"Official" Thread for all of us waiting for a cladding report...

Lorenzo94

Do you actually have a contact number for this John? I think he sent me an email too. I’m going ahead with a property in elephant and castle who has the cladding report, but I would much rather buying in bow with L&Q (bigger share and it would be around £150-200 per month cheaper).

Chavy89

I’m sorry to be the barrier of bad news Halifax has again rejected the certificate stating that they wanted this 1 page statement long and short of it is we have to change lenders accordor or Barclays does anyone know if they will accept?

Chavy89

Lorenzo94 said:

Do you actually have a contact number for this John? I think he sent me an email too. I’m going ahead with a property in elephant and castle who has the cladding report, but I would much rather buying in bow with L&Q (bigger share and it would be around £150-200 per month cheaper).

no sorry never got his number just through emails my personal suggestion is don’t use Halifax when it comes to cladding they seem to be one of the last that don’t accept the certificate and absolutely no one does this 1 page statement 

paulm299

Hi all

Myself and my partner own a flat in Edinburgh and like everyone else are also going through this nightmare of trying to obtain a cladding report.  So far progress has been very slow and I am keen to try and be as proactive as I can be as I am aware this could take some time to resolve.

From what I understand the guidance noted on the advice note from the government was directed at the landlords of lease hold properties in England, however in Scotland most flat developments are freehold (which ours is).  Therefore all homeowners in this development are essentially the landlords (approx. 7 blocks and 350 flats in total).

Our development is maintained by LPM property management (recently merged and now known as James Gibb Factors) however they haven't been very forthcoming with information or help yet (although in their defence I think they are just as confused by this whole situation as everyone else and are trying to ascertain the best way forward).  They have stated that as they are only factors and not the landlords they do not have the authority to act or instruct work beyond the spending discretion out with the normal services as per the property factors act 2011.  They would need the owners agreement as per the deed of conditions before any surverys or tests could be carried out (unsure if this would be all owners or just a certain %).  They have made it clear that as the homeowners of freehold properties are the landlords some factors are avoiding becoming involved in this, however they have clarified they are attempting to seek and provide owners with options and solutions to this problem.  

They have proposed 3 main options:
(1) To engage fire engineers directly to attempt to receive a certificate/EWS1 form (LPM have stated they cannot advise them to do so and that this would be their decision and there is no guarantee that this would satisfy lenders).
(2) To collectively agree to have a fire engineer assess the blocks within the development om the basis of the drawings available (although they have advised this may not be sufficient for lenders).  Apparently what is submitted on the drawings is not what may be on the building as was the case at Grenfell
(3) Carry out a more comprehensive review to be completed , including testing of the panels (more expensive and would require agreement per block after consultation and agreement by majority of all block owners

I cant help but see the reports of the thousands of people who are in a similar situation throughout the UK and the financial strain this whole situation is putting them under and feel extremely worried about what lies ahead for us.  I have seen reports of insurances increasing 800% a year due to not having the appropriate documentation not to mention the money some are having to pay for waking watches (I have seen reports of £400 a month) in properties where cladding has been identified and buildings deemed unsafe.  Then of course there is the whole question of who pays the millions of pounds it could cost to rectify these problems in the buildings deemed unsafe, not to mention the impact on health all this stress is causing.

The response and advice from the government has been non existent and MPs Esther Mcvey and Robert Jenrick should hang their heads in shame for not engaging with us and offering help/solutions.  This is a national crisis.

I was wondering if anyone else who lives in a freehold development could provide information which may help our progress going forward?

Also has anyone obtained a EWS1 form yet?  If so who carried out the inspection and produced the report?  Has this successfully been used to obtain a mortgage?  It's all fine and well instructing people to carry out these inspections but what happens if we pay for them for lenders to turn around and say they are not sufficient.

Any advice/help would be much appreciated.

Many Thanks

Chavy89

so small update on my case the MB have decided to go with another lender as even tho we provided everything Halifax has asked for there still not accepting anything we offered so we are trying with another bank either (Barclays Accord or Virgin money) does anyone know if these will accept a FRA and Certificate stating cladding has been removed Plus 2 emails from L&Q stating the same I really dont know what more i can do 

123ort

cant seem to delete post
aplogies

milhouse999

It is bizarre that mortgage companies are taking this stance - so long as the building is insured, against all risks incuding fire, up to and including a total re-build cost, mortgage companies should be fine. It's insurers who should be bothered about the EWS1. Very odd situation we find ourselves in. I am in the process of getting an EWS1 for our building, a leaseholder managed block. It's taken around a week of hard work just to get building diagrams so far.

Chavy89

milhouse999 said:

It is bizarre that mortgage companies are taking this stance - so long as the building is insured, against all risks incuding fire, up to and including a total re-build cost, mortgage companies should be fine. It's insurers who should be bothered about the EWS1. Very odd situation we find ourselves in. I am in the process of getting an EWS1 for our building, a leaseholder managed block. It's taken around a week of hard work just to get building diagrams so far.

who is doing your EWS1 are you doing it privately through a company or is the management company doing it  

milhouse999

Chavy89 said:

milhouse999 said:

It is bizarre that mortgage companies are taking this stance - so long as the building is insured, against all risks incuding fire, up to and including a total re-build cost, mortgage companies should be fine. It's insurers who should be bothered about the EWS1. Very odd situation we find ourselves in. I am in the process of getting an EWS1 for our building, a leaseholder managed block. It's taken around a week of hard work just to get building diagrams so far.

who is doing your EWS1 are you doing it privately through a company or is the management company doing it  

Sent you a PM..

123ort

just seen this issue raised on bbc politics live
seems manchester cladiators as they call themselves are pushing the agenda forwards
is there a similar london group