Is RICS new EWS1 guidance working?

marvellouspotato

Hello!
I'm desperate to put my flat on the market this year and am keen to hear others experiences with the EWS1 Form since RICS published its guidance last month. I have a 3 - story flat made from brick i.e. no external cladding as per RICS definitions (or anyone's!). As per RICS guidance I'm quite sure my flat falls into the 'not required' category. However my concern is the building potentially has cavity wall insulation and I understand surveyors have been reluctant to value properties where the cavity wall insultation is not known (yes, I can ask someone to drill a hole in the property to look), even though this is outside the scope of the EWS1 (i.e. it is to evaluate the combustibility of external cladding ). Does anyone have an industry-wide view or sense of whether lenders have internalised the RICS guidance and/or whether the guidance is providing clarity?
Thanks!!

AdrianC

It's entirely possible that the brick facade is "cladding", rather than structural - the building may be steel-framed.


The "brickwork" may even be thin slips, purely a cosmetic finish.

lonibra

Well, if you're serious about selling, you could do what a lot of other sellers in your situation are doing.

Put the flat on the market with a no-sale no-fee EA and let the buyer and the lender do the due diligence for you. In a month or two you'll get a clear idea of whether or not it's saleable and what (if any) the EWS1 issues are.

Unfortunately, no one is going to be able to give you an absolute guarantee right now.

marvellouspotato

AdrianC said:

It's entirely possible that the brick facade is "cladding", rather than structural - the building may be steel-framed.


The "brickwork" may even be thin slips, purely a cosmetic finish.

Thanks Adrian - the brickwork is definitely structural - too old for slips and original survey from purchase says as much....

katie91_2

For reference, we are currently in the process of selling a flat in a 200+ year old grade II listed mill building without any cladding in sight; our buyers mortgage company still requested the EWS1. I would say the RICS guidance makes little difference.

marvellouspotato

katie91_2 said:

For reference, we are currently in the process of selling a flat in a 200+ year old grade II listed mill building without any cladding in sight; our buyers mortgage company still requested the EWS1. I would say the RICS guidance makes little difference.

Sorry to hear Katie and this is my concern - fingers crossed sense prevails over the next few weeks.....

jimbow25

Pleased to find this thread and I am also very interested to know if this new guidance starts to work.

I own a leasehold flat and am looking to upsize. My partner and I have the budget to buy somewhere else we'd like to live or we could potentially "let-to-buy" a bigger property - with an increased mortgage on this property. But either of these would require a new mortgage on the flat and potentially suffering from this issue.

The RICS guidance is here for mutual reference https://www.rics.org/uk/news-insight/latest-news/press/press-releases/rics-makes-move-to-unlock-market-for-flat-owners/

To the best of my knowledge this building falls within the intended exemptions for five and six storey buildings - it has balconies with wooden decking but no wooden / flammable balustrades. Balconies are not (visibly) linked to one another in any way. I have a Fire Risk Assessment document produced by the freeholder covering 2019-22 which apparently put one lender's mind at rest as recently as May 2020 and permitted someone to staircase.
I am keen to avoid putting the property on the market and making onward offers until I know there is a reasonable chance that lenders are actually heeding this advice - but equally we'd like to move as soon as we can.

Estate agents and mortgage brokers have told me the easiest thing is to just "make sure you get the EWS1" but I am told could be 12-18 months away .... even if it is passed as completely clean. I am putting the feelers out over whether brokers are expecting any change as a result of this guidance but agents seem sceptical so far. Of course it is up to the bank who they want to lend to. I am told it is for the banks' appointed surveyor to decide whether to ask for an EWS1.... and therefore whether they follow their own sector guidance?

I have one mortgage broker doing some research on more flexible lenders for re-mortgaging. Several people have told me that Santander are known as an accommodating lender but my latest conversation says that they do not do "let-to-buy" (as opposed to "buy to let") mortgages. If this is no easier than selling it will not be an avenue for me to pursue but just mentioning in case it helps others.

marvellouspotato

I wonder if anyone in the know thinks this is a significant development or not? Perhaps this combined with RICS guidance on which buildings need an EWS1 will mean surveyors feel less of a need to hedge their bets when it comes to requesting an EWS1 or not Updates to PII Minimum Policy Wording (rics.org)

firsttimesellerldn

My flat is in a recently built six storey block which is brick clad (solid brick, not just brick slips). My buyer has got a mortgage and two flat sales completed recently. We don’t have an EWS1. My buyer did get turned down by one lender on that basis but the second was fine with it. So I’d have thought you’d be okay. If the buyer does run into trouble then don’t panic and ask if they will try another lender.

Marshaltown

From what I can gather there is the RICS Guidance, which some mortgage Lenders will follow, while other Lenders will act as they see fit. So there is no consistency between Lenders on this. 

marvellouspotato

firsttimesellerldn said:

My flat is in a recently built six storey block which is brick clad (solid brick, not just brick slips). My buyer has got a mortgage and two flat sales completed recently. We don’t have an EWS1. My buyer did get turned down by one lender on that basis but the second was fine with it. So I’d have thought you’d be okay. If the buyer does run into trouble then don’t panic and ask if they will try another lender.

Re-assuring to hear there is movement in the market. Thanks.