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

To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, if he will take steps to prevent mortgage providers requesting EWS1 forms for properties in buildings without combustible cladding or combustible material on balconies; and if he will make a statement.

The Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) designed the EWS1 process in conjunction with mortgage lenders to assist with valuation of high-rise residential buildings.

The EWS1 process is not a Government regulatory requirement and the Government does not support the blanket use of EWS1, especially for lower rise blocks. EWS1 forms are not needed for buildings under 18 metres – unless there are exceptional circumstances. The Department is encouraging lenders to take a more proportionate approach to use of the EWS1 process and to accept a broader range of evidence to assure themselves of a building’s safety.