EWS1 Forms and Survey of External Walls

Anstey Horne have the largest and most experienced team of qualified surveyors to complete EWS1 forms and issue certificates in the UK

What are EWS1 Forms?

EWS stands for ‘External Wall Survey’.

The external wall consists of the outside wall of a residential building, including any cladding, insulation, and fire break systems for instance.

An EWS1 Form records in a consistent and universal manner the assessments that have been carried out on the external wall construction of residential buildings.

An EWS1 Survey can apply to buildings of any height where specific concerns exist.

The assessment must be conducted by a qualified and competent professional, such as a Chartered Construction Professional as defined on the RICS guidance.

A single assessment is needed per building. Once the EWS1 form has been completed it will be valid for five years, subject to significant use changes or any refurbishments.

For further information on EWS1 Surveys and Forms, our fact sheet can be found here, as well as our EWS1 FAQs. There's also a further article which sets out the process in more detail.

Why are EWS1 Forms required?

Following the Grenfell fire disaster and the issue of the Hackitt Report (Building a Safer Future) the safety of high rise buildings, particularly residential, has come under increasing scrutiny amid a drive to confirm their safety or to remediate those buildings.

In response, the Royal Institute of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) developed the EWS1 Survey process.

EWS1 forms first came into use in December 2019 and were updated in March 2021.

EWS1 Forms - How we can help?

Our team of Chartered Surveyors are experienced in carrying out detailed inspections of buildings and issuing EWS1 Forms.

Since its inception we have successfully completed EWS1 forms on hundreds of blocks and issued certificates for thousands of flats.

Our methodology and approach has been approved by our professional indemnity insurers, which makes us stand out from the crowd.

All our work includes a visit to the building by one of our qualified team for an initial visual assessment.

We do not undertake desktop assessments alone as this is in breach of the EWS1 form process.

With offices in London, Birmingham , Manchester, Bristol, Norwich & Plymouth we undertake external wall surveys all around the UK.

What makes our EWS1 Survey service different?

We provide specialist advice on the remediation of buildings that fail to meet the required safety standards.

This service includes the procurement of a specialist design team to allow the full remediation of the external façade.

We provide advice that is backed by specific professional indemnity insurance to undertake this work.

Further Advice on External Wall Surveys

Follow the link for the latest RICS guidance note ‘Cladding for Surveyors, 1 Edition, March 2021‘.

Also read more about the need for EWS1 for buildings below 18m.

Our FAQs page is a compilation of many of the questions we are frequently asked about the EWS process. We have updated our FAQs following new RICS guidance in March 2021.

For further information see our EWS1 Fact Sheet.