Riverside has been undertaking fire safety appraisals of external walls to our blocks of flats in line with the requirements of the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005 as amended by the Fire Safety Act 2021.

Alongside this legal requirement, some lenders have required an EWS1 assessment be carried out, and the form submitted to support mortgage applications. In 2022 the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) clarified the criteria around which buildings should need an EWS1 assessment, meaning many buildings would no longer meet the requirement for this assessment.

Update on Tri-Fire building safety certificates

Riverside has been engaging several independent fire engineers to undertake both the appraisals and EWS1s including a company called Tri-Fire. Following a recent announcement by the Institution of Fire Engineers (IFE) of Adam Kiziak being expelled, Riverside has stopped working with Tri-Fire and will review all building safety certificates issued by Tri-Fire.

If your building was previously issued a fire safety certificate by Tri-Fire

We would like to reassure residents whose buildings have previously been inspected by Tri-Fire that this does not automatically mean that your home is unsafe. However, we are writing to you to outline the steps we are taking to resolve this to ensure the required assessments are completed as soon as possible.

The Riverside Group currently hold 147 Tri-Fire EWS1 certificates across all stock, including managing agents’ responsibility. Whilst not all surveys will be the responsibility of Riverside to peer review or re-procure, they all are likely to have an impact on our customers’ ability to secure lending on their properties. Of the total 147, Tri-Fire was procured to complete 98 EWS1 certificates directly for Riverside where we have the responsibility of the external wall.

As this has affected the whole sector, we have put together a working group with other housing associations impacted to collaborate on a unified approach. We are now working with an independent panel of Fire Engineers to review any building inspections conducted by Tri-Fire at Riverside buildings. Where the panel is not satisfied with Tri-Fire’s report, we will instruct a new inspection of the building as soon as possible. Residents will not be charged for the cost of the new inspections.

We will be writing to residents in affected buildings to let you know what will happen and when.

In many instances, Riverside has completed Fire Risk Appraisals of External Walls (FRAEW) which supersedes previous EWS1 assessments. The FRAEW is undertaken in accordance with the latest guidance known as PAS 9980. There are however a number of buildings where we are yet to undertake a FRAEW and the only assessment we currently have is an EWS1 from by Tri-Fire.

Surveys will be arranged on a risk-based approach, prioritising buildings above 18 meters, peer reviewing buildings 11-18 meters, and conducting internal reviews of surveys below 11 meters.

We have a framework of fire engineers we work with and are currently in the process of finalising procurement for a new fire engineering company. We should be in a position to instruct them to carry out new surveys over the next couple of months.

What is our approach

Where the Tri-Fire survey was completed prior to industry standard (PAS9980 December 2022), Riverside will instruct new surveys with any buildings above 18 meters as a priority.

• Engage the services of a suitably qualified Fire Engineer to complete a Peer Review or intrusive survey dependant on building construction and risk. Issue an EWS1 form where required.
• Undertake internal peer review for remaining low risk buildings within the fire risk inspection team. Buildings that fall outside of the recommendations within PAS9980, will be deemed low enough risk to not require an intrusive external wall review and EWS1 form.

For further reassurance we have provided our building insurance provider, Protector, with our approach and they have confirmed that our actions are proportionate to the risk and all our buildings are fully insured as normal.

Guidance on selling, staircasing or remortgaging your home

We are very sorry to hear that some residents are now struggling to secure a mortgage, as some lenders are rejecting EWS1 Forms issued by Tri-Fire. We will work with residents and their mortgage lenders to support them through this process.

If you are selling, staircasing or remortgaging your home and a lender has raised concerns with a Tri-Fire certificate, please contact us.

We know this may be a worrying and frustrating time for homeowners, and we apologise for this. We’re committed to reviewing all buildings impacted and will ensure that the required assessments are undertaken where necessary as quickly as possible.

If you have any further questions about your home’s fire safety, please contact us.