Thread by @BenChu_

A key plank of Michael Gove's #buildingsafety plan is to get banks to lend to people looking to buy in affected properties.

He stressed that was his goal several times in Commons today...

#cladding #BuildingSafetyCrisis

...Of course, one of the agonies of people caught up in this crisis is that they often can't sell their flat because the banks won't lend a mortgage to a prospective buyer of a property of potentially zero value.

Which means many are effectively trapped in an unsellable home....

...So will the plan unlock bank financing & liberate people?

UK Finance @UKFtweets which represents lenders tells me tonight that Gove's plan is a "positive step"...

...and that they're hopeful their members will now feel able to start lending on the security of properties in affected buildings in the coming months...

...I'm told the cladding doesn't have to actually be off for lending to flow, but that a viable financing mechanism to remove it needs to be established.

So they're looking to a March deal between government and the industry...

...I'm told lenders will continue to require EWS1 (external wall system) forms on properties as a mortgage condition, but that the gov can prevent these being an effective block on lending by changing the regulatory framework involving them (see here)...

building.co.uk/news/governmen…

...Yet lenders stress that there are still some major gaps that need to be filled in.

I'm told non-cladding safety issues - such as cavity walls & fire doors etc - are *just* as important as flammable cladding in blocking lending...

...So that ALSO ultimately needs to be sorted too by the Gove plan.

I'm also told there's a potential problem in that the Gove plan doesn't cover buildings *below* 11m which might have building safety issues.

Gove statement today only related to buildings 11 meters plus...

....So: some encouraging noises from finance on unblocking lending for properties affected by the #BuildingSafetyCrisis - but it's by no means yet solved.

ADD: Nationwide building society - a big mortgage lender - also tells me it welcomes the Gove package, but also raises the fact that the government isn't currently proposing any remedy for those in buildings *under* 11m in height

ADD: Natwest tell me: “We continue to be led by the independent opinion of our valuation partners to confirm to us if an EWS1 is required on a particular property. This is in line with their own professional assessment of a property, and current RICS guidelines”...

...which is not great news for those hoping EWS1 forms were on the way out due to the Gove package - but still *could* be consistent with UK Finance view that lending can restart despite the forms continuing to be used.

ADD: Barclays tells me the Government's removal of the Consolidated Advice Note (CAN) for building safety forms (which recommended ESW1 forms) "represents a significant step towards resolving the issues of building safety and dangerous cladding"...

...Barclays: “We look forward to the publication of the revised standard, and will continue to engage with the government on this.”....

...Barclays doesn't say it won't require these forms as a condition of mortgage lending on affected flats but, again, the tone of this statement suggests that they *could* now cease to be a block