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 homeowners who cannot sell their homes due to the freeholder of their building not providing them with an EWS1 certificate.

The Government recognises the difficulties that some homeowners are facing in being able to provide mortgage lenders with a completed EWS1, as well as capacity challenges affecting building owners commissioning the form.

The Department is encouraging mortgage lenders to accept other equivalent evidence from building owners for valuation purposes and is working with professional bodies to increase the number of skilled professionals that can complete EWS1 forms.