If you are caught up in the ESW1 process, here is what you should know about the UK government’s involvement.
Ever since disaster struck at Grenfell Tower in 2017, the UK government has become aware of breaches/gaps in fire safety regulation of construction materials. Resulting from this, the public demanded that they act. This action was patchy and there has been some back and forth over what it includes, but UK gov have now announced their plans.
The UK Gov Initial Pledge
In the months and years immediately following the Grenfell Tower disaster which saw 72 people lose their lives in a fire spread by external ACM cladding, the government aired a response. They came up with a temporary note which advised flat owners to carry out safety checks on the cladding of their buildings. This was met head on by lenders and property valuers, who wanted proof of this note being addressed before they would lend to owners buying and selling.
Later, the government announced that they would use a cladding removal service to remediate cladding works on all government owned buildings that met the requirements. If your building was council owned and over 18m tall, it would be subject to government intervention. They promised to remove the cladding from 461 residential and publicly owned buildings.
Additional Action for Cladding Remediation
The government were hugely criticised for their response to the ‘cladding crisis.’ Although eventually adjusting the ESW1 procedure to leave out flats without cladding and adjusting it once again to include flats of any height and scrapping the 18m+ rule, this all took time. In August 2021, MPs were still struggling to gain public approval, despite allocating £578 million to fix dangerous cladding.
The figure allocated in the Building Safety Program was divided between the private sector and social housing. The reason there is anger surrounding the fund is the speed at which it is allocated. With every homeowner buying and selling a flat with cladding now required to fill in an ESW1 form, the government admits there are a lack of qualified buildings fire safety inspectors to carry out the checks. So even though the government has pledged over half a billion pounds, only £109 million had been used for its intended purpose as of June 2021.
The government reports that 163 buildings had received support in that same 30th June bulletin. The average amount per building paid out amounts to £2.5 million.
Public Criticism of the Governments Response to the Cladding Crisis
The public have been understandably angry from the outset. With hundreds of thousands of people in England now living in flats with improper cladding, the trouble doesn’t end there. Homeowners and leaseholders are now stuck, unable to buy or sell because the buildings don’t have either safe cladding or a certificate which says their cladding is fireproof.
The government caused further anger when they proposed that instead of paying out grants to fund individual leaseholders cladding remediation, homeowners would receive low interest loans, instead. They later backtracked, with the home secretary announcing the government would pay for the removal of unsafe cladding for all leaseholders in high rise buildings. This might have protected those in high rises, but some lenders ask for ESW1 forms even on buildings under that set 18m limit.
Where does this leave flat owners?
As of May 2021, all private leaseholders can apply for the Private Sector ACM Cladding Remediation Fund to help with the costs of having dangerous cladding either removed or replaced. To be eligible, you must live in a residential building over 18m in height and have cladding class A1, A2-S1, or DO7.You can read the full guidance on how to apply on the government’s website.
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