Survey finding
Fire safety in flats: what buyers should check before exchange
Post-Grenfell fire safety changed the flat market more than any other regulatory shift in recent UK property history. This page covers EWS1, the Building Safety Act 2022, cladding remediation funding, and the documents to ask for before exchange.
Last updated: 6 May 2026. Editorially reviewed: 20 May 2026.
Finding
Fire safety: flat and leasehold issues
What this usually means
Post-Grenfell fire safety regulation has reshaped the leasehold flat market. The Building Safety Act 2022, the Fire Safety Act 2021 and the Higher-Risk Buildings regime (buildings ≥18m or seven storeys with two or more residential units) impose specific duties on building owners and have made flats above a certain height materially harder to mortgage without an EWS1 form covering external wall systems. Lower-rise flats are also affected through fire-risk assessments, fire-stopping, and waking watch arrangements where remediation is in progress.
Why it matters
Many UK lenders require an EWS1 form (External Wall System certificate) for flats over a certain height before they will lend. The form rates external walls A1, A2, A3, B1 or B2 depending on combustibility and remediation status. B2 (further work required) typically blocks mainstream mortgages until remediation is documented. Fire safety findings can also drive significant service charge increases for fire risk assessments, waking watch costs, and remediation contributions.
Ask your surveyor
- Check:Has an EWS1 form been issued for this building, and what rating?
- Check:Are there visible signs of cladding, insulation, or wall-system materials that may be combustible?
Ask the seller
- Check:What is the current state of the EWS1 form and any remediation?
- Check:What is the service charge breakdown including any fire-safety items, and how has it changed in the last 3 years?
Next steps
- •Get two written quotes from local trades before negotiating with the seller.
- •Speak to your mortgage broker before exchanging if the finding affects mortgageability.
Browse all findings
- Spray foam insulation
- Evidence of movement
- Damp
- Japanese knotweed
- Damp proof course issues
- Underpinning
- Cracks
- Roof issues
- Timber decay
- Electrical issues
- Non-standard construction
- Asbestos containing materials
- Roof covering needs repair
- Single skin wall construction
- Timber decay / wet rot
- Settlement cracks
- RAAC concrete
- Wall tie failure
- Party wall matters
- Drainage issues
- Subsidence monitoring
- Full electrical rewire needed
- Flat roof condition
- Cladding issues
- EWS1 form required
- Lintel failure
- Structural crack BRE category 3
- Structural crack BRE category 4-5
- Chimney stack movement
- Chimney flashing failure
- Parapet wall movement
- Bay window cracking
- Flat roof ponding
- Cold roof inadequate ventilation
- Warm roof insulation issues
- Prefab concrete construction
- Large panel system (LPS) construction
- Rising damp
- Penetrating damp
- Condensation vs damp distinction
- Dry rot (Serpula lacrymans)
- Woodworm
- Timber floor springiness
- Cellar / basement damp
- Outdated electrics (60-amp fuse board)
- Aluminium wiring
- Partial rewire needed
- Gas boiler condition
- Back boiler
- Unvented hot water cylinder issues
- Lead pipes (pre-1970)
- Lead paint
- Asbestos in Artex ceilings
- Asbestos floor tiles
- Asbestos cement roof
- Asbestos insulated board (AIB)
- Asbestos soffit boards
- Pointing / repointing needed
- Render cracking
- Pebbledash delamination
- UPVC window seal failure
- Sash window condition
- Flat roof membrane condition
- Zinc roof
- Felt roof condition
- Corrugated asbestos roof
- Cavity wall insulation issues
- External wall insulation issues
- No building regulations certificate
- No planning permission for extension
- Certificate of lawfulness needed
- Indemnity insurance required
- Neighbour dispute on file
- EPC F or G rating
- Oil heating property
- Off-gas-grid property
- Solar panel lease vs owned
- Ground source heat pump property
- Air source heat pump property
- Chimney breast removed without support
- Floor joist decay
- Wall bowing
- Mould and condensation
- Septic tank property
- Thatched roof condition
- Listed building restrictions
- Conservation area restrictions
- Restrictive covenants on title
- Coal mining area
- Coastal erosion risk
- Flood risk zone 3
- Radon affected area
- Contaminated land history
- Trees near building
- Party wall agreement outstanding
- EICR required
- Knotweed treatment history
- Single glazing condition
- RCD protection missing
- Damp-proofing guarantee transferability
- PRC (precast reinforced concrete) house
- Airey house
- BISF (British Iron and Steel Federation) house
- Timber frame construction
- Steel frame house
- Wet rot
- Heave (ground movement)
- Chimney condition and stability
- Short lease (under 80 years)
- Fire safety: flat and leasehold issues
- Blocked or condemned flue
- Spalling brickwork
- Diagonal cracks in walls
- Retaining wall condition
- Tanking failure in basement
- Missing or slipped ridge tiles
- Lead flashing condition
- Gutters and downpipes
- Double glazing condensation (failed units)
- Skylight or roof light condition
- Dormer condition and weathering
- Torn or missing sarking felt
- Chancel repair liability
- Easement or right of way
- Boundary dispute or unclear boundary
- Adverse possession risk
- Flying freehold
- Ground rent escalation clause
- High or variable service charge
- Extension without planning consent
- Loft conversion: no building regs
- Single-phase electrical supply only
- Shared or private sewer
- Blocked or collapsed drains
- Cesspit or septic tank
- Solid fuel heating
- No mains gas supply
- Low water pressure
- Private water supply
- Wimpey No-Fines concrete house
- Reema construction
- Unity or Boot construction
- Laing Easiform
- Cornish Unit house
- Cross-wall construction
- In-situ concrete construction
- Oak frame construction
- Radon: mitigation required
- Missing or inadequate fire alarms
- Single staircase: means of escape
- No earthing or bonding
Tool shortcut
Check the property before you offer
Flood, subsidence, EPC, crime, schools, transport, broadband, tenure, age, listed status and price checks where data is available.
Run a free previewCross-check this finding with EPC, building age, and address-specific risk data.
What you need to know
Severity
Serious. Lender and insurer involvement likely; structural or specialist remediation.
Typical cost to fix
Service charge increases for fire safety can run from a few hundred pounds per year per flat (annual fire risk assessment) to many thousands per year (waking watch contribution while remediation is planned). Cladding remediation contributions for buildings outside the Building Safety Fund are now constrained by the 2022 Act for qualifying leaseholders, but disputes are ongoing.
Mortgage impact
Most mainstream UK lenders require a satisfactory EWS1 (typically A1, A2 or A3, or B1) for flats above approximately 11m / 4 storeys. B2-rated buildings are generally unmortgageable until remediation is complete and a new EWS1 is issued. Some specialist lenders consider B2 properties at lower LTVs.
Insurance impact
Block buildings insurance for flats has risen sharply since 2018 in higher-risk buildings, the FCA reviewed this market in 2022 and the rise continues. Premiums per flat have multiplied in many buildings; the leaseholder pays via service charge.
When to pull out
Pull out if EWS1 is B2 with no remediation funded, service charge increases are open-ended, the building is outside the Building Safety Fund, and your lender refuses. The Building Safety Act 2022 protections for qualifying leaseholders apply to remediation costs but not to all fire-safety service-charge increases.
When to renegotiate, and by how much
If EWS1 status is unresolved, hold off exchange until clarity. If a B1 has been issued recently, treat as standard. If B2 with funded remediation, negotiate based on the timeline and any waking watch / interim contribution still payable.
Thinking of pulling out or renegotiating? What to do after a bad survey
Run the check on this address
The Survey Decoder explains the wording. The full report adds address-specific flood, subsidence, EPC, crime, listed status, building age and price comparison data, so a single finding isn't judged in isolation.
Run the check
Check the property before you offer
Flood, subsidence, EPC, crime, schools, transport, broadband, tenure, age, listed status and price checks where data is available.
Run a free previewRead next
EWS1 form required , often sits near fire safety: flat and leasehold issues on a survey and is the next thing to check.
Editorial review
Editorial owner: BiteRight Ltd, operator of MyPropertyScan. We review buyer guides against UK public property datasets, RICS survey wording, lender requirements, and common buyer questions.
Pages are updated when source coverage, property-risk guidance, survey cost assumptions, or product checks materially change. Methodology and dataset limitations are explained on the MyPropertyScan methodology page.
Sources used
We use UK public and specialist sources where they are available. Public datasets can be incomplete, delayed, or missing for some addresses. Treat them as a starting point, not as a replacement for professional advice.
Source standard: preference goes to official government datasets, statutory bodies, professional standards, and primary dataset publishers. We cite the source family on the page and explain coverage limits rather than filling gaps with unsupported estimates.