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

To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what reports he has received on mortgage providers routinely requesting ESW1 forms for flats in buildings under 18 metres in height; and if the Government will publish guidance on when an ESW1 form (a) is and (b) is not required.

To support the valuation process for high-rise residential buildings with cladding, the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) designed the EWS1 process. RICS have issued guidance on its use. The Department is aware that mortgage lenders have requested EWS1 forms for a greater range of buildings than the process was designed for.

The EWS1 process is not a Government or regulatory requirement and the Department does not support a blanket approach to EWS1. The Department is working with mortgage lenders to support a more pragmatic approach in their valuation of homes within multi occupancy, multi storey residential buildings and encouraging lenders to accept a broader range of evidence to assure themselves of a building’s safety.