If you own, manage, or are selling a flat in a block or a converted house, you may be asked for an EWS1 form, a fire risk assessment, or both. The two are routinely confused, and supplying the wrong one is a common cause of delay in a sale or remortgage. This guide explains, in plain English, what each document is, who produces it, when you need it, and whether your building needs both. It is general information rather than legal or valuation advice.
The short version
A fire risk assessment is a life-safety review of a building, required by law and carried out for the responsible person. An EWS1 form is a valuation-support document used by mortgage lenders to understand a building's external walls. They have different purposes, different legal status, and different authors. One does not replace the other.
What a fire risk assessment is
A fire risk assessment looks at how a building manages the risk of fire to the people in it. For a block of flats or a converted house, it covers the communal parts: the shared entrance, hallways, staircases, escape routes, fire doors, detection and alarm provision, emergency lighting, signage, and the way fire safety is managed day to day. It is required under the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005, and the duty to have one sits with the responsible person, usually the freeholder, the residents' management company, or the managing agent.
The output is a written report with a prioritised action plan. It is a recurring duty: the assessment must be kept up to date and reviewed regularly, not done once and forgotten. Our fire risk assessments page explains how we arrange these, and our guide to fire risk assessments when selling a flat covers the conveyancing angle in detail.
What an EWS1 form is
EWS1 stands for External Wall System 1. It is a process and a one-page form introduced by the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) with lenders and other bodies, to give mortgage valuers a consistent way to understand the construction of a building's external walls, including any cladding. Its purpose is to support a lending and valuation decision, not to assess day-to-day life safety.
The key points about the EWS1 form are:
- It is completed by a suitably qualified professional, such as a chartered fire engineer or other competent person with the relevant expertise, not by a general fire risk assessor.
- One form covers the whole building, and it is normally valid for five years unless the building changes.
- It is requested by mortgage lenders for certain buildings during a purchase, sale, or remortgage. It is not something every building needs.
- Whether a building needs one depends on its height and the construction of its external walls, and on the lender's own requirements. These rules have changed several times since the form was introduced, so the current position should be checked rather than assumed.
The key differences at a glance
| Point | Fire risk assessment | EWS1 form |
|---|---|---|
| Main purpose | Life safety of people in the building | Support a mortgage valuation |
| Legal basis | Required under the Fire Safety Order 2005 | An industry process, not a legal duty in itself |
| What it looks at | The whole fire risk of the communal parts | The external wall system and cladding |
| Who carries it out | A competent fire risk assessor | A suitably qualified professional, often a chartered fire engineer |
| Who needs it | The responsible person for any qualifying building | Owners of certain buildings, when a lender asks |
| How often | Kept current and reviewed regularly | Typically valid for five years |
Do you need both?
For many buildings, yes. A block of flats will usually need a current fire risk assessment as a matter of law, regardless of any sale. Separately, if a flat in that building is being bought or remortgaged and the lender's criteria call for it, an EWS1 form may also be required. The two run on different tracks: one is an ongoing safety duty, the other is triggered by a lending decision. Having one does not satisfy the other.
This is why it pays to know which is being asked for. When a solicitor's enquiry or a valuer's request lands, check carefully whether the document wanted is the building's fire risk assessment or an EWS1 form, so you supply the right one first time.
Where J&L Security fits
J&L Security arranges fire risk assessments and carries out the fire safety work that follows. We arrange the assessment through a fire risk assessor we work with who holds AIFSM, TMIFPO and NEBOSH, and where the assessment identifies work, we carry out the remedials directly: fire alarm installation and maintenance (we are BAFE-accredited for the installation and maintenance of fire alarms), emergency lighting, electrical testing, and fire door works.
An EWS1 form is a separate, specialist exercise carried out by a qualified façade or fire engineer, and is not something we provide. What we can do is make sure the fire risk assessment side is properly handled and that any resulting alarm, lighting and fire door works are completed and certified.
We cover Essex and Greater London. See our fire risk assessments page, or call 0204 538 5925 or 0208 220 4770. You can also request a call back.