link to ringley website
  • Home
  • About Us
    About us & leadership Awards Savings for Clients Case Studies Green Management Strategies Market Overview Leasehold Reform Campaign Money Back Guarantee
  • Our Services
    • Asset Management
      • UK Asset Management
      • Project Monitoring
      • ESG Consultancy & Implementation
      • PropTech & Living Sectors Platform
      • Marketing Insights
      • Resident Journey
      • Stabilised Assets
      • UK Build to Rent
      • UK Later Living
      • UK Co-Living
      • UK Student Accommodation
      • UK Single Family Housing
    • Block Management
      • Overview - London
      • Overview - Wales & West
      • Overview - Southwest
      • Right to Manage
      • Freehold Management
      • Resident Management
      • Estates of Houses
      • Ground Rent Collection
      • How to change agent?
      • Block Management Services
      • Can't afford an agent?
      • Legal & Tribunals
      • Top 10 Tips
      • Report an incident
    • Commercial Management
    • Law
      • Overview
      • Meet The Team
      • Recommendations
      • Right to Manage
      • Lease Extensions
      • Freehold Purchase
      • Absentee Freeholder
      • Court Appointed Manager
      • Conveyancing - Wales
      • Conveyancing - England
      • Service Charge/Rent Arrears Recovery
      • Company Secretary
    • Property Valuations
      • Overview
      • Loan Security
      • Company Accounts
      • Lease Extensions
      • Freehold Purchase
      • Rent Reviews
      • Ground Rent Investment
      • Development Valuations
      • Expert Witness & Litigation
      • Tax, Trusts & Accounts Valuations
      • Trading Business
      • Compulsory Purchase
      • Residential Valuations
    • Engineering
      • Overview
      • EWS1 Consultancy
      • Asbestos
      • Contract Administration
      • Fire Assesment
      • Homebuyer Survey
      • Building Survey
      • Schedules
      • Party Wall Matters
      • Principle Designer
      • Disability Access Audits
      • Small Building Works
      • Fire Door Inspection
      • Insurance Valuations
    • Property Accounting
      • Finance
      • Quote For Service Charge Accounts?
      • Property Accounting Law
      • Accounting Updates
      • To Audit or Not?
    • Plant & Facilities Management
      • Plant & Facilities Management
      • Fire Door Inspection APP
      • Fire Safety Update
    • Site Staffing Solutions
      • Ringley Integrated Site Staff Solutions
    • Leasehold Guidance
      • Overview
      • Right to Manage
      • Purchasing The Freehold
      • Court Appointed Manager
      • Absentee Freeholder
  • Insights
    Asset Management Articles Block Management Blogs Publications BTR Rental Market Blogs Customer Insights FAQ - Ask Our Experts Insurance Calculator
  • ESG
  • E-books
  • Get In Touch
  •    
  • Work with us
  •  
  • Portal Login
Is your block being blighted by the EWS1 form?

Written by: Mary-Anne Bowring 03/09/2020
  727       0
Responsive image

The Impact of Grenfell on Leaseholders

Post-construction-to-begin-under-1225m-government-contract--'>construction-to-begin-under-1225m-government-contract--'>Grenfell, leaseholders trying to sell flats in blocks with cladding are facing new obstacles. Even buildings without combustible cladding are now being affected as mortgage lenders become increasingly cautious about building safety risks.

How the EWS1 Form is Affecting Sales and Mortgages

The EWS1 form was introduced as part of new mortgage lender regulations following construction-to-begin-under-1225m-government-contract--'>construction-to-begin-under-1225m-government-contract--'>Grenfell. It requires a qualified professional to carry out a fire-risk assessment and either confirm the absence of combustible materials or recommend remedial works. Without this form:

  • Sales of properties in buildings over six stories are being blocked.
  • Remortgages are being denied.
  • Mortgage interest rates are rising until the form is provided.

The Challenges of Assessing Fire Risk

A major challenge for engineers and property professionals is that specified building materials do not always match what was actually used. There are also lookalike materials, copycat imports, and variations in fire class ratings that can impact a building's safety. What has changed most since construction-to-begin-under-1225m-government-contract--'>construction-to-begin-under-1225m-government-contract--'>Grenfell is the shift in focus to the entire building system rather than just the cladding. Professionals now need to assess:

  • The combustibility of insulation behind the cladding.
  • The flammability of adhesives and fixing compounds.

Why the Testing Process is Slowing Everything Down

The Hackett Review initially focused on high-rise residential buildings (HRRBs), but mortgage lenders have since applied its recommendations more broadly. This has led to delays in:

  • Developers signing EWS1 forms, as they may not want to take responsibility for past constructions.
  • Freeholders shifting the burden to Resident Management Companies.
  • Testing companies facing long waiting lists for sample analysis.
The Financial Burden on Leaseholders

Leaseholders are suffering twice:

  1. Higher mortgage interest rates imposed by lenders.
  2. Increased servicechargesorted.co.uk/blogs/digital-solution-can-improve-the-whole-process-by-making-it-faster-and-more-transparent'>service charges—a full fire risk assessment and testing can cost upwards of £5,000.
Who Should Pay for EWS1 Testing?

At the very least, the government could step in to prevent lenders from penalizing leaseholders with higher mortgage rates. More importantly, we strongly believe that the cost of fire risk testing should fall on the freeholder rather than leaseholders. As managing agents, we are doing our best to coordinate testing and help homeowners navigate this urgent and frustrating process.



Property Management Block Management
POPULAR POSTS

Solar panels on flats - what you need to know

Is noise getting you down?

Ground Rent: Fines for Landlords Who Charge Ground Rent

High Court: Right to Rent does breach human rights

Landlords beware - Don't believe everything you read!

RECENT POSTS

Angela Rayner Faces Pressure Over Housing Pledge of 1.5 Million Homes as Target Appears Unachievable

Leasehold Reform Moves Forward with New Cross-Party Parliamentary Group

Grenfell Tower Deconstruction to Begin Under £12.25m Government Contract

Government Moves to Abolish Leasehold System and Establish Commonhold as Default

Renters’ Rights Bill to Reform Evictions and Upfront Rent Costs



Blogs related:

ASSET MANAGEMENT
Dangerous cladding will be replaced on private blocks - at last
Leaseholders in 156 private blocks across the UK have finally received good news: the government has pledged £200 million to replace dangerous ACM cladding, similar to that used on Grenfell Tower. Building owners now have a three-month window to access these funds. This marks the end of a prolonged debate on who should bear the costs of remediation, a debate that has dragged on since the Grenfell fire in June 2017.

Read


ASSET MANAGEMENT
Industry Update: Rising Prices
UK houses are not immune to the miniaturization trends as the recent data suggests houses in the UK are shrinking in size every decade since 1950. UK's house sizes grew from 1940 till the seventies before declining. The present house sizes are comparable with their 1940 counterparts. A shift in the Government policy to encourage higher density housing on brownfield locations from large houses on greenfield sites resulted in reversing the trend...

Read


ASSET MANAGEMENT
Building safety back in the spotlight
Once again a residential block has gone up in flames. This time ? thankfully ? no one was killed. But it took 100 firefighters and 15 fire engines from the London Fire Brigade to get the huge blaze, at a block in Barking, under control. It seems that wooden balconies ? which residents had previously raised concerns about ? were responsible for spreading the fire at a terrifying speed and, once again, questions are being asked about the safety ...

Read


Meet our Expert Property Commentators

Mary-Anne Bowring FTPI FRICS FARLA FCABE Founder/Head of Asset Management

Strategic partnerships, holistic delivery/ opportunities, growth, value engineering, thought leadership

Ian Barber MD BTR Mobilisation & Leasing

Runs HQ & site lease-up teams. Drives rent pricing, mobilisation, marketing, happy residents!

Jon Curtis MRICS Head of Building Engineering

Chartered Building Surveyor. Lectures on EWS1 & building safety. Runs CapEx programmes.

Kate Robinson MTPI MD Blocks/FM Management (London Region)

Master plan setup, ops and staffing and resident engagement. ISO45001 champion.

Lee Harle Partner Ringley Law

Plot conveyancing. Debt litigation. Group Company Secretary.

Anthony Kingdon MIRPM AssocRICS MD Blocks/FM Management (North Region)

Stakeholder engagement. Mixed tenure specialist. Budget management. Plant audit, PPM compliance.

Chris Georgalis MRICS Head of Commercial Valuation

Chartered Valuer. Rental valuations: retail, leisure. IRR modelling and valuations for secured lending. Compulsory purchase & rent reviews

Nichola Pughe MRICS Head of Residential Valuation

Chartered Valuer. Rental development & mixed use valuations, IRR modelling. Leasehold enfranchisement specialist

Natalie Birmingham Helpdesk Support Manager

Trainer & Helpdesk Manager: people, systems,contractors. ISO45001 supply chain accreditation.

Steve Norman Planning Director

Land due diligence (opportunities & constraints) Has contributed to a number of award winning schemes.


inshights shared - link to planetrent blogs

Landlord blog
Read landlord blog
inshights shared - link to ringley blogs

Property blogs
Read property blogs
inshights shared - link to ringley articles

Property articles
Read property articles
inshights shared - link to ringley ebooks

E-books
Read E-books

link to ringley social media facebook link to ringley social media instagram link to ringley social media linkedin link to ringley social media x-twitter
link to ringley social media x-twitter for small device
link to ringley social media linkedin for small device
link to ringley social media instagram for small device
link to ringley social media facebook for small device
  • Ringley Group
  • About us
  • CSR / ESG
  • BusyLiving
  • PlanetRent
  • Talk to us
  • Careers
  • Ask a Question
  • Insights
  • Articles
  • Blogs
  • Subscribe
  • BTR & PRS Buildings
  • What we do
  • Asset Management
  • Block Management
  • Facilities Management
  • Property Law
  • Surveying / Valuation
  • Building Engineering
  • Financial Services
  • Managing Agents
  • Block Management Locations
  • Co-working
  • Renting & Letting
  • Right to Manage
  • Contractor Management
  • Space to Work
  • Fees and Client Money Protections
  • Email: solutions@ringley.co.uk

  • Emergency line 1: 0207 428 2056

  • Emergency line 2: 0207 267 2900

  • Report an incident
  • Our Offices
  • London
  • Ringley House
  • 1 Castle Road
  • London
  • NW1 8PR
  • T: 0207 267 2900
  • London
  • Ringley House
  • 47 Rochester Place
  • London
  • NW1 9JL
  • Manchester
  • 11 Swan Street
  • Northern Quarter
  • Manchester
  • M4 5JJ
  • T: 0330 174 7777
  • Cardiff
  • 122 West Bute Street
  • Cardiff Bay
  • Cardiff
  • CF10 5LJ
  • T: 0330 174 7747
Privacy Policy
Ringley Staff Dashboard
link to ifsm website link to tpos website link to rics website link to ukgbc website link to government security industry authority website link to alep website

All content © copyright 2025. Ringley Limited. All Rights reserved. Ringley Limited, incorporated and registered in England and wales. Registered office: Ringley House, 1 Castle Road, London, NW1 8PR. Company No. 03302438
Terms of use | Privacy Policy | Modern slavery act | COVID-19 risk assessment