What Does PAS 9980 Mean for You as a Building Owner?

PAS 9980:2022 is the British Standard for assessing the fire risk of external walls in existing residential blocks. If you own or manage a residential building with external cladding, insulation, render or rainscreen panels — particularly one built or refurbished since the 1970s — you may need a PAS 9980 assessment. This guide explains what the assessment involves, what happens with the results, and what your obligations are.

Do You Need a PAS 9980 Assessment?

A PAS 9980 assessment is typically required in one or more of the following circumstances:

• A lender requires an EWS1 form before lending against flats in your building
• The Building Safety Regulator requires an external wall assessment as part of the registration process for higher-risk buildings
• Your insurance provider requires evidence of external wall fire safety
• A fire risk assessment has identified concerns about the external wall that require specialist assessment
• You are planning external works that affect the cladding or external wall system

What Happens During a PAS 9980 Assessment?

The assessment process begins with a desktop review — gathering all available information about the building's external wall: as-built drawings, specifications, material certificates, previous surveys and any available test evidence for the materials used. This is followed by a site inspection, where the assessor examines the external wall at accessible points to understand the construction and identify the materials present.

Where the desktop review and site inspection do not provide sufficient information about what materials are present in the wall — for example where drawings are unavailable or where the as-built construction differs from the drawings — intrusive investigation may be required. This involves opening up the wall to expose the construction for direct inspection.

What the Results Mean

The assessment produces a FRAEW (Fire Risk Appraisal of External Walls) report and, where required for mortgage lending, an EWS1 form. The EWS1 form assigns one of five ratings (A1, A2, A3, B1 or B2). A1 and B1 ratings allow normal mortgage lending. A2, A3 and B2 ratings indicate varying levels of concern and may affect lending or require remediation.

Your Obligations Following Assessment

Where the assessment identifies fire safety concerns with the external wall, you as the building owner have obligations. You must take reasonable steps to address the identified risks — which may mean implementing interim measures (such as enhanced monitoring or waking watch) while permanent remediation is planned, developing a remediation plan, and communicating with residents about the building's fire safety position.