EWS1 forms for Cardiff buildings
Cardiff's growth in city-centre apartments and student towers means Welsh landlord rules and the new Welsh regime for higher-risk buildings both apply to many of our clients here.
The EWS1 form is a standard way for a qualified professional to confirm to lenders and valuers that the external wall of a residential building has been assessed. It is a valuation document, not a fire safety certificate, and it does not replace the building's fire risk assessment.
There are two routes. Option A is for walls where the materials are unlikely to support combustion. Option B is for walls that do contain combustible materials, and needs a fire engineer to judge whether the risk is low enough or whether remedial work is needed. An EWS1 is valid for five years.
The rules that apply in Cardiff
The Building Safety Act 2022 occupation-phase regime for higher-risk buildings applies in England only. In Wales, owners of multi-occupied residential buildings should follow Welsh Government building safety requirements and the Welsh Building Safety Fund process for external wall issues.
What is included
- Desktop review of existing documents
- Intrusive inspection where needed
- Option A or Option B assessment
- Signed EWS1 form for lenders and valuers
- Remediation scope where the outcome is B2
- Advice on whether a PAS 9980 appraisal is more useful
Buildings we work on in Cardiff
- Freeholders
- Resident management companies
- Managing agents
- Leaseholders selling or remortgaging
Areas we cover from Cardiff
From Cardiff we also cover Barry (7 miles), Newport (11 miles), Pontypridd (11 miles), Bridgend (17 miles) and Merthyr Tydfil (20 miles). Elsewhere in South Glamorgan we work in Barry. If your building is not in a listed town, we still cover it: every enquiry for ews1 forms in Wales is handled the same way.