Can You Get a Mortgage on a Flat With Cladding? (2026)
- Cladding and mortgages: the basic problem
- EWS1 forms and what the ratings mean
- Scotland: the Single Building Assessment
- Building height changes everything
- Who pays, and what it costs
- Selling a flat with cladding
- Timelines
- Who this affects and who each route suits
- Alternatives if you cannot get the paperwork
- Selling a cladding-affected flat at auction
- The bottom line
Cladding and mortgages: the basic problem
Since the Grenfell tragedy in 2017, lenders have treated cladding as a lending risk, because unsafe external wall systems can be expensive to remediate and, in the worst cases, dangerous. A mortgage is secured on the property, so a lender wants to know that the building the flat sits in is safe and that the owner will not face an unquantified remediation bill. That is why, for flats in blocks with cladding, lenders now ask for formal evidence about the external wall system before they will lend. Get that evidence and it shows the walls are acceptable, and lending usually proceeds normally; without it, or with evidence that works are needed, many lenders pause until the position is resolved.
EWS1 forms and what the ratings mean
The External Wall System form, known as EWS1, was introduced by RICS and lenders as a standard way to record whether a building's external walls are safe. It is completed by a suitably qualified professional, covers the whole building rather than an individual flat, and is generally treated as valid for five years. Importantly, one EWS1 covers every flat in the block, so it is arranged by the building owner, factor or residents together, not by a single seller. The form records one of a small set of ratings, and it is the rating - not merely the existence of the form - that decides whether lenders are comfortable.
| EWS1 rating | What it means | Mortgageable? |
|---|---|---|
| A1, A2 or A3 | External walls are made of materials unlikely to support a fire, or the risk is minimal | Yes - generally acceptable to lenders |
| B1 | Some combustible material is present but the fire risk is low and no remediation is needed | Yes - generally acceptable |
| B2 | Combustible material is present and remediation is required | Usually not until works are done or funded |
A B2 rating is the sticking point: it tells a lender the building needs remedial work, and until that work is completed or a funded plan is in place, most mainstream lenders will decline. This is the situation that leaves flats effectively unmortgageable, and it is exactly what the remediation programmes are designed to clear.
Scotland: the Single Building Assessment
Scotland now has its own framework. The Housing (Cladding Remediation) (Scotland) Act 2024 commenced in January 2025 and put the Single Building Assessment, or SBA, on a statutory footing. An SBA is a whole-building fire-safety evaluation - it assesses the external wall system and an internal fire risk assessment together, and sets out what remediation, if any, is required. The Act and the Scottish Government's remediation programme focus on multi-residential buildings that are 11 metres or higher, built or refurbished between 1 June 1992 and 1 June 2022, and which incorporate an external wall cladding system. The programme is funded, with the Scottish Government targeting completion of assessments and remediation of high-risk buildings by 2029. Over time the SBA is designed to become the primary evidence in Scotland and to reduce reliance on EWS1, but as of 2026 lenders still widely accept and often ask for an EWS1, so in practice either an SBA or an EWS1 with an acceptable outcome is what unlocks lending.
Building height changes everything
How a building is treated depends heavily on its height, and this is where many owners of smaller blocks are caught out. Taller buildings attract the most scrutiny and are the priority for assessment and remediation. Buildings under 11 metres are, under 2022 government guidance, generally not expected to need an EWS1 at all - yet individual lenders and even individual valuers sometimes still ask for one. From 1 November 2026 an updated RICS valuation standard sharpens this, directing that an EWS1 should only be requested where there is a defined reason based on the building's height and construction features, which should reduce unnecessary requests over time. If a lender asks for an EWS1 on a low block where guidance says one is not needed, that request can often be challenged by pointing to the RICS guidance and the lender's own policy.
| Building | Typical evidence lenders want in 2026 |
|---|---|
| 18m or taller (high rise) | SBA or EWS1 with an acceptable rating; evidence remediation is complete or funded |
| 11m to 18m with cladding | SBA or EWS1; increasingly covered by the Scottish remediation programme |
| Under 11m | Usually none required under 2022 guidance, though some lenders still ask - challenge with RICS guidance |
Who pays, and what it costs
The cost of an EWS1 or SBA falls on the building rather than a single flat owner, and it is one reason the paperwork can be slow to arrange - it needs the building owner, factor or residents to commission it. Where remediation is actually required, the Scottish Government's cladding remediation programme is designed to fund assessment and remedial work for qualifying buildings, and to pursue the original developers to meet the cost where they can be identified, with the aim of protecting individual homeowners from large bills. The exact costs and who ultimately bears them vary by building and by who developed it, so treat the position as building-specific and check where your block sits in the programme rather than assuming a figure.
Selling a flat with cladding
Mortgageability and saleability are two sides of the same coin: if buyers cannot get a mortgage on your flat, your market shrinks to cash buyers, and the price tends to reflect that. The three practical routes are to get the paperwork sorted so ordinary buyers can borrow, to wait for the building to progress through the remediation programme, or to sell as-is to a cash or investor buyer who does not need a mortgage. Which is right depends on how quickly you need to move and how far off the building's assessment or remediation is. A flat that is hard to mortgage sits in the same broad category as other homes that are difficult to mortgage and, in construction terms, alongside non-standard construction, so the same as-is selling options apply.
Timelines
Arranging an EWS1 can take weeks to months, largely because there are more buildings needing assessment than qualified assessors to do them, so backlogs are common. The Single Building Assessment and any remediation that follows sit within the Scottish Government's programme, which runs to a 2029 target for high-risk buildings - meaning some blocks will be resolved much sooner and others later, depending on their risk and place in the queue. If you need to sell before your building reaches the front of that queue, waiting is not always realistic, which is why the as-is routes matter.
Who this affects and who each route suits
This affects flat owners in blocks with an external cladding system, most acutely those in taller buildings and those whose building has a B2 rating or no assessment yet. Getting the paperwork and, if needed, remediation completed suits owners who can wait and want the full open-market price from mortgage-backed buyers. Selling as-is to a cash buyer suits owners who need to move on a fixed timescale - a job move, a chain, financial pressure or simply wanting certainty - and who would rather price for the position than wait years for a programme to reach their block.
Alternatives if you cannot get the paperwork
If an acceptable EWS1 or SBA is not available yet, the main alternative is to sell to a buyer who does not depend on a high-street mortgage. Cash investors and auction buyers routinely buy flats that mainstream lenders will not yet touch, pricing for the known position rather than being blocked by it. Some buyers use bridging or specialist finance to purchase and hold until remediation completes - our guide to auction finance and bridging loans in Scotland explains how that works. And where the building is progressing through the remediation programme, simply waiting for an acceptable assessment can restore ordinary mortgageability.
Key takeaways
- You can often get a mortgage on a flat with cladding if the building has satisfactory fire-safety evidence.
- Lenders want a Single Building Assessment (Scotland) or an EWS1 form with an acceptable rating (A1-A3 or B1).
- A B2 rating means remediation is needed - most lenders decline until works are done or funded.
- The Housing (Cladding Remediation) (Scotland) Act 2024 targets 11m+ buildings, with a 2029 remediation goal.
- Buildings under 11m generally do not need an EWS1, though some lenders still ask - this can be challenged.
- If the paperwork is not ready, cash and auction buyers can buy as-is without a mortgage.
Selling a cladding-affected flat at auction
Where a flat cannot yet be mortgaged, auction is often the most practical way to sell, because a large share of auction buyers are cash investors who are comfortable buying a flat with an outstanding cladding position and pricing accordingly. When you sell through us the flat is marketed to more than 11,000 registered buyers, many of them investors, and when a bid succeeds the buyer commits immediately with a non-refundable deposit under our SaleLock Guarantee. The sale is binding, completion is typically within 28 days, and it runs on a no-sale-no-fee basis. If you need to move before your building works its way through the remediation programme, see how to sell a flat fast, read how selling at auction works, or get a free valuation in 60 seconds.
The bottom line
Can you get a mortgage on a flat with cladding? In 2026 the honest answer is often yes, provided the building has satisfactory fire-safety evidence - a Single Building Assessment or EWS1 with an acceptable rating. The problem cases are buildings that need remediation and have not yet had it funded or done, and low blocks where a lender asks for paperwork that guidance says is not required. If your building is on track, arranging the assessment usually restores normal lending; if it is not, and you need to move, selling as-is to a cash or auction buyer is the reliable route.
Founder & Director of Scotland Property Auction. Julie has spent over a decade helping Scottish homeowners, landlords and executors sell property quickly at auction — covering Home Reports, missives, repossession and the modern method of auction.
More about Julie →✔ Last reviewed June 2026 by Julie McAndrews. We keep our guides current with Scottish property law and market conditions.