EWS1 form

annetheman

Apparently a sale went through beginning of March without the form with my same lender. The exact wording from the surveyor:

Further to updated guidance from MHCLG issued January 2020, concerns around external wall systems now relate to buildings of all heights, not just those above 18 metres. The EWS1 form has not been amended yet to reflect this change. We confirm that a completed EWS1 form, with covering letter, is required for this building as balconies are present.

CrazySexyCool

Hi,
I'm in a similar position - and was only told today by my potential lender (Nationwide).
I originally bought over 10 years ago, buying 50% of my flat. So this was pre-Grenfell.
I started trying to staircase (to 100%) back in January, and this EWS1 form is the latest issue.
At least with yours, these are recent builds that I assume have been completed post-Grenfell. So there shouldn't be any unacceptably combustible materials in the external walls.
My building also has external brick walls, but the housing association informed us last week that the walls are being tested in July, as part of the new Fire Safety regulations. So it seems that brick is no guarantee that the external walls will be acceptable according to current guidelines. The mortgage advisor from Nationwide who has been working on my case has been great, and really open throughout, and she said that the surveyor is insistent that the EWS1 form is provided for my case because he has concerns over the materials comprised in my balcony; and I notice @annetheman that your (hopefully) new building has balconies. This could be the sticking point, rather than cladding or the walls.
I can't offer any advice regarding timelines, as this was only brought to my attention today.
The guidance is still very new, so there will probably be limited advice/experience that others can share.
But I would say that for buildings completed post-Grenfell, this should be far less of a problem, as developers and contractors knew the dangers of using certain materials and so avoided using them.
Hope that is of some help.   

GDB2222

annetheman said:

Apparently a sale went through beginning of March without the form with my same lender. The exact wording from the surveyor:

Further to updated guidance from MHCLG issued January 2020, concerns around external wall systems now relate to buildings of all heights, not just those above 18 metres. The EWS1 form has not been amended yet to reflect this change. We confirm that a completed EWS1 form, with covering letter, is required for this building as balconies are present.

Unfortunately, balconies are a potential problem. Take a look at this fire in Barking last year.

annetheman

GDB2222 said:

annetheman said:

Apparently a sale went through beginning of March without the form with my same lender. The exact wording from the surveyor:

Further to updated guidance from MHCLG issued January 2020, concerns around external wall systems now relate to buildings of all heights, not just those above 18 metres. The EWS1 form has not been amended yet to reflect this change. We confirm that a completed EWS1 form, with covering letter, is required for this building as balconies are present.

Unfortunately, balconies are a potential problem. Take a look at this fire in Barking last year.

Do you have a news story URL for this fire, please?

I've only had a look here with some case studies.

All very well, good and understood but whooooo will do the EWS1

From my extensive (but not exhaustive) research, I think that is Option A (no combustible materials present) was chosen by the developer's inspector/signatory, only a building professional needs to check and sign the form. If there are combustible materials (Option , then a Chartered Fire Engineer is needed to sign and inspect, which could take months.

Is that about right? EA told me weeks so I assume it was an Option A? The form seems very simple to me, how could you get it wrong, it doesn't even ask about balconies. So I assume the cover letter should include info on the balcony?

CrazySexyCool

My understanding is that there are 5 possible outcomes to the EWS1 form - it is not simply Option A or Option B.
Option A (materials of limited combustibility) results in 3 different outcomes; which could be that a fire risk assessment is needed, or even that remedial works are needed.
I think balconies are "attachments".

GDB2222

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-london-48583829

annetheman

CrazySexyCool said:

My understanding is that there are 5 possible outcomes to the EWS1 form - it is not simply Option A or Option B.
Option A (materials of limited combustibility) results in 3 different outcomes; which could be that a fire risk assessment is needed, or even that remedial works are needed.
I think balconies are "attachments".

I see - wrt who will review and sign off, if Option A is chosen (any option), this will not need to be a Chartered Fire Engineer, as it would if any of Option B were chosen (fire risk), is that your understanding as well?

This will determine how long the wait is as my EA has said it could be weeks for a RICS surveyor, but from researching I think it would be months, possibly even a year or more for a Chartered Fire Engineer as there are so few and so many buildings in backlog!

annetheman

Estate Agent update: surveyor is already booked to go in on the 1st *dancing*

Apparently is does need to be a Chartered Fire Engineer but they already had this for another building, same development so they'll do mine on Monday too. I don't want to jinx it though, I bet there'll be something else 

Good luck all EWS1ers. God help us all.

GDB2222

Some houses I know were built with wood cladding in the 1970s. As the wood has deteriorated, that's been replaced over the years by PVC cladding in many cases. The owners are (I hear) now having issues with getting house insurance because of that, and they may have to change the cladding to something fireproof. These are ordinary 2 storey houses, by the way.

annetheman

If anyone's interested, an average EWS1 survey costs between £6,000 and £30,000 !!!