We’ve been made aware of a situation where a freeholder obtained a EWS1 form for a site that we manage, and where the EWS1 has been rejected by a buyer’s lender because the person providing the form wasn’t appropriately qualified.
Given the mess that the industry and some of our customers finds themselves in, issues like this are doubly frustrating: the relief to those leaseholders that a form has been obtained (confirming that the building is safe and has no need of remediation) has been replaced by distress because the form is apparently worthless. The freeholder is all over this, and arranging an alternative assessor.
As this scandal (and it is scandalous) has developed, we’ve tried to do the best
we can. That’s included working with only qualified and experienced surveyors with adequate insurance, because regardless of the result, we need the EWS1 form to be robust. And we’re spending other people’s money, so we’ve morally got to get this right.
It’s upsetting and undermines the work of the industry to find that someone who isn’t experienced is putting themselves forward as qualified when they’re not, and storing up problems for their clients. Not to mention the liability that this surveyor is taking on.
This particular issue will be sorted out, because the freeholder is determined to get it so. If you’re having trouble navigating your way through this mess, please get in touch and we’ll see how we can help.
