Selling property - buyers lenders requesting EWS1 form

[Cherryade06]

I’m in process of selling my flat and have been contacted today by the estate agents to say that the buyers lender are requesting an EWS1 form and will decline the mortgage application without one. Freaking out slightly but from all the guidance I can see online, an EWS1 form isn’t required as the block is only 4 storeys and does not have any of the ACM, MCM, or HPL panels on the building. The only ‘cladding’ is the decking on the balcony - and the balconies are steel constructed and linked floor by floor by steel.

I know that the block does not have an EWS1 form in place but does anyone have any experience of a similar situation? Will the buyers lenders accept that this form is not required for this property?!

Hopeful bump 😊

Can you check with the freeholder / managing agents? It’s possible they have some documentation proving that the building is exempt.

It very much depends on how tall the building is. If it's over 18m most mortgage companies will require an EWS1 form or a FRAEW to confirm the building isn't high risk in terms of construction.

If it's under 18m I'd tell them it's not necessary in this case and see where it gets you. If it's over then you may need a FRAEW carried out. This can take quite a long time and be expensive.

Thank you for your replies! The building is definitely below 18m so I will reiterate to the solicitors and hope that that is sufficient for the buyers lenders. Also contacted the management company so hopeful exemption will be in the management pack sent across - only issue is the buyers need it expedited as they are under pressure from their lenders. Hopefully it all gets sorted and can proceed…

we were in a not dissimilar situation, not all lenders request one we were told. So if mortgage didn’t come through with one buyers could try elsewhere. I’d expect the estate agent to be totally on top of this though. We couldn’t get an EWS1 in place as there were issues to be remediated with balconies. The original developer provided confirmation they were funding the works, and that along with the document showing there was only this one issue stopping us getting the EWS1 was enough.

Also there are some parts of the building safety act that apply to buildings which are four storeys or less OR 11 meters or less. We thought we weren’t caught as less than four storeys but we were higher than 11 meters so did apply. Became such a faff on our sale as buyers solicitors requested additional documentation under the act v v late in the day and almost delayed our whole chain.

Hi Cherryade06! Can I ask you what happened in the end? We are in a similar situation.

This happened in our block, and it all fell through. We are less than 18m but the bank (Nationwide) insisted on the form, even though it was against their own guidance (which said the form wasn't necessary). We couldn't provide it as it hadn't been done, since buildings below 4 storeys are lowest on the list to ever get one. We are still waiting - we have had a survey done now, and there is a few panels needing replacement, which will be done by the original builders and not cost anyone - but it's too late as the mortgages have been lost and the rates increased so much in the meantime. People are incredibly frustrated. Nationwide was particularly unhelpful over it all. And the fact it's shared ownership means that we are living here anyway and were just wanting to staircase, so their claims about it being 'for our safety' were nonsense as we already live in the building!

good luck, hope you have better results from your bank.

Tagging the OP @Cherryade06 for you, otherwise they may not get a notification to enable a reply.

Hi both! There was good and bad news in the final outcome of this - this was affecting my original buyers and I spent weeks liaising with the management company to get the fire risk assessments sent across. As it turned out it was obsolete because the original buyers couldn’t get their mortgage approved (for reasons outside of this!). My second buyers were mortgaging with Halifax and they did not have the same requirements, the fire risk assessments were sufficient to proceed and confirmed the height of the building/lack of cladding. I think nationwide are notorious for being picky with this and requesting an EWS1 form to proceed. Would your buyers contemplate getting a mortgage with another bank? It’s potentially the only way round it if the FRA is not sufficient?

In my case, there were no buyers - just us trying to get a mortgage for the rest of the shared ownership flat. And Nationwide simply stuck to their guns and insisted we had to have this form that was never going to be forthcoming, nor would it have changed anything if it had, given that I was already living here! And after we had dragged on forever with them, it was too late to go anywhere else, as the rates were already increasing rapidly, and they were one of the few banks at the time that would allow up to higher ages, which was important. I think that is possibly easier now. I'd like to try again but rates are so much higher now (this was 2 years ago) and I'm too much closer to retirement age for it to be likely to happen. I still hate Nationwide for that!! I lost my only realistic chance of a mortgage, and I'll still be here but continuing to rent half of it, all for a stupid form that doesn't change my actual living situation or safety, but just makes my financial situation much more precarious. And all their TV ads show how friendly and helpful they are supposed to be...!

Thanks both! @Cherryade06, can I asked - in your case, were there any plans agreed for remediation? I don't think thats the case with us, which makes it a bit more tricky

@MaggieRose3 No, management company had no plans to do any remediation works as not necessary except for appeasing some mortgage lenders! I know a couple of other flat sales in the complex were trying to get mortgages with Nationwide too but those buyers ended up going with different banks so the sales could proceed...
So overall it actually hasn't impacted the sales of any of the flats in my old complex (the fire risk assessment has been sufficient for mortgage approvals) so hopefully that is promising for your situation?

I just came across this thread. I had a similar issue with the EWS1 form and the bank!

I live in a four-storey flat (way below 18m) that was built about eight years ago. I am currently in the process of remortgaging, and Nationwide appointed a valuer who requested the EWS1 form due to fire risk concerns. The building's exterior is primarily covered with solid bricks and features normal-sized windows and balconies. I contacted the freeholder, who informed me that the EWS1 form has never been requested before and is therefore unavailable. However, they can provide a document stating that the EWS1 form should not be required for this building, but it will cost me £200.

It seems that the solution proposed by the freeholder may not address the valuer's concern. This is worrying for me, as I plan to sell the flat in the future. I searched online and found that, starting January 2023, Nationwide and five other banks do not require the EWS1 form under certain conditions (see below the link), including: "the leaseholder is protected under the Building Safety Act and has a deed of certificate." However, I am unsure if it's reasonable to ask the freeholder to provide such a deed of certificate without additional cost to me. Are there any other ways to resolve this issue or respond to the valuer? Thank you in advance!

https://www.peabody.org.uk/your-home/information-for-homeowners/ews1-forms/#:~:text=As%20of%209%20January%202023,to%20correct%20any%20issues%20themselves.