Armageddon for flat owners - PAS 9980 even worse than EWS1 fiasco?!

NameUnavailable

I read an article in the Sunday Times today about PAS 9980 - this is new regulation that will require instrusive surveys of the walls of ALL flats including conversions.

As with EWS1 it is probably going to be mandatory to have a 'pass' before lenders will lend and the article states that nearly all properties will require some remediation work to bring them up to standard.

What will all this cost? How long will it take? "it is unlikely that risk assessments will result in recommending no remedial works or mitigation.....the leaseholder is left holding the baby" Mark London, head of construction Devonshires solicitors.

Cladding expert Jonathan Evans said it could mean Armageddon for flat owners and could lock up the market for years.

As I'm in the process of buying a flat (I looked carefully for one with no cladding or balconies) I'm now very worried again............

AFF8879

Unless you’re somewhere like London or a city centre where houses are generally unviable/prohibitively expensive, I would always try and go for a house even if it’s a small 2-bed terrace (and in many cases the humble terrace is actually cheaper than these new “luxury” apartments!)

Gentoo365

Can you link the article or provide the headline so I can search?

y3sitsm3

Gentoo365 said:

Can you link the article or provide the headline so I can search?

https://lmgtfy.app/?q=pas+9980+sunday+times

elsien

Gentoo365 said:

Can you link the article or provide the headline so I can search?

It’s behind a pay wall. 

Crashy_Time

https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/pas9980-when-you-thought-things-couldnt-get-any-worse-evans-fimeche

seradane

Try this one: https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/pas9980-when-you-thought-things-couldnt-get-any-worse-evans-fimeche/

NameUnavailable

I'm surprised at the little reaction this has had. Seems few of you are even aware of it!

The linkedin article is a longer version of what was in the Sunday Times. I have searched online and can't find much else on the matter.

Given the potential ramifications of this, if another broad brush approach is taken (as with EWS1) we are going to see more people stuck in properties they can't sell, more facing eviction because they are landed with bills for remedial work they can't pay, and lots of potential buyers who can't get mortgages on the only properties they can afford!

daveyjp

Having occasionally dipped in to the Grenfell enquiry coverage and hearing some of the evidence, there will be huge ramifications for the whole of the property sector once the full report is published.

This will be from those commissioning work to those managing properties. All will have a knock on effect for anyone living in an apartment, especially if 'stay put' is the policy in the event of a fire.

AdrianC

Here's a link to the public consultation that was open from April to May this year...
https://www.bsigroup.com/en-GB/about-bsi/media-centre/press-releases/2021-press-releases/april/public-consultation-open-for-pas-9980/

And here's a link to the draft. The final standard has not yet been agreed, let alone published. You'll note that the approval period starts at the end of this month. Publication is currently due for December, delayed from the original estimate of September.

https://standardsdevelopment.bsigroup.com/projects/2020-01838#/section

Far be it for me to suggest the Murdoch press may be scaremongering...

NameUnavailable

AdrianC said:

Far be it for me to suggest the Murdoch press may be scaremongering...

The article in the Sunday Times was quoting Dr Jonathan Evans who apparently knows a bit about construction and cladding.