Found: The regulatory environment has materially changed: the Fire Safety Act 2021 strengthened obligations

Found: detailed in the lease and in legislation including the Building Safety Act, the Housing Act, the Fire Safety Act

Found: Recent legislation, including Awaab’s Law, the Fire Safety Act 2022, and the Social Housing Regulation

Found: that most RMC directors don’t have much more than a vague idea of the Building Safety Act 2022, Fire Safety Act

Found: On top of that, while not technically within the BSR’s remit, but under the Fire Safety Act, all the

Found: Tower tragedy, two landmark pieces of legislation — the Building Safety Act 2022 and the Fire Safety Act

Found: The duty is not new; it was clarified under the Fire Safety Act 2021.

Found: The duty is not new; it was clarified under the Fire Safety Act 2021.

Found: Committee examining adverse outcomes for some leasehold owners in the application and impact of the Fire Safety Act

Found: As the requirement for an external wall assessment ha s now been mandated under the Fire Safety Act

Found: s written evidence said that “New legislative requirements, including those arising from the Fire Safety Act

Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:

To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what steps his Department is taking to support leaseholders who are unable to sell or re mortgage their homes because mortgage lenders require an EWS1 form, but where the building’s freeholder or managing agent has confirmed that an EWS1 assessment is not required under current Government guidance and therefore refuses to commission one.

Answered by Samantha Dixon

An EWS1 form is an industry valuation tool. It is not a government, legal or regulatory requirement, nor is it a safety certificate. Not all lenders ask for an EWS1 as part of their requirements to offer a mortgage, but whether they do remains a commercial decision.

Officials in my department continue to work with lenders to encourage them to accept alternative forms of assurance, such as a comprehensive Fire Risk Assessment. As part of the Fire Safety Act 2021 all buildings require an up-to-date Fire Risk Assessment that includes the external wall of the building and building owners are legally responsible for carrying them out. Where an assessment shows remedial works are not needed, there should be no barrier to lending.

Since 2022 ten major banks and building societies have committed to consider mortgage applications, even if a property has building safety issues, provided either the building has funding for cladding remediation, or the leaseholder has completed a ‘Leaseholder Deed of Certificate’. An EWS1 form is not required in these cases.

Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:

To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what consideration his Department has given to the potential merits of mandating carbon monoxide detectors in every home with fixed combustion appliances.

Answered by Samantha Dixon

I refer the hon. Member to answer given to Question UIN 80767 on 20 October 2025.

The Building Regulations 2010 apply to new building work and are intended to protect people’s safety, health and welfare. They apply when a building is being designed, constructed, or subject to major re-design, so that minimum standards for size, space and materials are included. The Regulations, which are supported by statutory guidance in Approved Document J, set minimum performance standards for new building work including, at Schedule 1 Part J, provisions for detection and early warning of carbon monoxide. The statutory guidance makes clear that where a new or replacement fixed gas or solid fuel burning appliance is installed in a dwelling, a carbon monoxide alarm should be provided in the room where the appliance is located.

The Smoke and Carbon Monoxide Alarm Regulations 2015 provide important protections for renters, private and social, requiring landlords to fit smoke and carbon monoxide alarms in their homes. In addition to these regulations, fire and carbon monoxide safety requirements can be found in the Housing Act 2004, the Fire Safety Act 2021 and the Building Safety Act 2022, and government will protect tenants further through our review of the Decent Homes Standard and the new requirements to address health and safety hazards under Awaab’s Law.

Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:

To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what assessment his Department has made of the adequacy of the installation of carbon monoxide alarms in (a) care homes, (b) student halls, (c) office spaces and (d) other residential settings not covered by the Smoke and Carbon Monoxide Alarms (Amendment) Regulations 2022.

Answered by Matthew Pennycook - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)

The goverrnment currently has no plans to extend the Smoke and Carbon Monoxide Alarm (England) Regulations 2015, which are designed specifically to address issues associated with rented residential accommodation. Other buildings, including workplaces and care settings, are already covered by other regulations.

The Building Regulations 2010 apply to new building work, including air supply and chimney or flue requirements for combustion appliances installed in buildings, and for dwellings only the provision of warnings of a release of carbon monoxide. The Gas Safety Installation and Use Regulations 1998 require owners of premises to ensure gas appliances are installed and maintained properly by a competent gas safe registered engineer, which the Health and Safety Executive advise is the most effective way to reduce the risk from carbon monoxide.

The 2015 smoke and CO alarm regulations provide important protections for renters, private and social, requiring landlords to fit smoke and carbon monoxide alarms in their homes. In addition to these regulations, fire and carbon monoxide safety requirements can be found in the Housing Act 2004, the Fire Safety Act 2021 and the Building Safety Act 2022. The government has also introduced additional safety legislation to protect tenants from health and safety hazards through the introduction of Awaab’s Law which will come onto force for damp, mould and all emergency hazards this month.

Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:

To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what assessment his Department has made of the potential merits of extending the Smoke and Carbon Monoxide Alarms (Amendment) Regulations 2022 to (a) schools, (b) office spaces and (c) other public buildings.

Answered by Matthew Pennycook - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)

The goverrnment currently has no plans to extend the Smoke and Carbon Monoxide Alarm (England) Regulations 2015, which are designed specifically to address issues associated with rented residential accommodation. Other buildings, including workplaces and care settings, are already covered by other regulations.

The Building Regulations 2010 apply to new building work, including air supply and chimney or flue requirements for combustion appliances installed in buildings, and for dwellings only the provision of warnings of a release of carbon monoxide. The Gas Safety Installation and Use Regulations 1998 require owners of premises to ensure gas appliances are installed and maintained properly by a competent gas safe registered engineer, which the Health and Safety Executive advise is the most effective way to reduce the risk from carbon monoxide.

The 2015 smoke and CO alarm regulations provide important protections for renters, private and social, requiring landlords to fit smoke and carbon monoxide alarms in their homes. In addition to these regulations, fire and carbon monoxide safety requirements can be found in the Housing Act 2004, the Fire Safety Act 2021 and the Building Safety Act 2022. The government has also introduced additional safety legislation to protect tenants from health and safety hazards through the introduction of Awaab’s Law which will come onto force for damp, mould and all emergency hazards this month.

Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:

To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, if she will make an assessment of the potential impact of new fire safety regulations on the workload of fire and rescue services.

Answered by Alex Norris - Lord Chancellor and Secretary of State for Justice

The Fire Safety Act 2021 and the Fire Safety (England) Regulations 2022 are the main changes made to fire safety legislation in recent years, and both were subject to impact assessments which were published at the time of their introduction.

We are providing £10 million Protection Uplift Grant to Fire and Rescue Services for 2025/26, with £5 million allocated for the first six months and a further £5 million to be confirmed later in the year. The Protection Uplift grant is ringfenced to fire protection and is used to bolster capability and capacity in protection departments.

Decisions on future funding to Fire and Rescue Services to support the work of the Building Safety Regulator are under consideration and yet to be confirmed.

Additionally, MHCLG’s Remediation Acceleration Plan sets out the Government’s intent to legislate to place stronger duties on landlords, including creating a legal duty on those responsible for buildings 11m and over to remediate their buildings within clear timescales, supplemented by further powers for regulators, including Fire and Rescue Authorities, to enforce. An impact assessment of any new legislation will be produced and published alongside this to capture the likely impact of the change including regulatory burden.

Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:

To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, if she will bring forward legislative proposals to make it a statutory responsibility of (a) owners of and (b) responsible persons for residential buildings taller than 11 metres to carry out (i) an EWS1 survey and (ii) a Fire Risk Appraisal of External Walls to ensure the mortgageability of any leasehold flat in the block.

Answered by Rushanara Ali

An EWS1, which is not a government process or statutory requirement, should not be required for leaseholders in buildings 11 metres and above to re-mortgage or sell their property. As of 18 March 2024, 10 mortgage lenders have signed a joint statement on cladding, confirming they will consider lending on properties in buildings 11 metres and above, regardless of whether works have started.

A Responsible Person is required to ensure that their building has a Fire Risk Assessment, and the Fire Safety Act 2021 clarified that this should include the external walls. In many cases, it will be obvious through inspection that the risk to life from external fire spread is not such to warrant a more detailed Fire Risk Appraisal of External Walls. Where a more detailed fire risk appraisal is required, this should follow the British Standards Institution PAS 9980 methodology.

Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:

To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, with reference to his Department's quarterly release of EWS1 (or equivalent) lender data on mortgage valuations for flats, published on 21 March 2024, if he will make an assessment of the potential implications for his Department's policies of the fact that one in six EWS1 requests for mortgage valuations from October to December 2023 were for low rise buildings (1-4 storeys).

Answered by Lee Rowley

The EWS1 form is not a Government process, and we do not support its use in the mortgage process.

To aid transparency, the department does provide data during the process so that people can see how the use of EWS1 forms has changed over time.

We continue to press the industry to accept other forms of assurance other than EWS1s, such as a comprehensive fire risk assessment including the external wall systems, which building owners are mandated to carry out, under the Fire Safety Act 2021.

Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:

To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, with reference to the research entitled EWS1 or equivalent lender data on mortgage valuations for flats: October 2023 to December 2023, published by his Department on 21 March 2024, if he will make an assessment of the potential implications for his policies of the proportion of mortgage valuations on high rise flats that required an EWS1 form or equivalent in 2023.

Answered by Lee Rowley

The EWS1 form is not a Government process, and we do not support its use in the mortgage process.

To aid transparency, the department does provide data during the process so that people can see how the use of EWS1 forms has changed over time.

We continue to press the industry to accept other forms of assurance other than EWS1s, such as a comprehensive fire risk assessment including the external wall systems, which building owners are mandated to carry out, under the Fire Safety Act 2021.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether he has made an assessment of the potential merits of reintroducing mandatory fire certificates for (a) houses in multiple occupation, (b) hospitals, (c) shopping centres and (d) other designated premises where people congregate in significant numbers.

Answered by Laura Farris

The concept of a fire safety certificate was replaced in 2006 when the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005 (FSO) came into force and the Fire Precautions Act 1971 was repealed. We have no current plans to re-introduce them.

The FSO places a range of legal duties on Responsible Persons (the person in control of a premises), chief among which are the need to undertake a fire risk assessment to identify any general fire safety precautions that need to be taken to ensure that the premises, and people within it, are safe from fire, put those precautions in place and ensure they are subject to a suitable system of maintenance. Houses of multiple occupation, hospitals, shopping centres and places of congregation all fall within the scope of the FSO.

In 2019, the Home Office ran a Call for Evidence on the FSO, and the vast majority of respondents agreed that the scope and objectives of the FSO remain appropriate and it continues to provide an effective and proportionate regulatory framework.

Nevertheless, we have since taken action to further strengthen the FSO through the Fire Safety Act 2021, which clarified that the external walls, structure and flat entrance doors in multi-occupied residential premises are in scope, and through Section 156 of the Building Safety Act 2022 which, amongst other things, introduced changes to make it easier for enforcement authorities to take action when appropriate, improve information sharing with residents and increase cooperation between Responsible Persons when there is more than one in a specific building.

Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:

To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, what assessment he has made of the potential (a) costs and (b) merits of extending the statutory requirement for a Cladding External Wall System form to include all apartment block buildings below 11m in height.

Answered by Lee Rowley

The Cladding External Wall System form (EWS1) is not a statutory requirement or government process. It is an industry tool to inform mortgage valuation. RICS has issued guidance on the use and application of these forms, and a surveyor must justify any request for an EWS1 form.

The Fire Safety Act 2021 requires all multi-occupancy residential buildings, regardless of height, to have an up-to-date fire risk assessment that, where necessary, includes the external walls. A Fire Risk Assessment of External Walls (FRAEW) done to the PAS 9980 standard developed by the British Standards Institution is the appropriate way to assess that risk in the external wall system.

Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:

To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, what assessment he has made of the impact of not extending the statutory requirement for a Cladding External Wall System form for properties in buildings below 11 meters on (a) property sales and (b) safety risk to residents.

Answered by Lee Rowley

The Cladding External Wall System form (EWS1) is not a statutory requirement or government process. It is an industry tool to inform mortgage valuation. RICS has issued guidance on the use and application of these forms, and a surveyor must justify any request for an EWS1 form.

The Fire Safety Act 2021 requires all multi-occupancy residential buildings, regardless of height, to have an up-to-date fire risk assessment that, where necessary, includes the external walls. A Fire Risk Assessment of External Walls (FRAEW) done to the PAS 9980 standard developed by the British Standards Institution is the appropriate way to assess that risk in the external wall system.

Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:

To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, with reference to paragraph 45 of the Government response to the Housing, Communities and Local Government Select Committee report on Cladding: Progress of Remediation, CP 281, published on 3 September 2020, whether his Department has made an assessment of the potential merits of taking into direct ownership the freehold of a building for which access to (a) assess and (b) provide remediation is being prevented.

Answered by Lee Rowley

Building owners are responsible for remediating unsafe buildings and the government has made extensive funding available for them to do so. It is important that building owners fulfil their building safety responsibilities and where they do not that they are held to account. Where building owners are stalling, they can expect to be subject to enforcement action by a local authority, fire and rescue service or the Building Safety Regulator; we released a joint statement with key building safety bodies committing to this last year. Regulators have an extensive set of powers which allow them to compel building owners to assess and remediate their buildings.

The Fire Safety Act 2021 and Building Safety Act 2022 strengthen enforcement tools for regulators, including introducing remediation orders which are issued by the First-tier Tribunal. These boost regulators’ existing powers under the Housing Act 2004 and the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005. Building owners who fail to comply with enforcement action can be subject to criminal penalties. The government has provided over £8 million in funding to local authorities to expand their enforcement teams.

We also fund the Joint Inspection Team (JIT), a multidisciplinary team of experts which supports local authorities with inspections and enforcement; the JIT currently supports over a third of all local authority high-rise building safety inspections in England.

Found: 1985 for the definition of “prescribed hazard”. (4)S.I. 2005/1541, amended by section 1 of the Fire Safety Act

Found: See article 6 of the 2005 Order (application to premises), as amended by section 1 of the Fire Safety Act

Found: The Fire Safety Act 2021, which provided for an affirmative power to change premises to which the Fire

Found: The wording is adapted from the Fire Safety Act 2021 section 2, which is advanced in the Delegated Powers

Found: The wording is adapted from the Fire Safety Act 2021 section 2, which is advanced in the Delegated Powers

Found: The wording is adapted from the Fire Safety Act 2021 section 2, which is advanced in the Delegated Powers

Found: The wording is adapted from the Fire Safety Act 2021 section 2, which is advanced in the Delegated Powers

Found: The wording is adapted from the Fire Safety Act 2021 section 2, which is advanced in the Delegated Powers

Found: The wording is adapted from the Fire Safety Act 2021 section 2, which is advanced in the Delegated Powers

Found: The wording is adapted from the Fire Safety Act 2021 section 2, which is advanced in the Delegated Powers

Found: The wording is adapted from the Fire Safety Act 2021 section 2, which is advanced in the Delegated Powers

Found: The wording is adapted from the Fire Safety Act 2021 section 2, which is advanced in the Delegated Powers

Found: The wording is adapted from the Fire Safety Act 2021 section 2, which is advanced in the Delegated Powers

Found: The wording is adapted from the Fire Safety Act 2021 section 2, which is advanced in the Delegated Powers

Found: The wording is adapted from the Fire Safety Act 2021 section 2, which is advanced in the Delegated Powers

Found: The Fire Safety Act 2021, which provided for an affirmative power to change premises to which the Fire

Found: The Fire Safety Act 2021, which provided for an affirmative power to change premises to which the Fire

Fire Safety and Rescue APPG
Wednesday 11th June 2025

Found: their prioritisation strategy for updating their FRA’s to include amendments required under the Fire Safety Act

Found: “Fire Safety Order” means The Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005 as modified by the Fire Safety Act

Found: The Proposed Development is expected to comply with all relevant Regulations, including the Fire Safety Act

Found: (b) S.I. 2005/1541, amended by section 1 of the Fire Safety Act 2021 (c. 24).

Found: Regulatory Context and Engagement Under the Fire Safety Order 2005 and as amended by the Fire Safety Act

Found: Rescue Services (Northern Ireland) Order 2006 Fire Safety Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2010 Fire Safety Act

Found: Regulatory Context and Engagement Under the Fire Safety Order 2005 and as amended by the Fire Safety Act

Found: Fire Safety) Order 2005 was introduced in October 2006 and has been subsequently amended by the Fire Safety Act

Found: https://www.gov.uk/government/consultations/personal-emergency- evacuation-plans 20 • T he Fire Safety Act

Found: “Fire Safety Order” means The Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005 as modified by the Fire Safety Act

Found: Fire Safety Act 2021

Found: shelve the matter.1969 No further action was taken by government until the enactment of the Fire Safety Act

Found: Commissioner, the government shelved the matter and no action was taken until the passing of the Fire Safety Act

Found: 145 The Home Office will retain responsibility for fire brigade services, and for The Fire Safety Act

Found: impacts on some projects owing to changes in legislation such as the Building Safety Act or Fire Safety Act

Found: Assessment that complies with the requirements of the Fire Safety Order (as amended by the Fire Safety Act

Found: Fire Safety Order ” means The Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005 as modif ied by the Fire Safety Act

Found: Fire Safety Order ” means The Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005 as modif ied by the Fire Safety Act

Found: grant debited during the year that has funded fire safety works to ensure compliance with the Fire Safety Act

Found: The Order was amended by s1 of the 2021 Fire Safety Act to clarify the scope of the Order includes, for

Found: The Order was amended by s1 of the 2021 Fire Safety Act to clarify the scope of the Order includes, for

Found: The Order was amended by s1 of the 2021 Fire Safety Act to clarify the scope of the Order includes, for

Found: Fire Safety Act 8.3.1.

Found: The Order was amended by s1 of the 2021 Fire Safety Act to clarify the scope of the Order includes, for

Found: The Order was amended by s1 of the 2021 Fire Safety Act to clarify the scope of the Order includes, for

Found: The Order was amended by s1 of the 2021 Fire Safety Act to clarify the scope of the Order includes, for

Found: The Order was amended by s1 of the 2021 Fire Safety Act to clarify the scope of the Order includes, for

Found: The Order was amended by s1 of the 2021 Fire Safety Act to clarify the scope of the Order and includes

Found: 145 The Home Office will retain responsibility for fire brigade services, and for The Fire Safety Act

Found: Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005 ............................................ 202 11.1.12 Fire Safety Act

Found: Safety standards have been strengthened with the enactment of the Fire Safety Act in 2021 and Building

Found: Safety standards have been strengthened with the enactment of the Fire Safety Act in 2021 and Building

Found: requirements in respect of communal areas, which have expanded with recent legislation e.g., the Fire Safety Act

Found: requirements in respect of communal areas, which have expanded with recent legislation e.g., the Fire Safety Act

Found: We have welcomed the Fire Safety Act 2021, sections 1 and 3 of which commenced on 16 May 2022.

Found: 1985 for the definition of “prescribed hazard”. (4)S.I. 2005/1541, amended by section 1 of the Fire Safety Act

Found: Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005 and the Fire Safety Act 2021 6.15 Members will ensure

Found: They comply with the requirements of the Fire Safety Act 2022 and that signage and information within

Found: reinforced with regulatory and legislative requirements enforced upon the freeholder (i.e. the Fire Safety Act

Found: The Fire Safety Act 20218 clarifies application of the Fire Safety Order on who is responsible for managing

Found: We also worked closely with the Home Office on the Fire Safety Act 2021, which corrects some of the

Found: correct the most serious of failings of the FSO, by working closely with the Home Office on its Fire Safety Act

Found: to potentially pull bits of those two Acts and regulations [Fire safety regulations of 2022, Fire Safety Act

Found: correct the most serious of failings of the FSO, by working closely with the Home Office on its Fire Safety Act

Found: issues relevant to the Housing Act 2004, Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005(as amended), Fire Safety Act

Found:  The Building Act 1984 and related secondary legislation (such as building regulations)  Fire Safety Act

Found: Fire Safety Act 2021 and related secondary legislation d.

Found: Note: The Fire Safety Act 20219 makes provisions for the application of the Regulatory Reform (Fire

Found: (Fire Safety) Order 2005 (legislation.gov.uk) 2 Responsibilities uder the Fire Safety Order – Fire Safety Act

Found: Note: The Fire Safety Act 20219 makes provisions for the application of the Regulatory Reform (Fire

Found: Introduction 2 Fire Safety Act 2021 And Guide for Persons with Responsibilities Under the Fire Safety

Found: bring forward some of our fire safety proposals earlier in Wales, through the UK Government’s Fire Safety Act

Found: Fire Safety Act 2021 The Grenfell Tower Public Inquiry’sPhase 1 reportwas published in October 2019.

Found: that these risks could be adequately addressed through other legislation, including the new Fire Safety Act

Found: counterparts in the UK Government to strengthen fire safety legislation in Wales through the Fire Safety Act

Found: forward legislation that will apply in Wales in relation to fire safety through the Home Office’s Fire Safety Act