EWS1 Form (Cladding) Required?

[George]

Hello, as a leaseholder for almost 5 years on the estate (Hatfield House) I'm looking to remortgage to stay longer, however all of the lending banks are asking for an "EWS1 Form".

• The "EWS1 Form" has become a requirement for some blocks in the UK (but not for any on Golden Lane Estate) since the Grenfell Tower fire disaster. It checks that any cladding is safe
  • Golden Lane Estate has no cladding with any of the flammable materials listed in the EWS1 survey, so the lending banks are being excessively "cautious" here
  • It appears GLE doesn't have any documentation of this because it was all built in the 50s/60s and has not been touched since
• Despite this, almost all banks are refusing a (re)mortgage without this form for Hatfield Hous
• My understanding is that getting an EWS1 survey and form takes months and quite a large fee (thousands of pounds)

Has anyone managed to (re)mortgage on the estate recently and find a way around this EWS1 Form request?

Or is anyone going through similar issues and we could work together to find a solution?! 

Also, the above is a warning for anyone planning to (re)mortgage...it seems difficult to do that or even sell at the moment

Thanks in advance!

George

[George]

Yes. I imagine they were counting basement. Over 5 floors in a block of our type is not acceptable under some lenders’ policies

[George]

Seen that fire risk assessment, yes thanks. The message is clear but I understand no lenders will pay any attention to that

[George]

Really useful to have that letter for why an EWS1 isn’t needed. Might take a while to get but once we have one, other leaseholders in the block can probably use it!!