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.
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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
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EWS1 form required , often sits near fire safety: flat and leasehold issues on a survey and is the next thing to check.
How MyPropertyScan produces this guide, and what it is not
Published by MyPropertyScan and written by Ziad Nasr, who is accountable for its accuracy. No page here is written or reviewed by a chartered surveyor, conveyancer or regulated adviser, and we do not claim otherwise.
This page is not:
- Chartered surveying — we do not inspect properties or produce RICS Home Survey reports
- Legal advice — we do not act as conveyancers or advise on title, tenure or contracts
- Mortgage or insurance advice — we are not regulated by the FCA and give no recommendations
Figures and process steps come from the published UK datasets and standards listed on this page, not from professional practice. Pages are updated when source coverage, survey cost assumptions, or lender and legal requirements materially change. Dataset limitations are set out on the methodology page.
Spotted something out of date or wrong? Email hello@mypropertyscan.com and we will correct it and change the update date.
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.
- Professional standard: RICS Home Survey StandardRICS standard for condition-based residential surveys in the UK.
- Learn more from: RICS consumer guide to surveysConsumer-facing guide to survey types and when each level is appropriate.
- Official guidance: GOV.UK buying or selling your homeGovernment overview of the home buying and selling process.