Sellers' Guide

Selling a Flat With Cladding or Fire Safety Works Outstanding

If your building still has unsafe cladding, or fire safety work that has been identified but not done, the question is not whether you can sell but who can buy. This guide explains the three things a lender looks for, the paperwork that decides whether you have them, where the money for the works is coming from and what each situation does to the price.

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A man standing at the floor-to-ceiling window of a modern flat with his hands in his pockets, looking out at scaffolding and a hoist on the block opposite where the cladding is being replaced

Can You Sell a Flat Before the Cladding Is Fixed?

Nine years after Grenfell, around four in ten of the buildings in England identified as having unsafe cladding have been fully fixed, and tens of thousands of flat owners are still waiting for scaffolding that has been promised for years. Some have had sales fall through twice. Some have been told their flat is worth nothing. Most of what they were told in 2021 is no longer true, and the rules that now apply are better than most sellers realise.

This guide sets out those rules as they stand in October 2026, in the order a buyer's lender applies them. For the background on what an EWS1 form is and how the cladding crisis unfolded, our guide to EWS1 and cladding covers it. This page is about getting a flat sold while the works are still outstanding.

Selling a flat with cladding or fire safety works outstanding: a practical guide

This guide is general information, not legal advice. It covers England. Wales has its own Building Safety Act and the leaseholder protections described here do not apply there.

Written and kept up to date by the Sell Flat UK team at LDN Properties Ltd, who have bought flats in buildings with outstanding cladding and fire safety works since the first EWS1 forms appeared. Last reviewed on 14 October 2026.

What a Lender Looks For: Three Gates

Ten of the largest lenders, including Barclays, HSBC, Lloyds, Nationwide, NatWest and Santander, have signed an industry statement on cladding, last updated in April 2025. For a building of 11 metres or more, which is roughly five storeys, they will consider a mortgage before remediation has happened if the flat passes through any one of three gates.

  1. The developer has agreed to fix it. More than 50 major developers have signed government contracts committing them to remediate buildings of 11 metres or more that they built or refurbished in the last 30 years, at their own cost. If yours is one, the managing agent will have the letter.
  2. The building is in a government funding scheme. The Building Safety Fund covers buildings over 18 metres. The Cladding Safety Scheme covers 11 to 18 metres. A one-off fund for the most dangerous buildings under 11 metres took applications for eight weeks from August 2026 and has now closed. Being accepted into a scheme, with a programme of works, is what the lender wants to see.
  3. Your lease qualifies for the leaseholder protections, and you can prove it. The Building Safety Act 2022 shields qualifying leaseholders from the cost of cladding remediation altogether, and caps what they can be charged for other fire safety work. The proof is a leaseholder deed of certificate, explained below. A lender who sees a valid one knows the buyer cannot be landed with the bill.

The lender may still ask for an EWS1 form or a fire risk appraisal of the external walls, and a flat with a B2 rating, meaning remediation is needed, will usually be lent on only where there is a funded plan with dates. From 1 November 2026, under a new RICS standard, valuers must give a reason before asking for an EWS1 at all, and the request is tied to the building's height, cladding and balconies rather than being routine.

Pass through a gate and you are selling to the whole market, mortgage buyers included. Fail all three and you are selling to cash buyers who price the risk themselves. Everything else in this guide follows from that.

The Paperwork That Decides It

The EWS1 form and the fire risk appraisal

An EWS1 is a one-page form completed by a qualified professional for the benefit of lenders and valuers. It is not a fire safety certificate and it says nothing about whether the building is safe to live in. It rates the external wall: A1, A2 and B1 mean no remediation is needed, A3 and B2 mean it is. A form is treated as current for five years, and the big lenders have said they will not insist on a fresh one just because the old one has passed that date. A fire risk appraisal of external walls, a fuller report under the PAS 9980 standard, is accepted by most lenders in its place.

The landlord's certificate

The freeholder has to complete one of these when they want to pass any remediation cost on, and when a leaseholder asks or a flat is sold. It states whether the freeholder is, or is linked to, the developer, what the building is worth and what the freeholder's own group is worth, which together decide who pays. If the freeholder was the developer, or is wealthy enough under the Act's test, the cost falls on them, qualifying lease or not.

The leaseholder deed of certificate

This is yours. It confirms that your lease was a qualifying lease on 14 February 2022: the flat was your only or main home, or you owned no more than three properties in the UK in total, and the lease is a long lease of a flat in a building of at least 11 metres or five storeys. The status attaches to the lease, not to you, so a buyer who takes a qualifying lease keeps the protection even if they are a landlord with twenty flats. The freeholder can ask you to complete the deed and you have a set time to return it. Miss it, and the lease can be treated as not qualifying for that round of costs, so answer it when it comes. Your solicitor will prepare a fresh one for the buyer on sale.

The fire risk assessment and the works programme

The building's fire risk assessment, which the managing agent must hold, lists the fire safety defects and what is being done about them. The works programme, from the developer, the scheme or the freeholder's contractor, gives dates. Together they tell a buyer how long the disruption will last, which is the question behind most price negotiations.

Where the Money for the Works Comes From

A buyer's solicitor will want to understand this before exchange, so it helps to know it yourself.

  • Cladding remediation. For a qualifying lease, the leaseholder's share is nil. The cost falls on the developer if they signed the contract, otherwise on the freeholder if they are linked to the developer or meet the wealth test, otherwise on the government schemes. Non-qualifying leases are only protected where the freeholder is responsible.
  • Other fire safety work, such as replacing fire doors, fixing compartmentation or installing alarms. For a qualifying lease the total a leaseholder can be charged over ten years is capped: nil for flats worth under £175,000, or £325,000 in London; £10,000 for flats above that outside London; £15,000 in London; higher caps for flats worth over £1 million. Anything paid since 28 June 2017 counts towards the cap.
  • Interim measures, such as waking watch patrols, temporary alarms and higher insurance premiums. These count against the same cap for a qualifying lease, but they arrive through the service charge month by month and they are what a buyer sees first in the accounts.
  • The timetable. The government's Remediation Acceleration Plan says buildings over 18 metres with unsafe cladding must be fixed by the end of 2029, and buildings of 11 to 18 metres by the end of 2031, with fines for freeholders who miss the dates. The Remediation Bill that would make those deadlines law was announced in May 2026 but had not been introduced to Parliament at the time of writing. Describe the dates to a buyer as the government's target, not as a legal promise.

Our guide to section 20 notices explains how the freeholder consults on the share leaseholders do pay, and our guide to selling with major works planned covers how that interacts with a sale.

Buildings Under 11 Metres

Most of the rules above do not apply to buildings under 11 metres, which is most converted houses and low-rise blocks. The government's position is that these buildings rarely need cladding removed, that an EWS1 should not be asked for, and that fire safety problems in them are usually dealt with by cheaper measures. The leaseholder protections do not apply either, so there is no deed of certificate to give a buyer.

In practice, each lender sets its own policy for low-rise buildings and most lend without difficulty. The problem cases are small blocks where a surveyor has spotted combustible material on a balcony or a panel of timber cladding and the valuer wants comfort. A fire risk assessment that addresses the point, or a short letter from a fire engineer, usually settles it. If the freeholder has identified work and not done it, you are back to the question of dates and money, but without the caps to reassure a buyer. A one-off government fund for the worst low-rise cases took applications for eight weeks from August 2026, so ask the managing agent whether one was made before it closed.

How Buyers React

The lender decides whether a sale is possible. The buyer decides whether it is worth it, and the things that put buyers off are not the ones in the legislation. They are the scaffolding that has been up for two years, the waking watch line in the service charge, the buildings insurance premium that has trebled, and the fear of being the last person who cannot sell. First-time buyers, who make up a large share of flat buyers, are the most nervous. Investors and cash buyers are the least, because they price the years of disruption and treat the eventual remediation as upside.

The buyer's solicitor will ask the managing agent for everything in the list below through the management pack, and the LPE1 form has a whole section on building safety. If you market through an estate agent, the building's cladding status and any outstanding works are material information that must be in the listing. A buyer who discovers a B2 rating from the survey walks away. One who was told at the first viewing, with the scheme letter and the dates in hand, usually makes an offer that reflects it and stays.

How Much Does It Affect the Price?

It depends on which gate is open and how far off the works are. As a rough guide, from what we see:

Situation Typical effect on price What buyers usually want
Works complete, with a completion certificate or a fresh A-rated EWS1 Little or none, though some buyers stay wary of the block's history The completion paperwork and a service charge that has come back down
Works outstanding, but the developer or a funded scheme is committed with dates, and you have a deed of certificate About 5 to 10 percent, more if the scaffolding will be up for years The scheme letter, the programme, the landlord's certificate and your deed. Mortgage buyers can proceed.
Unsafe cladding with no committed funding or dates, or a B2 rating with no plan About 20 to 35 percent Most mortgage buyers cannot proceed. Cash buyers price in the interim costs and the wait.
As above, and the lease does not qualify for the protections About 25 to 40 percent Cash buyers only, who assume they may be charged for a share of the works

These are typical ranges, not a valuation. The flat's value, the size of the block's share of the works and the state of the local market all move the figure, and so does the simple question of whether a buyer believes the dates. A block that has already got through the fund's application and has a contractor appointed sells very differently from one that has a letter saying it is eligible.

Paperwork to Gather Before You Sell

Nearly all of this comes from the managing agent, and the buyer's solicitor will ask for it anyway. Getting it first lets you read it before they do:

  • The EWS1 form or fire risk appraisal of external walls, with its date and rating
  • The building's current fire risk assessment and the action list from it
  • The landlord's certificate, and your own leaseholder deed of certificate if you have completed one
  • Letters confirming the developer contract or the funding scheme, and the works programme with dates
  • The last three years of service charge accounts, showing any waking watch, alarm or insurance costs
  • Any section 20 notices for fire safety work, and what each leaseholder's share is after the caps
  • The buildings insurance schedule and premium

If the managing agent cannot tell you which scheme the building is in, or whether an application has been made, that is a finding in itself. Buyers' solicitors will reach the same dead end, so push for an answer in writing before you go to market.

Your Options

Option How it works Best for
Wait for the works, then sell through an estate agent Sit out the remediation and sell with the completion paperwork at close to full value Sellers with time, where a contractor is appointed and the end is in sight
Sell now through an estate agent, through one of the gates Market with the scheme letter, programme and deed of certificate ready, to mortgage buyers who can proceed Buildings with committed funding or a developer contract and a qualifying lease
Sell at auction The legal pack sets out the position and investors bid on it. Completion is usually 28 days after the hammer. Buildings with no funding in place, where certainty matters more than price
Sell to a cash buyer The buyer takes on the wait and the interim costs, needs no lender and completes in weeks Flats that fail all three gates, non-qualifying leases, or a sale that has already fallen through on the EWS1

Waiting gets the best price only if the works really are coming. Where the freeholder has not applied to a scheme, or the application has sat for a year, waiting can mean several more. Our guides to selling at auction and selling to a cash buyer compare the faster routes, and our page on unmortgageable flats explains how we approach a building that lenders will not currently touch.

What to Do, and What Not to Do

Do:

  • Find out which gate you are in before you instruct an agent. It decides who your buyers are, and therefore the price and the marketing.
  • Return the leaseholder deed of certificate when the freeholder asks. It is the single document that protects the price, and it has a deadline.
  • Get the dates in writing. A buyer will believe a contractor's programme. They will not believe "soon".
  • Put the building safety position in the listing. It is material information, and it filters out the buyers who were always going to walk.

Do not:

  • Do not describe the EWS1 as a safety certificate, or an A rating as proof the building is safe. Buyers' solicitors know the difference.
  • Do not promise the 2029 or 2031 deadlines as law. They are the government's targets until the Bill passes.
  • Do not accept a valuation of nil. That was the position for some flats in 2020. With the leaseholder protections and the lender statement, it is almost never the position now.

What Is Changing

Three things are in motion. The Remediation Bill, promised in the King's Speech in May 2026, would put the end-2029 and end-2031 deadlines into law with fines for freeholders who miss them; it had not been introduced at the time of writing. The Building Safety Levy, charged on developers of new homes from October 2026, is intended to fund remediation of buildings that have no responsible developer. And the new RICS valuation standard, from 1 November 2026, narrows when a valuer can ask for an EWS1 at all. None of these changes what a buyer's lender needs today, but each should make the next few years easier for sellers than the last few. Our guide to leasehold reform tracks the wider picture.

Sources and Further Reading

Frequently Asked Questions

Yes. The largest lenders will consider a mortgage on a flat in a building of 11 metres or more before the works are done, provided the developer has signed up to remediate, the building is in a government funding scheme, or the lease qualifies for the leaseholder protections and the seller can provide a deed of certificate. With one of those, mortgage buyers can proceed at a modest discount. Without any of them, the realistic buyers are cash buyers at a larger one.

Not always. An EWS1 is a form for lenders and valuers, not a safety certificate, and the lenders' statement says they will lend without a fresh one where a building is covered by a developer contract, a funding scheme or the leaseholder protections. From 1 November 2026 valuers also have to give a reason before asking for one. Where a lender does want one, a fire risk appraisal of the external walls is usually accepted instead, and a B2 rating is workable where there is a funded plan with dates.

It is a signed statement that your lease was a qualifying lease on 14 February 2022: the flat was your only or main home, or you owned no more than three UK properties, in a building of at least 11 metres or five storeys. A qualifying lease cannot be charged for cladding remediation and has capped liability for other fire safety work. The status stays with the lease when it is sold, so the deed tells the buyer and their lender that they will not be landed with the bill.

It does. The leaseholder protections attach to the lease as it stood on 14 February 2022, not to the person who owns it. A buyer who takes a qualifying lease keeps the protection even if they are a landlord with many properties. The reverse is also true: a lease that did not qualify on that date does not become qualifying because a new owner would have qualified.

For a qualifying lease the total over ten years is capped at £10,000 outside London and £15,000 in London, with no charge at all for flats worth under £175,000, or £325,000 in London, and higher caps for flats worth more than £1 million. Amounts paid since 28 June 2017 count towards the cap. Interim costs such as waking watch and temporary alarms count too. If the freeholder was the developer or passes the Act's wealth test, the cost falls on them instead.

Yes, more than the law does. Buyers see the scaffolding, the waking watch line in the service charge and the insurance premium, and they worry about how long it will last. The answer is dates in writing: a scheme acceptance letter, a contractor appointment and a works programme. Buyers who are told at the first viewing, with those documents to hand, generally make an offer that reflects the disruption and stay. Those who discover it from the survey tend to leave.

Mostly not. The leaseholder protections, the funding schemes and the lenders' statement are all built around 11 metres or five storeys, and the government's view is that low-rise buildings rarely need cladding removed or an EWS1. Each lender sets its own policy for low-rise blocks and most lend without difficulty. Where a surveyor has flagged combustible material, a fire risk assessment or a fire engineer's letter usually settles it, and a one-off government fund for the most serious low-rise cases took applications from August to October 2026, so ask whether the managing agent applied.

The government's Remediation Acceleration Plan says buildings over 18 metres with unsafe cladding must be fixed by the end of 2029, and buildings of 11 to 18 metres by the end of 2031, with fines for freeholders who miss the dates. The Remediation Bill that would make those deadlines law was promised in the King's Speech in May 2026 but had not been introduced to Parliament when this guide was last reviewed. Describe the dates to a buyer as the government's target, not as a legal promise.

If the developer or a funded scheme is committed with dates and you have a deed of certificate, typically 5 to 10 percent below the value with the works done, more if the scaffolding will be up for years. Where there is no committed funding or dates, or a B2 rating with no plan, most mortgage buyers cannot proceed and cash buyers typically pay 20 to 35 percent less. A non-qualifying lease on an unremediated building sells for around 25 to 40 percent less, to cash buyers only.

Usually, at a price that reflects the interim costs and the wait. Cash buyers need no lender and no EWS1, so the three gates do not apply to them. They look at the service charge, the insurance, the fire risk assessment and the state of any scheme application, and price the years of uncertainty. For a seller who has had a mortgage buyer fall through on the cladding question, it is often the only route that completes.

Waiting for Cladding Works That Never Start?

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