Mortgage on a Flat With Cladding in 2026: What Lenders Accept

Buying or remortgaging a flat with cladding should, by rights, be straightforward in 2026. The Building Safety Act 2022 is fully in force, developer remediation contracts are signed, and the Government's Building Safety Fund has been operational for years. Yet tens of thousands of leaseholders remain mortgage prisoners — unable to sell, unable to remortgage, trapped in properties they cannot escape.

This guide explains exactly how lenders assess cladding risk in 2026, which banks will lend on B1 and B2 EWS1 ratings, how to check your building's remediation status, what your conveyancer must do, and how to navigate a RICS-caveated valuation. If you are buying a flat built or refurbished between roughly 1980 and 2015, you need to read this before you make an offer.

What the EWS1 Form Actually Means

The External Wall System 1 (EWS1) form was introduced in December 2019 by UK Finance and the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) as a standardised assessment for mortgage lenders. It is not a legal requirement — it is an industry tool — but most lenders treating flats in multi-storey buildings will not proceed without one.

A qualified fire engineer or chartered surveyor completes the form after physically inspecting the external wall construction. The outcome is one of four ratings:

An A1 or A2 rating clears the building as acceptably safe and the mortgage proceeds normally. A B1 rating means the assessor has found combustible cladding but judges the overall fire strategy adequate — perhaps because the building has sprinklers, a waking watch protocol, or other mitigating factors. A B2 is the worst outcome: combustible cladding with no adequate mitigation, remediation required.

Height Thresholds: 11m and 18m

Building height changes what rules apply. Under the Building Safety Act 2022:

• Buildings over 18 metres (approximately 6 storeys) fall under the most stringent regime. Leaseholders in these buildings are legally protected from paying for qualifying remediation of historical fire safety defects, with costs borne by developers or through the Building Safety Fund.
• Buildings between 11m and 18m also attract protections, but the funding routes and developer obligations differ slightly. The Medium-Rise Scheme (MRS) provides funding here.
• Buildings under 11m are generally not covered by either scheme and are dealt with on a case-by-case basis. EWS1 requirements are less common below 11m, though lenders can still request one.

A key practical point: if your building is over 18m, the developer — not you — should be paying for remediation. If you are being asked to pay via a service charge for cladding on an 18m+ building, you likely have legal recourse.

Which Lenders Accept B1 or B2 in 2026

Most high-street lenders have updated their cladding policies several times since 2019. The current picture for 2026:

Halifax (Lloyds Banking Group)

Halifax will lend on B1-rated buildings provided the EWS1 is in date (forms are valid for 5 years) and the building is registered with MHCLG's building safety database or has a developer remediation contract in place. They use an internal panel of valuers who are familiar with the cladding framework. B2 buildings: Halifax will not lend unless remediation is complete and a new EWS1 confirms A1 or A2.

Nationwide Building Society

Nationwide will consider B1 properties on a case-by-case basis. They require evidence that the building is within a recognised remediation programme (BSF, MRS, or a signed developer contract). They do not lend on B2. Nationwide has been one of the more consistent lenders on cladding cases and their mortgage team has a dedicated cladding enquiry line.

Lloyds Bank

Lloyds follows similar criteria to Halifax (same group policy). B1 with evidence of remediation programme: yes. B2: no. They typically require a valuer's report that does not contain an "unable to value" caveat.

Barclays

Barclays will lend on B1 where a valid EWS1 is accompanied by confirmation that the building is enrolled in a remediation scheme. Their policy on B2 properties is a flat refusal in most circumstances.

HSBC and NatWest

Both take a cautious line. B1 buildings are reviewed individually; B2 is almost always declined. HSBC in particular has been more restrictive than peers on buildings with any residual uncertainty about materials.

Specialist and Smaller Lenders

A small number of specialist lenders — notably some building societies and private banks — will consider B2 properties where a funded remediation programme is confirmed, works have started, and completion is within 18–24 months. Rates are typically higher and LTV limits lower (often 75% maximum). A whole-of-market mortgage broker with experience in cladding cases is essential here.

The Building Safety Fund and Developer Contracts

Building Safety Fund (BSF)

The BSF covers external wall remediation costs for qualifying leaseholders in buildings over 18m. Applications went through waves; most new applications are now closed, but buildings already registered continue to receive funding. To check if your building is registered, visit the MHCLG building safety database at: buildings.mhclg.gov.uk. You can search by address or building name. If your building is registered and awaiting works, some lenders will proceed on a B1 or B2 rating on the basis that costs will not fall to leaseholders.

Developer Remediation Contracts

Since the Developer Remediation Contract (DRC) programme launched in 2023, over 40 major developers have signed contracts committing to fix buildings they built or refurbished. This covers approximately 1,500 buildings. If your building was built by a DRC-signatory developer (including Barratt, Persimmon, Taylor Wimpey, Bellway, Crest Nicholson, and others), the developer is contractually obliged to fund remediation. Lenders treat DRC enrolment similarly to BSF registration — it reduces or eliminates leaseholder financial risk, making mortgage lending more feasible.

Medium-Rise Scheme (MRS)

For buildings between 11m and 18m, the MRS provides government-backed funding. Eligible leaseholders pay nothing. Check eligibility via the BSF portal.

Leaseholder Protections Under the Building Safety Act 2022

The Building Safety Act 2022 contains the most important leasehold protections in decades for those in cladding-affected buildings:

1. Qualifying leaseholders cannot be charged for the remediation of historical fire safety defects on buildings over 11m, provided their lease meets qualifying criteria (broadly: the flat is their main or only home, or they own fewer than 3 properties in total).
2. Service charge caps exist even for non-qualifying leaseholders on some categories of work.
3. Landlord contribution order: if the landlord is the developer (or associated), they bear full cost.
4. Litigation protection: leaseholders are protected from landlord litigation costs in certain Building Safety Act proceedings.

This matters for mortgage purposes: if leaseholders are legally protected from paying, lenders' concerns about bills landing on owners are substantially reduced. Make sure your solicitor confirms your qualifying leaseholder status in writing.

Mortgage Prisoners: The Stuck Cohort

Despite all these protections, a significant number of flat owners remain effectively unable to sell or remortgage. This happens when:

• No EWS1 exists — the building is in a queue for assessment but no certificate has been issued. Without an EWS1, most lenders will not value the property at all.
• B2 rating with no remediation programme in place — the building is not registered with BSF, the developer is insolvent or has not signed a DRC, and no other funded route exists.
• EWS1 is expired or disputed — forms issued before 2019 guidance updates may be rejected by lenders.
• Interim measures are deemed insufficient — a B1 rating may be downgraded in practice if a lender's surveyor has concerns about the specific interim fire safety measures.

If you are in this situation, the options are limited but not zero:

• Approach your freeholder or managing agent — they should be pursuing registration or developer liability. If they are not, residents' associations can apply collective pressure.
• Contact your MP — MHCLG still takes political representations on stalled cases. The Leasehold Advisory Service (LEASE) provides free advice.
• Consider a specialist bridging loan as a short-term tool if you need to move, with refinancing planned once remediation completes — high cost but sometimes the only viable route.
• Legal action against the developer — if the developer is solvent and built or refurbished the building post-1992, specialist housing solicitors have pursued successful claims.

RICS Caveated Valuations

When a surveyor cannot determine the external wall system materials or fire risk, they issue a caveated valuation — sometimes called an "unable to value" or "nil value" report. This is different from a low valuation: a caveated report typically means the lender cannot proceed at all, because without a reliable valuation there is no security to lend against.

Caveated valuations have become less common since 2022 as more buildings obtain EWS1 certificates, but they still occur on:

• Buildings where access for inspection is not possible
• Buildings undergoing active remediation where materials are partially removed
• Buildings where the EWS1 has lapsed and a new one has not been commissioned

If you receive a caveated valuation report, push your vendor's managing agent for the current EWS1 status before proceeding further. It is not worth paying a survey fee on a property that will not be mortgageable until remediation completes.

What Your Conveyancer Must Check

A conveyancer acting on a cladding-affected flat purchase in 2026 should routinely check the following. If yours is not doing this proactively, raise each point:

1. EWS1 certificate — valid, in date, correct building address, signed by a qualified assessor.
2. Building Safety Register — confirm the building is on MHCLG's Higher-Risk Buildings register if applicable (over 18m).
3. BSF or MRS registration — confirm registration number and status.
4. Developer Remediation Contract — if the developer is a DRC signatory, obtain written confirmation the building is covered.
5. Section 20 notices — any outstanding major works notices that might indicate future costs.
6. Qualifying leaseholder confirmation — written confirmation that the leaseholder qualifies for protections under Schedule 8 of the Building Safety Act 2022.
7. Deed of Certificate — from the landlord, confirming the property is a qualifying lease. This is a legal document introduced by the BSA 2022 and lenders increasingly require it.
8. Insurance certificate — check building insurance specifically covers fire risk and that the premium has not been inflated by cladding risk in a way that suggests a wider problem.
9. Any tribunal applications — check whether the First-tier Tribunal (Property Chamber) has any live applications relating to the building.
10. Interim measures — if a B1 rating relies on interim measures like a waking watch or alarm system, confirm these are funded and who bears the ongoing cost.

Practical Checklist for Buyers

Before making an offer on any flat in a multi-storey building, work through this checklist:

• Ask the estate agent: does the building have an EWS1 certificate? What is the rating?
• Check the MHCLG building safety database for the building's address.
• Confirm building height — over 11m, 18m, or under?
• Ask who the original developer was — are they a DRC signatory?
• Ask the vendor for a copy of the Deed of Certificate (if applicable).
• Speak to your mortgage broker before making an offer — confirm your intended lender will lend on the EWS1 rating.
• Instruct a conveyancer with experience in leasehold and cladding matters.
• Budget for a possible delay — remediation programmes can run 2–4 years.
• If the building has interim fire safety measures, ask for the annual cost and who pays.
• Request the last 3 years of service charge accounts to see if cladding-related costs have appeared.

Cladding is not a reason to automatically avoid buying a flat — millions of safe, affordable flats happen to be in buildings that need EWS1 certification. The key is doing the due diligence before you are financially committed. With the right EWS1 rating and a lender who understands the framework, a mortgage is achievable. Use our mortgage repayment calculator to model your monthly costs once you have confirmed lender eligibility.

Key Takeaways

• EWS1 A1/A2 ratings allow standard mortgages; B1 is lender-dependent; B2 is very difficult unless remediation is funded and underway.
• Halifax, Nationwide, and Lloyds will consider B1 buildings where a BSF, MRS, or developer remediation contract is confirmed.
• The Building Safety Act 2022 protects qualifying leaseholders on buildings over 11m from paying for historical fire safety remediation — confirm your status with your solicitor.
• Check the MHCLG building safety database before making an offer to establish the building's registration status.
• If you are a mortgage prisoner, escalate through your freeholder, residents' association, LEASE, and if necessary your MP — funded remediation is the only durable solution.