Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:

To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, whether his Department provides support to leaseholders whose building owner or manager refuses to commission an external wall survey as required by mortgage lenders for the sale of that property.

EWS1 is not a Government form or regulatory requirement, and it is not a safety certificate. EWS1 was created by industry to help with mortgage valuations for flats in blocks with cladding. It is designed to identify whether a block is likely to need value-affecting remediation work.

Building owners are responsible for ensuring their building is safe and they have a legal duty to maintain an up-to-date fire risk assessment. This should include the external walls and Government has clarified the Fire Safety Order, through the Fire Safety Bill, to ensure this is abundantly clear.

We will continue to work with lenders to help them to recognise alternative forms of assurance of building safety such as a comprehensive Fire Risk Assessment which includes the external walls.