A Welsh social housing provider has revealed that 60 of its homes are affected by reinforced autoclaved aerated concrete (RAAC).

Trivallis says the properties on the Gower estate in Hirwaun are the only homes it owns that are affected by RAAC, and that it hasn’t found any critical risks amongst the rest of its stock.

The housing provider was recently informed that the RAAC was a critical risk, which could be the same in 40 other homes which are similar.

The issues were discovered through survey work, and Trivallis said: “Because we take tenant safety very seriously, we told the people living in these 40 homes about this as quickly as we could. On Monday, we advised them to move out and offered hotels to people who wished to leave that night.

“We understand that for some tenants, moving out is difficult – they have children in local schools, pets, jobs, or other things that make it hard to just leave. We’ve spent the last two days having conversations with everyone to find out what they will need if they move. We’ve also been helping the private owners.”

The Gower estate includes a further 17 privately-owned properties that are also affected by RAAC.

RAAC is a form of lightweight concrete used in construction in many buildings between the 1950s and 1990s. It is highly aerated with different material properties to conventional concrete.

Last month around 500 council homes and private-owned properties in Aberdeen were found to be affected by RAAC, leading to hundreds of people being rehoused.

In summer 2023, the UK Department for Education reported incidents had emerged over the summer period which gave rise to concern over a potential higher safety risk.

On 8 September 2023 the Minister for Finance and Local Government and the Minister for Education and Welsh Language set out the actions being taken to assess the wider public estate, including social homes, for the presence of RAAC.

Travallis added: “No one is being forced to move. It is up to each family to decide. But if people do choose to move out, we will give them lots of support. This includes help to get to work or take their children to school or finding somewhere for their pets to stay.

“We understand that this is very stressful for the people living in these homes. The tenants who have been advised to move are dealing with the anxiety caused by the RAAC in their home. The disruption of moving quickly will also have a big impact on them.

“We know there will be anxiety amongst other Trivallis tenants who will be worried that their homes have RAAC which could be dangerous. But, just to be clear, the homes in Hirwaun are the only homes of this type that we own, and our current data hasn’t highlighted other risks.”

As part of the Welsh response to the increased risks highlighted by the UK Department for Education, all social landlords were asked to assess their social housing stock for the presence of RAAC.