Increasingly, prospective sellers awaiting the EWS1 cladding certification are considering letting in the interim. According to some figures, the current backlog for EWS1 certification introduced after the Grenfell Tower tragedy is a wait of over 36 months. This is partly due to COVID-19, but primarily down a 2019 requirement being expanded to cover many more properties below the initial 18-metre legal requirement, and a lack of trained assessors.
“The vast majority of cladding is safe and secure, but whilst you await your certification – and sometimes you may be dependent on other residents or a resident committee agreement – Robb Residential can let your property and advise on any cladding, safety and insurance considerations. We also find that some sellers prefer ultimately to retain a rentable property, securing ongoing additional income.”
Jonathan Robb, Robb Residential Letting Consultant
To add to market woes, on February 17th Radio 4’s You and Yours consumer programme highlighted that as surveys were undertaken other issues were being found, and that not all cladding under the UK scheme would be covered. These issues, and the awaited Scottish Government decision on funding, means uncertainty is likely to continue.
However, the UK Government continues to update its thinking, and the latest policy, which will reduce those properties needing an EWS1 by 500,000, will now commence from April 5th 2021. An recent Independent article outlines the latest scope, and includes a link to the official RICS video guidance.
This is excellent news for those in the market impacted by cladding issues, but as it’ll be banks and other lenders who ultimately decide the risk and related valuation, we can expect further developments on cladding over the coming months.
Contact Robb Residential to discuss your rental property income.
Robb Residential are a Letting Agent based in Glasgow. For more information on lettings, please email Jonathan Robb or call on 0141 225 3881.
Disclaimer: All statistics, percentages and references are correct at the time of writing.
