Moat | EWS1 form explained

EWS1 form explained

The External Wall System Form (EWS1 Form) was developed by the Royal Institute of Chartered Surveyors as a way of assessing the fire safety risk of residential buildings relating to the external walls and fire spread. Not all surveyors can complete the form - it must be completed by a designated competent person as set out by the Government. This does not apply to individual dwellings, such as detached, semi-detached, terraced homes or bungalows.

EWS1 forms are a lender’s requirement, not a legal one. A mortgage lender may ask you to supply an EWS1 form if you are buying a home for shared ownership or if are a current shared owner looking to re-mortgage, sell or staircase.

Selling, re-mortgaging or staircasing your home

It is more and more common for mortgage lenders to ask their valuers to look closely at fire safety issues when valuing homes in apartment buildings. Their specific focus is external wall systems and balconies and what they are constructed of, along with any other significant fire safety concerns. If the valuer or surveyor has concerns, then you will need a completed External Wall System Form (EWS1 Form) for the mortgage application to continue. See below for more information on EWS1 forms.

If your building doesn’t meet lenders’ requirements

In some cases where fire remediation hasn’t been completed or an EWS1 form isn’t available for a building, lenders may not approve an application to sell, remortgage or staircase (purchase more shares in your property). We understand that this can be upsetting and frustrating, and we apologise to any residents affected by this issue. We are working hard to carry out remediation in the buildings we own and progress remediation in the buildings we don’t own. As a short-term solution, we are providing shared owners with consent to sub-let their home.

Sub-letting your home

Consent to sub-let will involve a formal variation to your lease via a Licence to Sub-Let and this will be provided by our solicitors. In these circumstances, we are waiving our usual administration fee and covering the cost charged by our solicitors. Sub-letting will only be permitted until all remedial works are completed, and the property is once again mortgageable. Please contact our Post Sales Services Team by email at resales@moat.co.uk for further information.

Requesting an EWS1 form

We’ll acknowledge any requests for an EWS1 form within five working days and give a full response within 15 working days. Not all buildings require an EWS1 form; some lenders simply ask for a copy of the most recent Fire Risk Assessment, that we can provide upon request. To request an EWS1 form or Fire Risk Assessment, please email us at resales@moat.co.uk.

We’ll supply you with an EWS1 form on request if we have one on file, but we may not hold an EWS1 form for your building because:

We’re not the freeholder: We’re not legally allowed to have EWS1 surveys carried out for buildings we don’t own. You will need to contact your building’s managing agent for this information.
Demand for EWS1 surveys is high: There are fewer than 300 surveyors on the Government’s accredited list and this has led to significant delays in carrying out surveys.
Our Fire Risk Assessments already show that an EWS1 is not required.
The building is out of scope for an EWS1: EWS1 forms are not designed for individual terraced, semi-detached, or detached houses, bungalows or developments considered to be non-domestic.