Building safety became one of the biggest issues in UK leasehold after the Grenfell Tower fire, and it still shapes what leaseholders pay, what they can mortgage, and what they can sell. Here is what the key terms mean and what protection you actually have.
Following widespread concern about combustible cladding and other fire safety defects on multi-storey residential buildings, lenders, insurers and building owners have all become far more cautious about buildings over a certain height. For affected leaseholders, this has historically meant unmortgageable flats, unsellable properties, and, in the worst cases, bills running into tens of thousands of pounds for remediation works.
The law has since moved a long way toward protecting leaseholders from these costs, but the position still depends heavily on your specific building, its height, and who the freeholder or developer is.
The External Wall System (EWS1) form is a certificate confirming whether a building's external wall materials have been assessed by a suitably qualified professional, and if so, whether the risk is acceptable or remediation is needed. It was introduced to give lenders confidence when valuing flats in buildings with cladding or similar external wall systems.
Not every building needs one. Lenders generally only request an EWS1 for buildings over 11 metres (roughly five storeys) with certain types of external wall construction, though individual lender policies vary.
If your building has a live EWS1 rating, ask your managing agent to confirm it is current and hasn't expired — most are valid for five years and lenders will not accept an out-of-date certificate.
The Building Safety Act 2022 introduced significant new protections for leaseholders in relevant buildings (generally 11 metres or five storeys and above). Key changes include:
The general policy intent is that the costs of fixing historical building safety defects should fall on developers and building owners responsible for the original works, not leaseholders. In practice this is pursued through:
Whether you qualify depends on factors including the building's height, when your lease was granted, whether it is your only or main home, and the value of the property. If in doubt, ask your solicitor or the Leasehold Advisory Service (LEASE) to confirm your status.
An unresolved building safety issue can still complicate a sale or remortgage, even where you are legally protected from paying for the works, because lenders want confidence the building itself is safe and that any liability is clearly capped or excluded.
Before listing or remortgaging, it is worth asking your managing agent for the current EWS1 status (if applicable), any Landlord's Certificate confirming your protected status, and details of any ongoing remediation timeline. Providing this proactively to your buyer's or lender's solicitor can significantly speed up the process — see our guides to selling and buying a leasehold flat for the wider process.
Building safety issues often intersect with lease length and remortgaging decisions. These tools and guides may help:
Estimate the cost of extending your lease if a building safety issue is delaying a wider sale plan.
Launch Tool →Check whether costs being passed on to you through your service charge look reasonable.
Launch Tool →Read our guide to remortgaging a leasehold flat for more on how building safety questions feed into a lender's valuation. If costs are being wrongly passed on to you despite the leaseholder protections, see your rights as a leaseholder.