New insurance scheme to free up surveyors and clear cladding backlog
A government-backed indemnity is designed to give surveyors confidence to assess buildings via ESW1 forms.
The Government has stepped up its efforts to free leaseholders from the trap created by EWS1 forms.
A new professional indemnity insurance scheme for property surveyors assessing cladding has been created, which should help to make it easier for leaseholders to buy and sell flats.
The initiative is a collaboration between the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities (DLUHC), and insurers MGAM, SCOR and Aon.
It is being launched in response to the significant shortage of insurance companies willing to provide PI cover to firms undertaking assessments of external wall systems, known as EWS1 forms, in mid-and high-rise residential buildings.
It is hoped that after the scheme has run its course in five years that insurers will take over, removing the requirement for a state-backed product.
Stuck in limbo
EWS1 forms were developed by the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS), UK Finance and the Building Societies Association to support the valuation process for high-rise residential buildings with cladding.
Paul Scully, DLUHC minister (pictured), says: “For far too long leaseholders in high rise buildings have been stuck in limbo, unable to secure mortgages on their properties, sell up and move on to their next step.
“It is for these leaseholders that we have launched this new indemnity scheme today, and I thank our partners for helping make this a reality. This scheme will give EWS1 assessors the confidence to exercise their professional judgement, speed up the sale of flats and allow lenders to lend with confidence.”
