ESW1 forms should be regulated due to industry mistrust of the document, which was unveiled to assess the fire safety of a building’s external walls after the 2019 Grenfell Tower disaster, software company Property Inspect has warned.
The forms are commonly mistrusted by mortgage lenders due to being signed off by people who don’t have the qualifications to do so.
According to the UK government, an EWS1 form “must be completed by a qualified and competent professional, such as a Chartered Construction Professional, as defined by the RICS guidance, who has the expertise to assess the fire risk presented by external wall materials”.
Siân Hemming-Metcalfe, operations director at Property Inspect, said: “The ongoing mistrust surrounding EWS1 forms is having a profound and unacceptable impact, not just on our industry, but on the people trapped by its failings.
“Mortgage lenders are hesitant to support high-rise flats without a signed EWS1 certificate. Yet even when these forms are present, doubts remain over whether the individual signing is properly qualified or authorised. As a result, the credibility of the forms themselves is now being questioned, undermining their purpose entirely.
“This systemic issue is making lives extremely difficult. I personally know a family of four who have been stuck in a one-bedroom flat for years. They can’t move because no lender will offer a mortgage to potential buyers of their property – solely due to problems with EWS1 certification.”
Hemming-Metcalfe added: “I understand that implementing robust systems and eliminating fraudulent or inadequate sign-offs is complex.
“But we’ve reached the point where the human cost is too great to ignore. Collective industry action is urgently needed to establish proper compliance procedures, backed by qualified and accountable professionals. We need regulatory oversight of EWS1 certification, similar to what exists for gas safety.
“We can’t sit back and wait for a super-ombudsman or centralised authority to save us. The responsibility is ours not only to restore trust but to ensure fire safety, and protect the people whose lives are being directly affected.”
This prevalence of incompetent or fraudulent forms and the broad industry mistrust of has led MPs to raise concerns about the large number of EWS1 forms that feature fake signatures.
In May 2024, Clive Betts, chair of the Levelling Up, Housing, and Communities Committee, raised the issue of fake signatures while corresponding with RICS and the Fire Industry Association (FIA), while in August 2024, the Institution of Fire Engineers (IFE) suspended an inspector for failing to “maintain and work within professional competence” while issuing EWS1s among other certifications.