Banks and the Government are at loggerheads over plans to let homeowners sell flats in low-rise blocks without having a cladding survey.
Homeowners in buildings under 18 metres – the height reached by fire engine hoses – have been blocked from selling their flats unless they carry out a so-called External Wall Survey (EWS1).
The requirement, put in place after the 2017 Grenfell Tower disaster, has threatened to stop owners moving because so few surveyors are able or willing to do the work.
At loggerheads: Boris Johnson last week called on banks to stop asking for EWS1 surveys
Prime Minister Boris Johnson last week called on banks to stop asking for EWS1 surveys. But trade body UK Finance said banks would still have to obtain fire risk assessments under separate Government guide lines for mortgages. It said EWS1 forms were the ‘only process acceptable to lenders’.
A Government spokesman said: ‘We are working with lenders and insurers to help find solutions on how they can assure a building’s safety.’
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