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Leasehold

Who is asked to produce an EWS1, and why is that not the surveyor who inspected one flat?

The surveyor who inspected one flat is not the person who fills in an EWS1. That form is commissioned for the whole block, usually through the landlord or the managing agent, and only when a lender actually wants it. It is not inside a normal survey fee. Ask your solicitor who would provide it for this building, and do not chase the survey firm as if the form were already in their file.

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?

The person who can commission that external-wall assessment is whoever controls access and information for the block, typically through the landlord or the managing agent. Your surveyor can say what the outside looked like from the places they stood, and can say further investigation is needed. That sentence is not the form.

GOV.UK’s leaseholder guidance is about building-safety protections and evidence, not a promise that every block has an EWS1 or that every buyer must obtain one. Ask the lender whether they want the form for this building. This page does not invent a height threshold.

What should you ask your surveyor?

  • Did you inspect the external wall system, or did you exclude it?
  • What did you see from ground level that the solicitor should pass on?
  • Are you able to produce an EWS1 under this instruction?

What are the typical next steps?

  1. Ask the lender if they require an EWS1 here.
  2. Ask the agent or the solicitor who would commission it. Do not email the surveyor as if they already have it.
  3. Keep any survey sentence about cladding beside that enquiry, without calling the sentence a 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

Does a balcony mean an EWS1 is automatic?

No. A balcony is not the form. The lender decides what it wants. The survey decides what it could see.

If the seller already has an EWS1, is it yours?

Only if you and your lender are entitled to rely on that copy. Ask the solicitor. A PDF in an inbox is not automatically your certificate.

Sources