Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) published their anticipated new guidance on ESW1 (External Wall Fire Review) forms on 8 March 2021 following a consultation process. The guidance comes into force on 5 April 2021 and clarifies where EWS1 forms are needed.

This will be important to registered providers (RPs) and their leaseholders in preventing delays in sales/mortgage process for buildings and any flats within those buildings. It follows the Government’s clarification in November 2020 that EWS1 forms should not be required for buildings without cladding.

In this insight we consider the impact of the new guidance, and the key points that you should note.

EWS1 forms are designed to give confirmation to valuers/funders as to whether any remedial works are needed to ensure fire safety in a building and which could affect the value. Currently, buildings that are four or more floors in height may need EWS1 forms in some circumstances—it is down to the valuer to justify the need for an EWS1 form. 

The new RICS guidance aims to achieve more consistency on whether funders/valuers should require an EWS1 form before proceeding with a transaction.

 The new rules indicate that an EWS1 form will be required in the following circumstances. 

For buildings over six storeys: 

• if there is cladding/curtain wall glazing 
• if the balustrades and decking of balconies are constructed from combustible materials (or decking is constructed with combustible materials and the balconies are directly linked by combustible materials) AND those balconies are stacked vertically above each other. 

For buildings of five or six storeys: 

• if there is a significant amount of cladding on the building (around 25%) 
• if there are ACM/MCM/HPL panels on the building 
• if the balustrades and decking of balconies are constructed from combustible materials (or decking is constructed with combustible materials and the balconies are directly linked by combustible materials) AND those balconies are stacked vertically above each other. 

For buildings of four storeys or less 

• if there are ACM/MCM/HPL panels

Cladding/curtain wall glazing are specifically defined in the guidance to include: 

• ACM, MCM and HPL 
• Brick slips 
• Metal sheet panels 
• Rendered external wall insulation system 
• Plastic 
• Tiling systems 
• Timber 

Some cladding (e.g. concrete panels) and traditional cavity wall construction are not covered and so do not usually require an EWS1 form. 

The guidance specifically warns that you should obtain formal confirmation that any metal cladding is not ACM/MCM as it can be difficult to distinguish. 

The full text of the new guidance is available here.

You should review your stock to establish which of your buildings will need an EWS1 form from 5 April 2021, bearing in mind that existing EWS1 forms are valid for 5 years. This will help you manage your processes (e.g. resales) where EWS1 forms are requested. 

If you are looking to charge these buildings, bear in mind that EWS1 forms are only one part of the jigsaw, and get in touch with us if you require any support on this.

How Capsticks can help

Capsticks’ housing team provides a truly full-service to over 200 registered providers, with particular expertise in development, corporate and securitisation, housing leasehold and asset management. If you have any queries around what's discussed in this article, and the impact on your organisation, please speak to Susie Rogers to find out more about how Capsticks can help.