Seven mortgage lenders have agreed to foot the bill to make cladding forms public through a building safety portal.
The forms – known as EWS1 (External Wall Fire Review Form) – are used by surveyors employed by mortgage lenders to make their valuations on flats.
Introduced in 2019 following government guidance to address the Grenfell Tower fire, they determine if a property needs remediation work.
They provide the vital information lenders need to help them decide whether or not to lend on a property based on the safety risks.
The forms are currently hosted by a special portal – the Fire Industry Association (FIA) Building Safety Information portal – which was created to make the information more publicly available.
However, it has emerged many of the fire professionals who undertake assessments on the suitability and safety of cladding have been slow to add completed documents to the portal.
Today’s news, that Barclays, HSBC, Lloyds, Nationwide, NatWest, Santander and TSB will be covering the cost of making the forms public is therefore being hailed as a ‘welcome step’ for those purchasing flats or apartments.
They will cover the cost of uploading an estimated 6,000 existing forms and the lenders will also pay the fees for around 250 fire professionals to register on the portal.
What’s more, UK Finance – the professional body for the banking industry – said the collaboration meant everyone, including homeowners, prospective buyers, valuers and lenders, would be able to access the EWS1 form through a central portal.
Charles Roe, director of mortgages at UK Finance explained: “These forms are vitally important for anyone looking to buy, sell or remortgage homes in a multi-storey building.
“The financial backing and support of the seven lenders is a positive step to keep the housing market moving for flats and apartments. In addition, it will improve transparency and access to building safety information for everyone involved in the home-buying process.”
According to the FIA the portal makes it easier for members of the public to find the relevant form for their building.
There are also additional checks to ensure the person who carried out the survey of the building and filled out the form was who they said they were and had the correct qualifications and credentials.
Ian Moore, CEO of the FIA said: “Accessibility to accurate information is well overdue and this portal will go some way to solving that.”
