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

To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what provision his Department plans to put in place for people that wish to rely on the new guidance from the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors but have already had their External Wall System 1 Form rejected.

The EWS1 is not a Government form nor a legal requirement. It was created by industry to help with mortgage valuations for flats in blocks with cladding. MHCLG estimates that if lenders which use the EWS1 process follow the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) guidance, nearly 500,000 flat owners will not need an EWS1 form.

Most major lenders, representing roughly 80% of the mortgage market, have said that they have adopted the RICS guidance, asking for EWS1 forms on a smaller cohort of buildings, or that they already take a markedly less risk-averse approach.

The requirement for and use of the EWS1 form is determined by the lending policies of banks and building societies. An EWS1 form remains as valid information for five years.