Cladding that looked sound did not answer every question about buying the flat

The inspection considered the original building and the later upper extension together. No significant deterioration of the visible finishes was recorded, and normal maintenance of joints, fixings and finishes was anticipated. Appearance alone did not verify concealed construction or fire performance.

A surface inspection could not establish the make-up of concealed insulation, cavities or fire barriers. The survey therefore directed the buyer’s legal adviser to obtain the relevant external wall assessment records from the managing party before the purchase was finalised. It did not identify the cladding as defective or establish that replacement was necessary.

A fire risk appraisal of external walls, commonly shortened to FRAEW, is a specialist assessment of the external wall fire risk. An EWS1 form serves the valuation and lending process; it is not a general fire safety certificate. They should not be treated as interchangeable documents.

Not every block requires an EWS1 form. What is appropriate depends on the building and the lender’s requirements. For this purchase, the important step was to establish what assessments existed, what they concluded, whether further action was outstanding and whether the proposed lender would accept the available information.

The presence of communal alarm equipment did not answer those external wall questions. The report also sought the building’s fire risk assessment and associated management records, recognising that these address different aspects of the purchaser’s enquiries.

Where further assessment or remedial work is needed, obtaining the information and arranging the work can involve expense and delay. Responsibility for payment needs to be established from the lease, the building’s arrangements, any applicable protections and the legal enquiries; it should not be assumed that every cost will fall on the individual buyer.

The purchaser also needed information about the reserve fund and anticipated major works. A separate proposed communal water tank replacement illustrated why enquiries about pending expenditure mattered even where the flat itself showed no major disrepair. Any agreement about who would meet that contribution needed legal verification.

Unresolved questions can return when the owner later sells or remortgages. Missing records, outstanding work or lender concerns may narrow the pool of buyers, delay a transaction or affect the price. The issue is the evidence and liabilities attached to the particular building, rather than assuming that every apartment in a shared block carries the same problem.