Leasehold
No EWS1 is in the pack and the survey notes cladding. Has the absence of the form been filled by the surveyor's sentence?
No. The surveyor's sentence has not filled the absence of an EWS1. The pack contains no EWS1, and the survey notes cladding. A sentence that cladding is present, or even a short description of it, is not the external wall form that lenders ask for. The survey has recorded what it could see of the outside. It has not produced an EWS1, has not signed one, and has not assessed the wall system from a visual line. GOV.UK guidance for leaseholders on building safety is about the protections and the papers around them. This report has not replaced a missing form with a sentence.
Last reviewed 24 October 2026. Written for buyers in England and Wales unless this answer says otherwise. No named surveyor has signed this page. It is general guidance, not a report on your house, and not legal advice.
What is the fuller explanation?
An EWS1 is a set form about the external wall of a block, prepared on its own terms by people instructed to assess that wall. A home survey notes materials in view, such as panels or something that looks like cladding. Those words help you picture the building. They do not complete the form missing from the pack, and they do not carry the statements that form exists to carry. A blank where the form should be is still a blank. A sentence beside it does not become the form.
Ask the solicitor to obtain the EWS1, or a clear reason why one is not held, and to keep that request apart from the cladding note. GOV.UK sets out building safety protections for qualifying leaseholders. The survey does not decide whether you qualify, and it does not fill the form in. Do not send the survey sentence to a lender as if it were an EWS1. The form is missing. The sentence did not take its place.
What should you ask your surveyor?
- Did you note cladding without producing an EWS1?
- Is the form still absent from the pack you saw?
- Have you avoided treating your sentence as that form?
What are the typical next steps?
- Keep the cladding note separate from the missing EWS1.
- Ask the solicitor to obtain the form itself.
- Do not offer the survey sentence in place of the form.
Costs vary with the building and with who you instruct. Where this page does not cite a published figure, ask the surveyor, a relevant specialist, or your solicitor for a written quote. Do not treat a forum average as the price.
Also asked about this
If the face looks like brick slips, does that complete the form?
No. Brick slips, if that is what was seen, are a visual description. They are not an EWS1, and no EWS1 was in the pack. The survey has not assessed the wall behind the face and has not signed a form. Appearance does not fill the gap. The solicitor still has to deal with the missing form.
Can a lender be told the survey cleared the external wall?
No. The survey noted cladding and did not produce an EWS1. This report is not that form. GOV.UK's guidance for leaseholders does not turn a survey sentence into one. The accurate statement is that the form was not in the pack and the survey did not replace it.