Leasehold Advice
EWS1 and Cladding: What Flat Sellers Need to Know
Sales of flats in multi-storey buildings hinge on the building's fire-safety paperwork. This guide explains what an EWS1 is, what the ratings mean, the Building Safety Act 2022 leaseholder protections and how it all affects a sale.
Where to Begin
If you own a flat in a block that is taller than about 11 metres, your sale almost certainly depends on the building's fire-safety paperwork. The form that matters is the EWS1: a one-page document, produced by RICS in 2019 after the Grenfell Tower fire, that records a qualified surveyor or fire engineer's view of the building's external walls. Lenders ask for it. Conveyancers ask for it. Buyers ask for it. Without it, most sales in tall blocks stall.
The EWS1 gives the building one of five ratings (A1, A2, A3, B1 or B2). A1, A2 and B1 are mortgageable in the normal way. A3 and B2 mean the building needs remediation, and a flat in an unremediated block is very hard to sell to a buyer using a mortgage. The Building Safety Act 2022 has changed the picture significantly: qualifying leaseholders are now protected from most of the cost of cladding and other fire-safety remediation, and lenders have widened their criteria to lend on flats where those protections clearly apply.
This guide describes the position in England and Wales for someone selling a leasehold flat. It covers what the form is, what the ratings mean, when one is needed, who pays for it, what the Building Safety Act 2022 protections look like for sellers and what to do if your flat is in a building stuck in the remediation queue.
How EWS1 and Cladding Affect a Sale
For a seller, the building's fire-safety paperwork is the practical issue. Four things shape what happens on a sale: what the lender will accept, what the buyer's solicitor will ask, how the valuer treats the building and how long the process takes.
The lender position
Most mainstream UK lenders ask for an EWS1 on any flat in a building over 18 metres or seven storeys. For buildings between 11 and 18 metres, the position depends on whether there is cladding or other combustible material on the external walls. If there is, the lender will typically ask for an EWS1. If there is not, many lenders no longer ask, particularly following the RICS guidance update in January 2023. Below 11 metres, EWS1 is rarely required.
For an A1, A2 or B1 rated building, the major lenders will lend in the normal way, with the EWS1 sitting on file as part of the conveyancing pack. For an A3 or B2 building, most mainstream lenders will not lend at all until the building is remediated and a new EWS1 is issued, even where the Building Safety Act protections apply to the leaseholder. A small number of specialist lenders will lend on B2 buildings where the protections are clear, but at higher rates and on stricter terms.
What the buyer's solicitor will ask
Standard enquiries on a flat sale now include the EWS1 form (with date and rating), the building's current fire risk assessment, the position on any remediation programme, whether the building is registered with the Cladding Safety Scheme or the Building Safety Fund and whether the leaseholder qualifies for the Building Safety Act 2022 protections. Most building owners now hold a standard pack of these documents ready to issue, but availability varies, and chasing the managing agent for the latest version is a normal part of the process.
Valuation and pricing impact
On an A1, A2 or B1 building, the EWS1 does not usually affect the valuation. On a B2 or A3 building, the valuer typically marks the value down significantly, sometimes to a nominal figure for mortgage purposes, on the basis that the property cannot be lent against in its current state. Even on a B1 building, where remediation is not strictly needed, buyers sometimes offer below the asking price on the basis of perceived risk.
Time to completion
For an A1, A2 or B1 building, the EWS1 adds minimal time to the conveyancing process: the form is in the management pack and the buyer's solicitor checks it as a routine enquiry. For a B2 or A3 building, the sale either does not happen on the open market at all, or completion is paused until remediation is signed off and a new form is issued. Building Safety Act qualifying-leaseholder evidence (the deed of certificate, the landlord's certificate) can take several weeks to assemble from the freeholder.
What EWS1 Is and What the Ratings Mean
EWS stands for External Wall System. The EWS1 form is a one-page assessment of a building's external walls, including any cladding, that records a qualified surveyor or fire engineer's professional view on whether the materials and construction pose a fire safety risk. RICS introduced it in December 2019 in response to the lender market's freeze on flats in tall blocks after the Grenfell fire in 2017.
Who signs the form
The form is signed by a qualified professional: a chartered surveyor with the relevant fire-safety competencies, a chartered fire engineer, or another professional accepted by the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors. The form lists the assessor's name, qualifications, the building's address, the assessment date, the rating, and any supporting information. It is valid for five years from the assessment date.
The two main categories
Buildings are sorted into two categories first. Option A applies where the external walls do not contain significant amounts of combustible material. Option B applies where they do, typically meaning the building has some form of cladding or another combustible element on the external wall. The category determines which set of ratings then applies.
The five ratings
A1: The external walls contain no combustible materials of concern. No further action is required.
A2: Some combustible materials are present (insulation, for example), but the fire risk has been assessed as low enough that no remediation is needed. No further action is required.
A3: Combustible materials are present and the risk has not been adequately controlled. Remediation is needed. The building cannot be considered safe in its current state.
B1: Cladding or another combustible material is present, but the assessor's view is that the fire risk is sufficiently low that no remediation is needed. The building is safe to lend against and sell from.
B2: Cladding is present and remediation is needed. The building is not safe to lend against in its current state. This is the rating that most often blocks an open-market sale.
What the form does not do
The EWS1 is not a fire risk assessment. It does not cover the internal fire safety arrangements of the building (alarms, fire doors, escape routes). Those are dealt with in the building's separate fire risk assessment, which the freeholder or managing agent must carry out annually under the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005 (as amended by the Fire Safety Act 2021 and the Building Safety Act 2022). On a sale, the buyer's solicitor typically asks for both documents.
When an EWS1 Is Needed
The headline test is the building's height. The detailed answer depends on whether there is cladding on the external walls, and on the lender's own criteria. RICS publishes guidance for surveyors that broadly aligns with lender practice, but each lender sets its own rules.
Buildings over 18 metres or seven storeys
An EWS1 is almost always needed. Major lenders treat any building in this height range as requiring the form before they will lend, regardless of whether visible cladding is present. The 18-metre threshold corresponds to the definition of a higher-risk building under the Building Safety Act 2022, and this is the population of buildings that has been the focus of remediation policy since Grenfell.
Buildings between 11 and 18 metres
The position turns on whether there is cladding or other combustible material on the external walls. If there is, an EWS1 is generally needed. If there is not, lenders increasingly accept that no form is needed, particularly following the January 2023 RICS guidance update. Where the leaseholder protections under the Building Safety Act apply (which they do for most flats in this height band), the lender's risk is significantly reduced and the EWS1 requirement is more flexible. In practice many lenders still ask for the form on any flat in an 11 to 18 metre building, but the absolute refusals to lend without one have softened.
Buildings under 11 metres
Lenders rarely ask for an EWS1 on a building below 11 metres, because the fire risk in low-rise blocks is considered manageable through the normal fire risk assessment. The Building Safety Act protections apply to relevant buildings of at least 11 metres or five storeys, so low-rise blocks below that threshold sit outside the leaseholder protections framework. For most sub-11-metre flats, the cladding question simply does not arise.
The January 2023 RICS update
RICS updated its EWS1 guidance with effect from January 2023, in response to lender pressure and the Building Safety Act 2022 protections. The update narrowed the range of buildings for which an EWS1 should be requested: specifically, for buildings below 18 metres where the leaseholder protections apply, the form is not always needed. Practical experience since then has been mixed. Some lenders now lend on these buildings without an EWS1; others still ask for one. The market is still moving in the direction of less reliance on the form for sub-18-metre buildings, but slowly.
Who Pays, and the Building Safety Act 2022 Protections
Two questions sit under "who pays". The first is who pays for the EWS1 survey itself. The second, much larger question is who pays for any remediation works the EWS1 identifies. The Building Safety Act 2022 has rewritten the answer to the second question for most qualifying leaseholders in tall blocks.
The EWS1 survey itself
The freeholder or managing agent commissions the EWS1 and pays for it up front. The cost varies with the building: a typical EWS1 survey runs from £6,000 for a smaller block up to £25,000 or more for a complex larger building. Whether that cost is then recoverable through the service charge depends on the lease wording. Most leases allow it as a service charge cost. The Building Safety Act protections do not normally exclude the EWS1 survey itself from the service charge, but they do limit what can then be charged for any remediation works the survey identifies.
Remediation costs: cladding
For qualifying leaseholders in a relevant building, the Act provides that the leaseholder cannot be charged any service charge for the costs of remediating cladding. Cladding remediation is to be funded by the developer (under the developer pledge or a Remediation Contribution Order), by central government schemes (the Building Safety Fund for 18m+ buildings, the Cladding Safety Scheme for 11 to 18 metre buildings in England), or by the freeholder. The leaseholder's contribution for cladding is, in practice, nil.
Remediation costs: non-cladding fire safety defects
For non-cladding fire safety defects (defective fire doors, missing compartmentation, faulty alarms or sprinklers and other "relevant defects"), the Act caps what qualifying leaseholders can be charged. The caps are lifetime limits per leaseholder, not annual amounts. Outside Greater London the total cap is £10,000; in Greater London the total cap is £15,000. The amount can be spread over up to ten years from commencement. Low-value flats are fully exempt: a flat valued below £175,000 outside London or £325,000 in London cannot be charged anything for non-cladding remediation. Any sums paid in the five years before commencement on 28 June 2022 count against the cap.
Who counts as a qualifying leaseholder
Two tests apply. First, the lease must have been granted before 14 February 2022 (the day the BSA 2022 was introduced to Parliament) and must be a long lease (over 21 years). Second, at commencement on 28 June 2022, the leaseholder must have either used the dwelling as their main home, or owned no more than three UK dwellings in total (including the one in question). A leaseholder who bought after 14 February 2022 still benefits from any protection that was in place under the previous lease, provided the previous lease was a qualifying one.
The qualifying-leaseholder paperwork
Two documents prove the protection on a sale: the deed of certificate, completed by the leaseholder confirming their status and provided to the freeholder; and the landlord's certificate, completed by the freeholder confirming the building's status. Both should sit in the management pack. A buyer's solicitor will ask for both. The deed of certificate, once signed, runs with the lease, so a buyer inherits the protection.
The Remediation Contribution Order route
Where a freeholder will not fund remediation and the developer is unwilling or unable to pay, leaseholders (or the freeholder) can apply to the First-tier Tribunal for a Remediation Contribution Order against the developer or an associated company. The Tribunal can order the developer to pay the cost of remediation. Several Orders have been made since the Act came into force in 2022, with results varying by case. The process is slow and the costs are real, but the legal route now exists.
The Cash-Buyer Route for Affected Flats
Where a building has a B2 or A3 rating, or is mid-remediation with no firm completion date, the open-market sale is often blocked: mainstream lenders will not lend, the buyer pool collapses to cash buyers only, and the conventional estate agent route stalls. A specialist cash buyer can step into that gap.
How the cash route works
A cash buyer purchases the flat without needing a mortgage and so without needing the EWS1 to satisfy a lender. The buyer takes on the risk of any future remediation works, any contribution the leaseholder might owe under the Building Safety Act cap, the time before the building can be re-rated, and the discount the next valuer might apply. The sale price reflects all of that. The seller exits the situation cleanly, without waiting for the building's place in the remediation queue.
What the buyer needs to see
A cash buyer's due diligence on a cladding-affected flat is more detailed than on a normal flat. The buyer will want the EWS1 form, the building's fire risk assessment, the position on any remediation programme, the leaseholder protection certificates if available, and the freeholder's position on cost recovery. A clean conveyancing pack speeds the offer; a messy pack slows it.
When the cash route makes sense
The cash-buyer route is most useful for sellers under time pressure: an executor settling an estate where the property cannot stay in probate while the building is remediated; an owner who has had to move abroad and cannot continue to carry the flat's running costs; a chain that needs to complete to a deadline that the remediation timetable cannot meet. For sellers who can wait, the open-market route after remediation will usually achieve a better price.
What it does not replace
The cash route is a sale, not an exemption from the building's underlying issues. The flat still sits in a building with cladding or fire-safety defects; the buyer is taking that on at a price. For sellers who can afford to wait through the remediation, the protections under the Building Safety Act mean the long-term outcome will usually be better.
Relevant Legislation
The legal framework on cladding and building safety has been rebuilt in stages since the Grenfell fire in 2017. The main statutes are:
The Building Safety Act 2022 received Royal Assent on 28 April 2022. The leaseholder protections in Schedule 8 came into force on 28 June 2022. The Act created the Building Safety Regulator (a function of the Health and Safety Executive), introduced a stricter regime for "higher-risk buildings" (those at least 18 metres or seven storeys with at least two residential units) and capped what qualifying leaseholders can be charged for fire-safety remediation in "relevant buildings" (those at least 11 metres or five storeys with at least two dwellings). It also extended the limitation period for claims under the Defective Premises Act 1972 to 30 years for past defects and 15 years for future ones.
The Fire Safety Act 2021 amended the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005 to make clear that the external walls (including cladding) and the entrance doors to individual flats are within the scope of the building's fire risk assessment. The freeholder or managing agent must assess both as part of the annual fire risk assessment.
The Defective Premises Act 1972 creates a right of action against builders, developers and others involved in providing a dwelling where the dwelling is not fit for habitation. The Building Safety Act 2022 extended the limitation period: claims can now reach back up to 30 years for dwellings completed before commencement, and up to 15 years forward for new dwellings. This has opened up routes against developers that were previously time-barred.
The Leasehold and Freehold Reform Act 2024 made further changes to the Building Safety Act 2022 leaseholder protections, including expanding who counts as a qualifying leaseholder and tightening the developer cost-recovery routes. Implementation has been staged, with some provisions in force and others still pending commencement; the position on any particular issue should be checked at the time it matters.
The Cladding Safety Scheme (administered by Homes England and the Greater London Authority) was launched in July 2023 to fund the remediation of unsafe cladding other than aluminium composite material (ACM) on residential buildings between 11 and 18 metres in England; ACM cladding is funded separately through the older Building Safety Fund. It complements the older Building Safety Fund, which funds remediation on 18-metre-plus buildings. Wales operates a separate Welsh Government scheme.
Further Reading
Two related guides sit alongside this one: how a leasehold management pack is put together when you come to sell, and how to read your lease to find the service charge and recovery clauses that matter on remediation costs.
Frequently Asked Questions
An EWS1 is an External Wall System assessment form, produced by RICS in December 2019 after the Grenfell Tower fire. It is a one-page document that records a qualified surveyor or fire engineer's view of the fire safety of a building's external walls, including any cladding. The form sits with the building owner or managing agent and is provided to lenders, buyers, valuers and conveyancers on a sale of any flat in the building. It is valid for five years from the date of signing. The form does not replace the building's fire risk assessment; it sits alongside it.
It depends on the height of the building and whether it has cladding. As a rough guide: buildings over 18 metres or seven storeys usually need an EWS1 because lenders ask for one. Buildings between 11 and 18 metres typically need an EWS1 if there is cladding or combustible material on the external walls. Buildings under 11 metres rarely need one because the fire risk is considered low and the Building Safety Act leaseholder protections apply. The RICS guidance was updated in January 2023 to narrow the cases where an EWS1 is needed, but most lenders still ask for one on a flat sale in any building tall enough to be in scope.
The form gives one of five ratings. A1 means the external walls contain no combustible materials and no further action is needed. A2 means combustible materials are present but the fire risk is assessed as low enough that no remediation is needed. A3 means combustible materials are present and remediation is needed. B1 means cladding or other combustible material is present but the fire risk is low enough that no remediation is needed. B2 means cladding is present and remediation is needed to bring the building to an acceptable fire safety standard. A1, A2 and B1 are mortgageable in most cases; A3 and B2 usually make a flat very hard to sell on the open market until remediation is complete.
Five years from the date of signing. After that, a new assessment is needed if the building owner wants a fresh form. The form is property-wide rather than flat-specific, so once one is issued for the building, every flat sale in that building uses the same form until it expires (or until the building changes materially).
The building owner (usually the freeholder) commissions and pays for the EWS1 in the first instance. Whether the cost can then be passed on to the leaseholders through the service charge depends on the lease and on the Building Safety Act 2022 leaseholder protections. For qualifying leaseholders in a relevant building, the protections sharply limit what can be passed on, particularly for cladding-related work. A survey typically costs the building between £6,000 and £25,000 depending on size and complexity.
For qualifying leaseholders in a “relevant building” (a self-contained block of at least 11 metres or five storeys with at least two dwellings), the Act caps the amount that can be charged through the service charge for remediation of fire safety defects. For cladding remediation, qualifying leaseholders pay nothing. For non-cladding fire safety defects, contributions are capped at £10,000 outside Greater London, or £15,000 in Greater London, spread over a maximum of ten years, with low-value flats (below £175,000 outside London or £325,000 in London) fully exempt. The qualifying lease must be a long lease (over 21 years), granted before 14 February 2022, and the leaseholder must have either used the flat as their main residence at commencement or owned no more than three UK dwellings including the one in question.
It is possible but the open-market route is narrow. Most mainstream mortgage lenders will not lend on a B2 building until remediation is complete or until the leaseholder protections clearly cover the resident's exposure. Specialist lenders sometimes lend on B2 buildings where the Building Safety Act protections apply, but at higher rates and on stricter terms. A B2-rated flat usually sells either to a cash buyer who can complete without lender input, or by waiting for remediation to finish and a fresh EWS1 to be issued. Both routes work; the difference is the discount on the cash route against the time cost of the remediation route.
It depends on the building. For buildings over 18 metres and many 11 to 18 metre buildings with cladding, most mainstream lenders will not proceed without a current EWS1. For buildings under 11 metres or low-rise buildings without cladding, lenders typically do not ask. The major UK lenders updated their position from 2022 onwards to lend where the Building Safety Act leaseholder protections clearly apply, even on flats in B2 buildings, but practical experience varies and not every lender follows the same line. The buyer's mortgage broker is the best person to identify which lenders will look at a particular building.
Where a building has a B2 rating or is mid-remediation, the open-market sale is often blocked by lender refusal. A cash buyer purchases without needing a mortgage and so without needing an EWS1 to satisfy a lender. The price reflects the cladding position: the buyer is taking on the unknowns of any future remediation works, any contribution under the Building Safety Act cap and the risk that the next valuer takes a more cautious view. For sellers caught between a building still on the cladding remediation queue and a closing window (a probate, a relocation, a financial pressure), this is a working option.
Typical timelines for completed remediation range from 2 to 5 years from the point a building enters the queue, although many buildings have been in the system for considerably longer. The Building Safety Fund covers 18-metre-plus buildings and the Cladding Safety Scheme covers 11 to 18 metre buildings in England, both funded by central government and developer contributions. Wales operates its own scheme. The application, assessment, contractor procurement and works themselves all take time, and many buildings have been in the system for several years. Once the works are signed off and a fresh EWS1 is issued, the flat moves back into the normal mortgage and sale market.