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EWS1 Form: Ratings and Who Needs One
Sviatoslav JerdetchiiCEO & Founder of Craftex. Updated , 6 min read
The short answer
An EWS1 form is a one-page RICS form that confirms to lenders and valuers that a block's external walls have been assessed by a qualified professional. It is not a life safety certificate.
- Option A means the wall materials are unlikely to support combustion; Option B means combustible materials are present.
- B1 means the fire risk is low enough that no remedial works are needed; B2 means remedial works are required.
- One form covers the whole building and is valid for five years; the building owner arranges it.
- A B2 rating needs a costed, funded remediation plan with dates before most lenders will lend.
An EWS1 form is a one-page form that tells lenders and valuers a block's external walls have been assessed by a qualified professional. RICS created it with lenders and the fire sector, and it covers the whole building for five years.
It is not a life safety certificate. It records a rating, from A1 to B2, that a lender reads when someone in the block wants to sell or remortgage. A B2 means the walls need work.
We are a London contractor for cladding remediation: we do not sign EWS1 forms or write fire appraisals. We price and build the works a B2 calls for. Holding one now? Get a free remediation scope.
What an EWS1 form is and who signs it
RICS describes the EWS1 as a set way for a building owner to show lenders and valuers the walls were assessed. A suitable expert does the assessment. It is used for blocks of flats, student accommodation, care homes and HMOs, not hotels.
The process runs in a fixed order. A qualified professional appraises the external walls, and RICS says the form is completed after that fire risk appraisal. One form covers the whole block and lasts five years.
| Question | Answer |
|---|---|
| Who arranges it | The building owner or management company |
| Who signs it | A competent member of a relevant professional body |
| What it covers | The whole building's external wall system |
| How long it lasts | Five years |
| Who relies on it | Valuers and lenders |
| What it is not | A life safety certificate |
The signatory matters. RICS says the person signing must be able to assess the cladding, insulation, cavity barriers and fire stopping in line with PAS 9980. For taller or complex buildings, RICS points to chartered or incorporated engineers registered through the Institution of Fire Engineers.
RICS also advises checking the signatory with the professional and their institution. Since April 2025, lender and building society statements have addressed forms over five years old and forms signed by an invalid signatory.
The A and B ratings explained
The form has two options. Option A applies where the external wall materials are unlikely to support combustion. Option B applies where combustible materials are present.
| Rating | What it records | Lending position (March 2022 statement) |
|---|---|---|
| A1 or A2 | Option A: materials unlikely to support combustion, no remediation recommended | Lenders continue to lend |
| A3 | Option A, with remediation recommended | Lending where a costed, funded plan with dates is agreed |
| B1 | Option B: fire risk low enough that no remedial works are required | Lenders continue to lend |
| B2 | Option B: fire risk high enough that remedial works are required | Lending where a costed, funded plan with dates is agreed |
So the line that matters is simple. A1, A2 and B1 need no remediation for lending. A3 and B2 do. The statement was agreed by lenders and RICS on 31 March 2022, and RICS expects EWS1 assessments to follow PAS 9980.
When a lender asks for an EWS1
The form was first designed for residential buildings over 18 m. Government advice in January 2020 brought buildings of any height potentially into scope, but RICS is clear that not every building needs one.
RICS guidance for valuers sets the criteria a valuer uses to decide whether to ask. It looks at the building's height, the type of cladding, sometimes how much of it there is, and balconies and combustible materials. A second edition of that guidance takes effect on 1 November 2026.
Valuers follow their lender's instructions, so policies differ. GOV.UK's Help to Buy guidance says a leaseholder may need the building's EWS1 to repay or remortgage. It adds that the management company is responsible for obtaining it.
EWS1 vs FRAEW under PAS 9980
The FRAEW is the appraisal itself: a fire risk appraisal of external walls to PAS 9980. The EWS1 is the short form that follows it for lending. They answer different questions.
| FRAEW to PAS 9980 | EWS1 form | |
|---|---|---|
| Purpose | Decide whether the wall's fire risk is tolerable and what to do | Tell lenders and valuers the walls were assessed |
| Reader | The building owner and responsible person | Valuers and lenders |
| Output | A report with an executive summary and recommendations | A rating from A1 to B2 |
| Cladding Safety Scheme | Required, from a panel assessor | Not listed by the scheme |
The direction of travel is clear. RICS says the government wants lenders to move away from EWS1s towards other evidence, including FRAEWs, and some lenders already accept the FRAEW instead.
Our guide to FRAEW and PAS 9980 explains the appraisal in full: what it checks, the 2026 revision and what comes after it.
A B2 rating: remediation, funding and timescales
A B2 means the professional found the fire risk high enough that remedial works are required. For lending, the remedy is a costed and funded remediation plan with committed start and finish dates.
That plan has three parts, and each one needs evidence:
- A scope. The FRAEW's recommendations become a specification: which walls, which layers, what interim measures stay.
- Funding. A responsible developer, the Cladding Safety Scheme, or the building's own funds.
- Dates. A programme with a start on site and a finish, written into the works contract.
Funding through the Cladding Safety Scheme starts with an application by the building's Responsible Entity, then a FRAEW from the scheme's panel. Homes England checks that costs are eligible and reasonable, and asks whether competitive bids were obtained.
Leaseholders are protected from much of the cost. Qualifying leaseholders do not pay to fix or remove unsafe cladding. Other building safety costs are normally capped at £10,000, or £15,000 in Greater London. Our guide to the Section 20 consultation covers the costs that can be recharged.
We hired Craftex for a commercial ground floor fit-out with 2 flats above. There were some minor co-ordination hiccups with third-party suppliers but the team kept it moving. Finish quality was strong. Kitchens and doors look great. I have already asked them for a quote on the next project.
How to get an EWS1 for your block
Start from the fire risk assessment. GOV.UK says every block with two or more flats needs one, and it should say whether an FRAEW is needed. Masonry walls may need neither an FRAEW nor an EWS1.
Then follow the steps in order:
- Check the existing paperwork. An earlier EWS1 may still be within its five years. RICS says the building owner should clarify which form is current.
- Appoint a qualified professional. Check their membership and competence for your building's height.
- Get the FRAEW. It is the appraisal the form rests on.
- Receive the EWS1. Share it with leaseholders and their lenders as needed.
- If it says A3 or B2, plan the works. Scope, funding route and dates, then tell leaseholders.
Works on an occupied block run around residents. At Pan Peninsula in Canary Wharf we rebuilt a 290 sq m penthouse in 10 weeks with residents at home. Neither that nor our Kensington Olympia project was a cladding job, but the access and resident planning are the same.
Holding a B2? Send us the FRAEW for a free remediation scope and a programme with dates. Already have a quote? Send it to us. We'll beat it.
- The current fire risk assessment, and whether it calls for an FRAEW
- Any existing EWS1 form, its date and its signatory
- The FRAEW to PAS 9980, with its executive summary
- The building's height, storeys and number of flats, measured as the funder asks
- The funding route: responsible developer, Cladding Safety Scheme or own funds
- A costed scope and a programme with start and finish dates
- A record of updates sent to leaseholders and residents
