Concerns about fraudulent signatures on External Wall System forms

Clive Betts, Chair of the Levelling Up, Housing and Communities Committee has written to the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) and the Fire Industry Association (FIA) to seek information for any home buyers who require an EWS1 form on how they can help ensure the form is valid.

The Chair’s correspondence raised concerns that signatures on EWS1 forms could be faked and asked for an assessment of the likely scale of the problem and its impact on the EWS process.

The Committee has published responses from the FIA and RICS:

• Letter from the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors to the Chair dated 19 March 2024 concerning fake signatures on EWS1 forms
• Letter from the Fire industry Association to the Chair dated 10 April 2024 concerning fake signatures on EWS1 forms
• Letter from the Chair to the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors dated 11 March 2024 concerning fake signatures on EWS1 forms
• Letter from the Chair to the Fire Industry Association dated 11 March 2024 concerning fake signatures on EWS1 forms

Mr Betts said: “It is concerning that there may have been cases of fake signatures being used on EWS1 forms during the sale of properties.

“I hope people will take the opportunity to ask that any assessor providing an EWS1 form uploads it to the Fire Industry Association Building Safety Information Portal to help ensure the form signatories are indeed genuine.

“In the past, the cost of registration fees has been part of the reason that thousands of EWS1 forms were not uploaded and I hope this will prompt Government and lenders to now explore ways to help cover the costs of this process.”