councils, but these authorities ubiquitously pursue routes of support that align with their own priorities—often proposing remedial schemes that would force homeowners to shoulder costs of tens of thousands of pounds, pushing many into homelessness or bankruptcy. An independent body is urgently required to ensure that these homeowners receive a fair, unbiased, and equitable resolution.
The petition calls on the Scottish Parliament to:
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Expand the SHR’s mandate to include private owners of ex-council properties, or
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Create a new body specifically tasked with protecting these homeowners.
The new or updated regulatory body would:
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Monitor safety standards and conduct inspections in homes affected by structural issues.
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Coordinate support, including financial assistance and rehousing options, especially where local authorities have conflicts of interest.
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Ensure transparency by requiring authorities to disclose known structural risks, including RAAC.
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Provide advocacy and oversight for homeowners facing structural crises.
The Numbers Tell the Story
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2,445 social homes in Scotland have been officially confirmed to contain RAAC.
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1,357 privately owned homes (former council homes) have been identified as affected through FOI requests.
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The total number of RAAC-affected residential properties in Scotland is now estimated at 3,844 or more—though campaigners argue this number is significantly underreported.
Despite these figures, there remains no clear policy, no coordinated response, and no financial package to support those privately affected.
“This is a national housing emergency hidden in plain sight,” says Wilson Chowdhry. “We have people living in homes that could literally collapse over their heads, and no one is taking responsibility because they no longer rent from a council.”
A Call to Action
The protest on 18th June isn’t just about a petition—it’s a demand for dignity, justice, and recognition. It’s about ensuring that no homeowner is punished for taking pride in their home ownership. That no family is left behind simply because they signed a mortgage instead of a tenancy agreement.
Homeowners, campaigners, and supporters from across Scotland will stand outside Holyrood in the hope that elected officials finally listen—not just to data, but to the human cost behind the numbers.
The group invites members of the public, media, and MSPs to attend the protest, speak with affected homeowners, and join in the call for immediate reform and support.
“We didn’t cause this crisis. But we are living with its consequences. We won’t be ignored any longer.”
Event Details: Protest for
🗓 Date: Wednesday 18th June 2025
🕘 Time: From 9:00 AM at 10.15 AM participants will enter Holyrood to hear the petition committee's deliberations.
📍 Location: Scottish Parliament, Edinburgh
To learn more about the petition, visit:
[Petition PE2150 on the Scottish Parliament Website] (Petition link)
If you would like to support the campaign, speak at the protest, or offer media coverage, please contact:
Wilson Chowdhry
📧 wilson@aasecurity.co.uk
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