Low-rise apartment owners freed from the need for wall security certificate | Housing market

Ministers sought to ease the hardships of thousands of apartment owners trapped in properties they cannot sell or remortgage by amending advice on low-rise fire safety documents, a requirement introduced after the Grenfell Tower fire.

In a statement released alongside a debate in the House of Commons on the Building Safety Bill, which aims to address the safety and regulatory repercussions of the 2017 tower fire in London’s Housing and Communities Department announced the change.

Following expert advice from a group led by Dame Judith Hackitt, which reviewed building regulations after the Grenfell disaster, people living in blocks less than 18 meters in height will no longer be advised. ” have a study of the exterior walls, or an EWS1 certificate, before selling their apartments.

Many people looking to sell or remortgage have discovered that their building does not have EWS1, a document that certifies that the construction of a building is free from combustible materials. And some tenants were forced to embark on major remedial work to obtain the certificate.

The new guidelines aren’t mandatory, because EWS1 certificates aren’t government-regulated, but the strict guidelines to mortgage lenders that certificates aren’t necessary aim to iron out what officials call the ‘unintended consequences’ of advice. post-Grenfell.

The Department of Housing, Communities and Local Government says that there is no risk of systemic fire in these low-rise buildings and that work can be limited to less expensive measures such as the installation of alarms or sprinklers, rather than the removal of the coating.

Robert Jenrick, the communities secretary, described the new council as “an important step forward” for tenants who had had problems selling their homes.

He said: “As we strengthen the overall regulatory system, tenants cannot get stuck in homes they cannot sell due to industry being overly cautious, and neither should they. feel like you’re living in dangerous homes when the evidence shows otherwise. “

The End Our Cladding Scandal lobby group said it cautiously welcomed the announcement, but warned that mortgage lenders had not listened to similar advice in the past.

The group said: “At every moment the government has sought solace in the market, although it has been clear for years that the only body truly capable of dealing with vested interests in the areas of leasing, construction and insurance, and ending this living nightmare is the government itself.

The change in direction is supported by the National Council of Fire Chiefs and the Institution of Fire Engineers. Mortgage lenders, including HSBC, Barclays and Lloyds, have said they will comply.

Previously, ministers had said that blocks less than 18 meters in height only needed an EWS1 check if they had certain types of surfacing of particular concern, but the check had become the default check for most. buildings.

Stephen McPartland, the Conservative MP for Stevenage, who has regularly criticized the government for responding to the siding problem, told MPs during debate on the Building Safety Bill that Jenrick had “created a market failure” with the previous tips.

He said: “[The change] could repair some of the damage it caused, but this will need to be built into legislation to provide real and practical support to tenants, not just rhetoric. Without proper action, McPartland said, the change risked being nothing more than “weasel words.”

The MP also asked for information on the position of people in low-rise buildings who had to deal with large bills due to work made necessary by the EWS1 checks. Authorities hope that in many cases, if no work has started, tenants could be spared paying since the work would no longer be needed.