EWS1 forms, who pays and what you can ask for as a buyer

EWS1 stands for External Wall System one. It's a standardised form introduced by UK Finance and the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors in December 2019, after the Grenfell Tower fire forced lenders to think seriously about fire risk in residential blocks.

The form records the outcome of an assessment of a building's external wall system, including cladding, insulation, and balconies. A qualified professional, usually a fire engineer or a chartered surveyor with the right competency, inspects the building and signs off one of two broad outcomes. An A outcome means the materials are unlikely to be combustible and no remediation is needed. A B outcome means combustible materials are present and a fire risk assessment is required before a conclusion can be reached.

Without a satisfactory EWS1, many lenders simply won't offer a mortgage on a flat in a building that needs one. That makes it a practical gating document for your purchase, not just a box-ticking exercise.

Not every flat needs an EWS1. RICS updated its guidance in 2021 to narrow the scope. Buildings of fewer than eighteen metres that have no cladding and no balconies with combustible materials generally don't require one. Taller buildings, or shorter ones with specific external wall concerns, typically do.

Your lender and its valuer will decide whether they want to see one for the specific property you're buying. Some lenders are more cautious than others. If the valuer flags the external wall system, the lender will almost certainly require an EWS1 before they'll proceed. You won't always know in advance, which is one reason it's worth asking the seller or freeholder about the building's status early in the process.

If the building has already had its cladding remediated and holds a valid EWS1, that's the best-case scenario for you as a buyer. If it hasn't, things get more complicated.

This is the bit that trips a lot of first-time buyers up. You might assume that because you need the EWS1 to get your mortgage, you should go and commission one yourself. In practice, you almost certainly can't.

An EWS1 relates to the whole building, not your individual flat. The fire engineer needs access to the external wall construction, which often means opening up sections of the building fabric. That's not something a leaseholder of one flat can authorise. The freeholder, or the building owner or their managing agent, is the only party with the legal standing and practical ability to instruct the assessment across the whole structure.

There's also a liability question. The professional who signs the EWS1 is taking on significant responsibility. They need to be instructed by the party who owns and controls the building, not by a prospective buyer who may not even complete the purchase.

The cost of commissioning a full EWS1 assessment varies considerably depending on the size and complexity of the building, the location, and how much investigative work is needed. For a straightforward smaller block it might run to a few thousand pounds. For a large or complex building with multiple elevations and intrusive surveys, costs can reach tens of thousands of pounds. There's no fixed industry tariff. These figures come from the profession itself and from leaseholder groups, not from a single official source, so treat them as a rough guide and confirm with a surveyor.

Because the cost sits with the building owner, you as a buyer have no direct way to commission one unilaterally. What you can do is ask.

As a buyer, your main lever is the negotiation before you exchange. Here's what's worth raising.

First, ask the seller directly whether the building has an EWS1 in place and, if so, request a copy. A valid EWS1 can be shared with lenders and their valuers. If one exists, your solicitor should confirm it covers the building you're buying and that it hasn't expired. RICS guidance suggests EWS1 forms are generally valid for five years, though lenders may have their own views on this.

If no EWS1 exists and the building needs one, ask whether the freeholder has commissioned an assessment and, if so, where in the process they are. Managing agents often know the status. Your solicitor can raise formal enquiries with the seller's solicitor to get this in writing.

If an assessment is underway, you'll need to decide whether to wait for the outcome before exchanging. Exchanging without a satisfactory EWS1 when your lender requires one is a serious risk. You could find yourself unable to complete.

If the freeholder hasn't started the process at all, you have a harder conversation. You can ask the seller to reduce the price to reflect the uncertainty, or to make the sale conditional on a satisfactory EWS1 being obtained. Sellers don't have to agree, but it's a legitimate ask. Some buyers walk away at this point. That's not an overreaction.

The political picture around cladding costs has shifted significantly since 2019. The Building Safety Act 2022 introduced protections for leaseholders in qualifying buildings, meaning that in many cases leaseholders cannot be charged for certain remediation costs through the service charge. The government also established schemes, including the Building Safety Fund, to cover remediation in taller buildings.

Developers who built or refurbished buildings with unsafe cladding have also been put under significant pressure, and many of the larger housebuilders signed a pledge to fund remediation themselves.

This matters to you as a buyer because it affects who ultimately bears the cost of getting a building to a point where an EWS1 can be signed off satisfactorily. If the freeholder or developer is funding remediation, you as a leaseholder shouldn't face those costs directly, though the situation varies building by building.

The rules around leaseholder protections under the Building Safety Act are detailed and still evolving. If you're buying in a building with known cladding issues, you need a solicitor who understands building safety law, not just standard conveyancing. This is genuinely specialist territory. Confirm the current position with your solicitor before you rely on any general summary, including this one.

A bit of groundwork before you offer can save you weeks of frustration later.

Check the building height. If it's clearly under eighteen metres and has no obvious cladding, an EWS1 may not be needed at all, but don't assume. Your lender's valuer makes that call.

Ask the estate agent upfront whether an EWS1 exists for the building. Good agents will know. If they don't, that's a signal to dig further before you commit to legal fees.

Tell your mortgage broker about the building early. They can check whether your preferred lender is likely to require an EWS1 and whether they have any specific requirements around the outcome category.

Once you're in the conveyancing process, your solicitor should raise enquiries about the external wall system, any remediation works, and any relevant correspondence between the freeholder and leaseholders. Don't let this get buried in a stack of standard enquiries. Chase it specifically.

And if the seller can't provide a satisfactory answer, factor that uncertainty into your decision. An unmortgageable flat is very difficult to sell on, which affects your future too.

While you personally can't commission an EWS1 for the whole building, there are costs you might encounter as part of the process.

Your solicitor will charge for the time spent raising and reviewing enquiries related to fire safety. If the situation is complex, that adds to your legal bill. Budget for it.

If you want independent advice on what an EWS1 outcome means for the specific flat you're buying, you can instruct a fire safety consultant to review the documentation. That's your cost, but for a significant purchase it can be money well spent.

If you're buying in a building where remediation is ongoing, your service charge may reflect management and professional costs associated with that work, even if the big remediation bill itself is covered elsewhere. Ask the managing agent for a breakdown of current and projected service charges before you exchange.

None of these costs are huge in isolation, but they add up. Go in with your eyes open.