You already know something is wrong. Maybe a fire risk assessment flagged your external walls. Perhaps an EWS1 assessment came back as B2. Maybe lenders are refusing leaseholders mortgages, and they’re pointing the finger at you. Whatever the trigger, you are now facing the same question most freeholders and managing agents eventually face: what do I actually do next in the cladding remediation process?
This article is the answer.
Why This Is Not Going Away
The legal framework governing unsafe cladding has changed permanently. The Fire Safety Act 2021 explicitly extended the Responsible Person’s duties under the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005 to include a building’s external walls, including cladding, insulation, balconies, and windows. Assessing the fire risk posed by your external wall system is no longer a matter of professional preference. It is a statutory obligation.
The Building Safety Act 2022 went further. For higher-risk buildings (those 18 metres or above, or seven storeys or more), it introduced a new accountability regime, new duties on the Accountable Person, and a government-backed programme of developer liability and funding. The intent of both Acts is the same: building owners cannot defer, delegate, or ignore unsafe external walls.
The question is no longer whether remediation is coming. It is how quickly you can create a clear, defensible plan.
Step One: Know What You Are Actually Dealing With
Before you can scope, design, or fund any remediation, you need to know what’s in your external wall system. That means a Fire Risk Appraisal of External Walls (FRAEW), conducted to PAS 9980:2022, the British Standard that provides the methodology for assessing external wall fire risk in existing residential buildings.
A FRAEW examines the actual construction of your external wall: the primary cladding materials, insulation, cavity barriers, fire stopping, and how those elements interact in a fire scenario. It identifies the nature and tolerability of the risk and, where combustible materials are present, what the implications are for occupants and for the building’s fire safety strategy.
For buildings where a transaction is in progress or where mortgage lending has been affected, the FRAEW can give rise to an EWS1 form, the instrument introduced by UK Finance and RICS in 2019 to give lenders a standardised basis for making lending decisions. A B2 outcome means combustible materials are present and remediation is required before the risk is considered tolerable. An updated EWS1 is only possible once the remediation is complete and the building’s risk profile has changed.
The FRAEW is not just a box to tick. It is the document that defines your remediation scope. A vague or incomplete assessment leads directly to a vague and expensive remediation. Getting this right at the start saves significant cost and delays downstream.
DALA Surveys carries out FRAEWs to PAS 9980 standards across England and Wales. Our qualified engineers conduct every assessment through physical inspection, producing a clear, evidence-led report that defines the materials present, the risk they pose, and the remediation required.
Step Two: Understand Your Funding Position
Remediation does not automatically fall on the freeholder or building owner. The funding landscape has changed significantly since 2022, and understanding where your building sits within it can make a material difference to your financial exposure.
Developer remediation
Where a building was constructed or refurbished by a developer who remains in business, the Developer Remediation Contract commits those developers to funding and undertaking the remediation of life-critical fire safety defects at their own cost. This applies to buildings 11 metres and above. If a signatory developed your building, you shouldn’t be paying for cladding remediation; the obligation sits with them.
The Cladding Safety Scheme
For buildings between 11 and 18 metres where the developer cannot be identified or is no longer solvent, the Cladding Safety Scheme provides government-backed funding for eligible life-critical fire safety defects. Applications are assessed by Homes England. The scheme is the primary funding route for mid-rise buildings that fall outside the developer remediation programme.
Leaseholder protections
The Building Safety Act 2022 introduced significant protections for qualifying leaseholders. Where a developer cannot recover remediation costs, and no government funding applies, the Act strictly limits what landlords can pass to leaseholders, and in many cases, the freeholder or superior landlord must absorb the costs. Understanding these protections before you begin is essential. Attempting to pass ineligible costs to leaseholders is both legally wrong and a reputational risk.
Navigating funding applications (establishing eligibility, preparing submissions, and managing the process through to approval) is a specialism in its own right. DALA works in partnership with Archway FM, a specialist cladding remediation consultancy with a track record of securing funding for eligible buildings across the Cladding Safety Scheme and developer remediation routes. Where funding is part of the picture, Archway’s involvement at this stage can make the difference between an application that succeeds and one that stalls.
Understanding your funding route before you appoint a contractor is not a delay; it is due diligence. Remediation funded incorrectly, or costs allocated incorrectly, creates legal exposure that outlasts the works.
Step Three: Design and Deliver the Remediation
Once you know what needs to come off and what needs to go back on, the remediation itself requires precise specification, careful contractor management, and verified completion. These are not generic construction skills. Replacing external cladding on an occupied residential building requires specific knowledge of fire performance standards, approved materials, installation standards, and the documentation trail that will support an updated EWS1 and future fire risk assessments.
The specification of replacement materials must demonstrate compliance with current fire performance requirements. Products must carry the correct classification under BS EN 13501-1 — reaction to fire classification — and replacement cavity barriers and fire stopping must be installed to the standard required by the building’s fire engineering basis.
DALA Projects provides lead consultancy and project delivery for cladding remediation programmes of this kind. The team takes on scope definition, materials specification, contractor procurement, programme management on occupied buildings, and completion verification. The output is not just a building with different cladding. It is a building with documented evidence that the remediation met the required standard, the foundation for an updated EWS1 and a defensible fire safety position.
The Outcome You Are Working Towards
A completed remediation programme, properly documented and independently verified, produces a clear set of outcomes. First, a tolerable risk profile for your external wall system. From there, an updated EWS1 that unblocks transactions. In turn, a fire safety management position that is defensible under the Fire Safety Order and the Building Safety Act. And ultimately, leaseholders and occupants can live and transact with confidence.
That is what the process is designed to produce. It takes time, careful management, and qualified professionals at every stage. Even so, it is a defined process, not an open-ended one.
The Full Picture
DALA Surveys and DALA Projects work as an integrated offering across the cladding remediation journey. From the initial FRAEW and EWS1 through to materials specification, programme delivery, and completion sign-off, the same group understands your building from assessment to handback.
Where the funding and coordination layer is part of what you need, our partner Archway FM specialises in exactly that. They manage funding applications, coordinating the specialists involved, and providing single-point accountability through to final EWS1 certification. DALA and Archway FM cover the full journey together.
Whether you’re just starting and need an assessment, midway through and need delivery support, or unsure about your funding position, we can help.
Call us on 02381 551000 or email enquiries@thedala.group.
References and Further Reading
- Fire Safety Act 2021 — legislation extending Responsible Person duties to external walls and cladding
- Building Safety Act 2022 — GOV.UK guidance — higher-risk buildings regime, Accountable Person duties, leaseholder protections, and developer liability
- Developer Remediation Contract — GOV.UK — the government contract committing developers to fund life-critical fire safety defects
- Cladding Safety Scheme — GOV.UK — government-backed funding for eligible mid-rise buildings where developer liability does not apply
- PAS 9980:2022 — BSI — British Standard methodology for fire risk appraisals of external walls
- RICS EWS1 and Cladding FAQs — RICS guidance on the EWS1 form and its role in residential transactions
- Leaseholder Protections under the Building Safety Act — GOV.UK — plain-English guide to leaseholder rights regarding remediation costs
- Archway — specialist cladding remediation consultancy; funding applications, project coordination, and EWS1 certification
