The inquiry into the fire at Grenfell tower was in the news again recently, as the Phase 2 final report was published on 4 September 2024. The report made recommendations about making the construction industry safer, including ways to improve building regulations, fire safety, and social housing.
Since the Grenfell tragedy, there has been a lot of concern over the cladding in similar buildings. It’s caused a lot of stress for people living in these buildings. There’s the worry that their cladding may be flammable, and then there’s the financial stress about who will pay to fix it.
However, now that we are over seven years on from the terrible Grenfell fire, and the inquiry has published both of its reports, things are a little clearer for people who live in cladded buildings, and for people who want to buy or sell flats in these buildings.
EWS1 forms: what are they and why are they important?
In December 2019 the Government introduced External Wall System (ESW1) certificates (or forms) for buildings with cladding. The ESW1 form is issued by a qualified surveyor, after they have examined the cladding and determined the fire risk of that cladding.
Similar to a survey on a house, the ESW1 form will give a rating of A1, A2, A3, B1, or B5. A1 means that no attachments to the external wall contain significant amounts of combustible materials (i.e. low risk of being flammable). B2 is the lowest rating and means that the fire risk is high enough to require remedial work or interim measures.
A rating of A3, B1, or B2 means that remedial work will likely be needed on the building to reduce its risk of fire.
It’s the responsibility of the building owner or the managing agent to organise the assessment. They should have a copy of the EWS1 form readily available if you ask for it.
Advice to buyers
Flats are still a very popular choice for first-time buyers, or people looking to downsize. But now there’s widespread caution over the types of buildings that buyers will look to live in.
The first thing to say is that not all cladding is dangerous. Cladding is used for a number of reasons such as insulation, or even just aesthetics, and it may not contain any combustible material.
You’ll need to request a copy of the EWS1 certificate to find out. So, that should be your first task. Your mortgage lender will want to see it before they finalise your mortgage too.
The next thing to do is to find out about the service and maintenance charges. In some cases, these charges have increased to take into account remedial works for cladding.
Since the Building Safety Act came into force in 2022, leaseholders in ‘relevant buildings’ cannot be charged for any fire safety issues caused by the original developer. So no leaseholder should be facing extortionate charges for cladding anymore. But it’s worth finding out if the costs have been passed down in some way through the service or maintenance charges.
As part of the conveyancing process, your solicitor should get a copy of the developer’s letter to check that they will take responsibility for any remedial work. This gives you some peace of mind that you won’t get a surprise bill later down the line for the cladding.
You should also find out about the fire safety practices in the building, as a matter of course. Find out if there is an effective fire watch system, or fire alarm system. At the same time, make enquiries about pays for it and how much it costs.
Your solicitor and building surveyor can help you make the right enquiries to check that you know exactly what you’re buying, and you won’t be hit with unexpected costs after you’ve bought the flat.
Advice to sellers
If you want to sell a flat that’s in a building with cladding, you should ask the owner of agent if they a valid EWS1 certificate for the building. You’ll need to provide it as part of the conveyancing process.
If the owner or agent doesn’t have it, then it may be the case that your building doesn’t need the assessment. You should get confirmation in writing that this is the case, if that’s what the owner tells you.
What happens if you do need an ESW1 certificate, and your building owner doesn’t have one? Well, it may be the case that there’s been a delay in getting the certificate. With so many people trying to get them, and relatively few qualified surveyors to carry out the work, it has been taking months or even years to get a certificate.
You might have to factor in a bit of a wait before you can sell the flat if that’s the case. If you suspect that your building owner is refusing to get the certificate, then you should contact your local authority for advice.
Buying and selling flats in cladded buildings has understandably become a more rigorous and complicated process so it is really important to instruct a solicitor who specialises and understands the law and the new regulations in this area, to be sure your, and your lender’s interests are protected.