The team from FixFlo provide some clarity on the subject of the EWS1 form, used in the valuation of high-rise buildings.

As lockdown measures began to ease in the UK, Fixflo held a webinar titled Unlocking Block Management where audience members raised a considerable number of questions surrounding the fire safety assessment for external wall systems and its resulting EWS1 form. To help block managers better understand the complex issue, the maintenance management solution provider held a follow-up masterclass on 25 August titled, What Should Block Managers Do in Respect of EWS1 Forms?

Following on from the Grenfell Tower Fire in 2017, a series of professional bodies including UK Finance, the Building Societies Association and RICS collaborated on an External Wall Fire Review. Intended to ensure fewer combustible materials are used in the buildings of high-rises, ARMA, IRPM and the MHCLG endorsed the EWS process and its resulting EWS1 form. The latest copy of the EWS1 form is available for download here on the RICS website.

Flats in the Same Building Can Use the Same EWS1 Form

In residential blocks, individual leaseholders don’t have to obtain their own EWS1 form. One single, valid EWS1 form can certify all flats in the same block since the external firewall is common across the building. Guidance from RICS suggests that each EWS1 form is valid for an entire block or building and that it is valid for five years. 

The fire safety assessment can sometimes be a costly process in itself before accounting for remedial works. Therefore, block managers need to communicate the presence of a valid EWS1 form to all leaseholders considering to buy or sell their flats.

Valuers Cannot Complete the EWS1 Form

Contrary to the belief that valuers can sign an EWS1 form, only competent chartered professionals with suitable fire safety expertise are qualified to carry out this assessment. 

Depending on the primary materials used in the external wall system, including any cladding present, different versions of the EWS1 form may be required. Thus, different levels of fire expertise would be needed for the process. 

To determine which variant of the EWS1 form is required for your residential block, you need to check the combustibility of the primary materials used in the external wall system. You or your appointed expert should check the materials against the specific definition of ‘limited combustibility’ as identified in BS 9991:2015. If the primary materials satisfy the requirements of ‘limited combustibility’, then you will need to consider option A of the EWS1 form, and appoint an expert qualified to assess your building. Otherwise, option B of the form may apply, and you will need to appoint a Chartered Engineer with the Institution of Fire Engineers or equivalent, who has the expertise in the assessment of the fire risk presented by your building’s external wall system.

Not Every Building Requires an EWS1 Form

While it may seem that different banks have different criteria, RICS is clear about the types of buildings within the scope of this fire safety process. 

When Which? magazine spoke to two major banks about the EWS1 form, one told them it only asks for the form for flats built before February 2019, while the other refused to outline its requirements for EWS at all. Under current guidelines, leaseholders cannot start the EWS process, leading to considerable delays in purchases and mortgage guarantees in cases when the building owner is unwilling to initiate the EWS process.

Housing minister Christopher Pincher confirmed that lenders are now reviewing how the EWS1 forms are being used. The housing, communities and local government committee (HCLGC) has called on the government to reform the process, stating that it is ‘not working’ and needs to be replaced by something ‘faster and fairer’ or risk stymieing the housing system.

You can contact the FixFlo team via their website where you can also sign up to receive updates of up-coming webinars.