A number of leaseholders and their solicitors have written to Saxon Weald requesting the completion and delivery of a EWS1 form to enable them to complete either a
re-mortgage or a sale of their property.
The EWS1 form was developed by a number of key stakeholders in the residential market including the RICS, UK Finance and the Building Societies Association. It was designed as a means of providing information to mortgage lenders and their valuers about the external wall systems of multi-storey residential buildings, and whether remedial work would be needed to resist the spread of fire over the façade.
An external wall system is the outside wall of a residential building including cladding, insulation, fire break systems etc.
The EWS1 form and process sets out a way in which a building owner can satisfy itself that the external wall system on a residential building has been assessed for safety by a suitable expert.
The EWS1 form can only be conducted by a limited number of suitably qualified and competent professional such as a Chartered Fire Engineer. They must have sufficient expertise to identify the relevant materials within the external wall cladding and attachments, including whether fire resisting cavity barriers and fire stopping have been installed correctly.
A EWS1 form is not required for every transaction or multi-occupancy residential building. The form might be required where:
The production of a EWS1 form is not a legal or statutory requirement. They may be a condition imposed on a mortgage application by lenders.
Saxon Weald, as a responsible landlord, takes its statutory obligations very seriously, and that is why we have completed a suitable fire risk assessment (FRA) under the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005 for all our multi-storey residential buildings. A copy of the FRA can be provided to any leaseholder or their solicitors.
Therefore we do not envisage a EWS1 Form is required for any of our multi-storey residential buildings. Any valuer who requests a EWS1 following an inspection, is required to set out in writing their rationale justifying their request, and in line with the latest guidelines issued by the RICS. Read more here.
