For freeholders, managing agents and housing providers
FRAEW and PAS 9980 Explained: What the Appraisal Decides and What Comes Next
Sviatoslav JerdetchiiCEO & Founder of Craftex. Updated , 7 min read
The short answer
A FRAEW is a fire risk appraisal of external walls: a PAS 9980 assessment that decides whether the cladding and wall build-up of a residential block need remediation, mitigation or no action.
- The fire risk assessment flags the wall; the FRAEW decides what, if anything, must change.
- A FRAEW is required for Cladding Safety Scheme funding.
- The outcome sets the remediation scope, the cost and, once the Bill is law, the deadline.
A FRAEW is a fire risk appraisal of external walls, carried out to PAS 9980. It tells the person responsible for a block of flats whether the walls need cladding remediation, interim measures or no action. BSI published a revised PAS 9980 on 14 September 2026.
This guide is for freeholders, residents' management company directors, managing agents and housing providers. We are a London contractor, so it follows the FRAEW past the report, to funding, approvals and works. Our cladding remediation team starts from your report. Holding one now? Get a free remediation scope and cost plan.
What a FRAEW is
FRAEW stands for Fire Risk Appraisal of External Walls. PAS 9980 introduced the term. The appraisal assesses how likely fire is to spread through the external wall system, and whether measures are needed to reduce the risk.
Its findings feed into the building's wider fire risk assessment. That matters because the external wall is now part of the Fire Safety Order. Under the Fire Safety Act 2021, the Order covers a building's structure and external walls where it has two or more sets of domestic premises.
The Act's wording reaches doors and windows in those walls and anything attached to the exterior, including balconies. So a FRAEW looks at the whole wall build-up and its attachments, not only the cladding panels.
Who commissions it and who writes it
The responsible person or entity for the building commissions the FRAEW. That is usually the freeholder, a residents' management company or a housing provider, often through the managing agent.
A competent assessor writes it. BSI says the revised standard sets recognised competence expectations for assessors. For Cladding Safety Scheme funding, the assessor must be on Homes England's accredited panel.
We do not write FRAEWs. We price the works from the report you send us.
PAS 9980 and the 2026 revision
PAS 9980 is a code of practice for fire risk appraisals of external walls in existing blocks of flats. BSI first published it in 2022 and issued the revised edition on 14 September 2026. It is voluntary and free to download.
BSI developed it with regulators, fire engineers, insurers, lenders and resident groups, and consulted publicly before publication. BSI says the revision provides:
- A structured methodology for the appraisal
- Common terminology across assessors
- Clearer documentation requirements
- Recognised competence expectations for assessors
The standard also guides the assessor on when a FRAEW is needed and when risk is low enough to skip a specialist appraisal. It then covers whether any increased risk is tolerable, and which proportionate measures to take.
Does an older FRAEW still count?
RICS says FRAEWs carried out under PAS 9980:2022 are still valid. It recommends that new assessments follow the updated 2026 edition. Executive summaries must be included, so that a non-specialist can read the outcome.
If your appraisal predates the revision, ask the assessor whether its findings still hold before you commission works from it.
If your FRAEW says the walls need work, our cladding remediation team can scope and price it from the report.
FRAEW vs FRA vs EWS1
Three documents get confused. They answer different questions for different readers.
| Document | Who orders it | What it decides | Who relies on it |
|---|---|---|---|
| Fire risk assessment (FRA) | The responsible person | Fire risks across the whole building, including its external walls | The responsible person |
| FRAEW to PAS 9980 | The responsible person or entity | Whether the external wall system's fire risk is tolerable and what action is needed | Owners, and funders such as the Cladding Safety Scheme |
| EWS1 form | Requested for a sale or lending decision | Whether remediation costs affect the value of a flat | Valuers and lenders |
RICS is clear that the EWS1 is for valuation and lending only. It says the form is not a life safety certificate. An EWS1 is valid for five years for the whole building.
RICS also says valuers and lenders are increasingly moving away from the EWS1, and some may accept a FRAEW instead. Each lender's own policy decides.
What leaseholders pay
Qualifying leaseholders do not pay to fix or remove unsafe cladding. Where a developer cannot be held responsible, other building safety costs are normally capped at £10,000, or £15,000 in Greater London.
On 27 October 2026 the government said it plans to widen this. A qualifying leaseholder could own up to six properties, not three.
What happens after the FRAEW
Once the FRAEW says work is needed, the route from report to signed-off walls has six steps.
- Scope the works. The conclusions become a specification: which walls, which layers and which interim measures stay in place. We price from your report and any intrusive survey.
- Choose the funding route. New applications for life-safety cladding work on residential buildings over 11 m in England go through the Cladding Safety Scheme, with the FRAEW submitted. It does not fund private sector buildings over 18 m in London.
- Get approval where it applies. A higher-risk building is 18 m or 7 storeys with at least two residential units. Work to the common parts, including external remediation, needs Building Safety Regulator approval first. See gateway 2 and second staircases.
- Engage the leaseholders. The Cladding Safety Scheme makes evidence of leaseholder engagement a condition of grant payment. For costs that can be recharged, see our guide to the Section 20 consultation.
- Build with residents at home. Blocks stay occupied, so escape routes stay open and visits to flats are booked in advance.
- Sign off and hand over. Building control completion, then the records for the building's file, ready for the assessor to review the walls again.
Fire stopping and compartmentation often sit in the same scope as the wall, so one team can run them together.
How we work in an occupied building
These two projects show how we run works around people who stay in the building.
At Kensington Olympia we rebuilt a 400 sq m penthouse in 12 weeks while the building stayed fully occupied. At Portsoken House in Aldgate we rebuilt the reception at night and at weekends, while the other floors stayed let. Neither was a cladding project. We carry £10M public and £10M employers' liability cover.
Craftex has completed a range of both small and large-scale projects on our commercial property with exceptional precision and quality. Dmitriy consistently delivers courteous, prompt service and has shown great flexibility in accommodating last-minute changes to plans and timelines. I highly recommend Craftex for their professionalism and outstanding workmanship.
Remediation deadlines: 2029, 2031 and the Remediation Bill
The Building Safety (Remediation of Unsafe Cladding etc) Bill was introduced in the Commons on 14 October 2026. It had its second reading on 27 October and is now at committee stage. It is not law until it receives Royal Assent, so everything in this section is proposed.
What the government says it will require
On 14 October 2026 the government said the Bill creates a new legal duty. Those responsible for a building, such as freeholders, must identify, assess and fix problems without delay.
Proposed penalties include financial penalties of up to £500,000 through the First-tier Tribunal for failing to comply with a remediation order. Failure to register can bring penalties of up to £7,000, with higher penalties of up to £40,000.
Homes England or a local authority could step in where those responsible repeatedly fail to act.
The dates
| Announced | What it says |
|---|---|
| 17 July 2025 | Landlords of buildings of 18 m or more to finish by the end of 2029; landlords of 11 m to 18 m by the end of 2031 |
| 14 October 2026 | By the end of 2029, every building over 11 m with unsafe cladding remediated or with a clear completion date |
The two statements differ, and the Bill's own wording will decide. Treat 2029 as the date to plan to, and check the Bill as it is amended.
Those figures are the government's data at 30 September 2026, published on 28 October 2026. Almost half of the buildings identified had not yet started.
Powers that already exist
The Building Safety Act 2022 already lets the First-tier Tribunal make a remediation order. It requires a landlord to remedy specified defects by a set time. The tribunal can also make a remediation contribution order against a landlord, a developer or an associated person where that is just and equitable.
Cladding remediation cost and funding
No two buildings cost the same: facade area, the wall system, access and what is found once the walls are opened all move the price. The government's unit cost study is the best public benchmark.
| Measure | Figure |
|---|---|
| Mean cost per m² of cladding remediated | £1,843 |
| Expected range per m² | £743 to £2,943 |
| Mean including outliers | £2,077 |
| Projects analysed | 498 |
| Price base | Q2 2025 |
The range is the mean plus or minus one standard deviation. Figures exclude VAT, contractor contingencies and variations, and preventative fire mitigation. They include professional fees. Preliminaries are about 17% of average spend and access about 12%.
Funding routes
The Cladding Safety Scheme is the route for residential buildings over 11 m in England. It does not fund private sector buildings over 18 m in London. Hardship funds can no longer pay for a FRAEW.
Where a developer built the building, a remediation contribution order is one route for recovering costs. Your solicitor should advise on which route applies.
Use this list before you commission works. Send us your FRAEW and get a free remediation scope and cost plan. Already have a quote? Send it to us. We'll beat it.
- A FRAEW to PAS 9980 from a competent assessor, with an executive summary stating the outcome
- Height, storeys and number of residential units confirmed, so you know if the building is higher-risk
- Funding route confirmed: Cladding Safety Scheme, developer route or own funds
- Building Safety Regulator approval route and timing planned, if the building is higher-risk
- Interim fire safety measures in place and reviewed against the FRAEW
- Evidence of leaseholder engagement kept for the lifetime of the works
- Scope, programme and cost plan from a contractor who works with residents at home
- The Bill tracked as it passes, and the 2029 date written into your programme
