EWS1 downgraded

Helenpet64

I am hoping someone can give us some advice. My son bought a flat last year which had some external cladding. The mortgage lender made it a condition of the loan that a satisfactory EWS1 certificate was in place. The vendor/managing agent commissioned this inspection, and a few months later the vendor received an EWS1 certificate with a B1 grade, that they forwarded to us and the sale was therefore able to proceed. 

My son has just received a letter from the managing agent advising that after further inspections, the EWS1 has been downgraded to B2 and the cladding now needs to be replaced. The building is only 3 floors high so we are totally confused as to what has happened. Wes re also concerned that this could impact his mortgage and cause problems if he needs to remortgage or sell. Any thoughts? 

K_S

@helenpet64 The bad news is that yes, this will most likely impact a remortgage or a sale as mainstream lenders will not lend unless you have at least a B1 rating.

The less bad news is that as long as your son doesn't need to borrow more or change term, he can stick with the same lender and (in most cases) switch to a new fix (it's called a product transfer, product switch or rate switch) when he gets to the end of the current one.

GDB2222

Surely, the really bad news is that your son is about to be hit for a (probably) 5 figure bill for recladding?

Helenpet64

Thank you for your replies. I was hoping someone could shed light on why it is possible for the grading to be changed when its importance is so great. My son would not, could not, have bought the flat with a B2 rating. He went ahead as he was reassured by the certificate and the statement that ‘no remedial work’ was necessary. The person issuing the statement was supposed to be a competent expert! We are completely bemused that given the seriousness of this situation, the expert is not accountable in any way.

GDB2222

What makes you think that the expert is not accountable? 

You have not said what the reason is for the regrading? If it’s a change in rules, you cannot blame the expert, but if he missed something obvious surely he is liable?

Helenpet64

GDB2222 said:

What makes you think that the expert is not accountable? 

You have not said what the reason is for the regrading? If it’s a change in rules, you cannot blame the expert, but if he missed something obvious surely he is liable?

The managing agents have not given a specific reason….they just said that after a further inspection a few months ago, they have now downgraded the certificate to B2, and confirmed that the cladding needs replacing. I am going to ask my son to request a copy of the initial report I think. Do you think they will provide it? TIA

K_S

Helenpet64 said:

GDB2222 said:

What makes you think that the expert is not accountable? 

You have not said what the reason is for the regrading? If it’s a change in rules, you cannot blame the expert, but if he missed something obvious surely he is liable?

The managing agents have not given a specific reason….they just said that after a further inspection a few months ago, they have now downgraded the certificate to B2, and confirmed that the cladding needs replacing. I am going to ask my son to request a copy of the initial report I think. Do you think they will provide it? TIA

@helenpet64 I would assume that your son or the solicitor who did the conveyancing for the purchase would have the EWS1 report which gave the initial B1 rating.

coypondboy

This sounds a bit dodgy the inspection needs to be done by a chartered fire engineer so your son needs to obtain the certificate to see who signed it off and if it wasn't he can take further action.  Which have had a campaign on this as many unscrupulous surveyors have been falsely saying they can do them but can't just google the which website. 

GDB2222

Helenpet64 said:

GDB2222 said:

What makes you think that the expert is not accountable? 

You have not said what the reason is for the regrading? If it’s a change in rules, you cannot blame the expert, but if he missed something obvious surely he is liable?

The managing agents have not given a specific reason….they just said that after a further inspection a few months ago, they have now downgraded the certificate to B2, and confirmed that the cladding needs replacing. I am going to ask my son to request a copy of the initial report I think. Do you think they will provide it? TIA

Your son really does need to find exactly what is going on. He needs copies of both reports, and the second one should explain the reasons for the differences. 

This is going to be a major issue for all the owners, so it might be worth asking around, especially any leaseholder association. 

GDB2222

coypondboy said:

This sounds a bit dodgy the inspection needs to be done by a chartered fire engineer so your son needs to obtain the certificate to see who signed it off and if it wasn't he can take further action.  Which have had a campaign on this as many unscrupulous surveyors have been falsely saying they can do them but can't just google the which website. 

I am a Which? member, but I can't find much about what you are saying. They do say:

"Which? has found evidence of scammers signing off EWS1 certificates using fake signatures of chartered surveyors who didn’t do the work and had no idea their names were being used.

Read more: https://www.which.co.uk/news/2021/03/revealed-the-five-major-costs-the-cladding-crisis-is-piling-on-homeowners/ - Which?"

I don't think there's any evidence of a scam in this particular case, just a change in the report.

Helenpet64

Thanks again for the responses. The managing agents won’t supply a copy of the first report. They say it was for ‘internal use’ only. But they have said that the first inspection was a ‘desk top’ exercise using the plans for the building and various data, and that that resulted in the EWS1 being issued with a B1 rating. They say that they decided to then do further tests that actually involved testing a piece of the cladding and that has caused the downgrade to B2. I am astounded that the EWS1 was issued without a proper inspection! How many others have these certificates that aren’t worth the paper they are written on. And where does it leave people like my son who bought in good faith believing that the EWs1 was proficient?