PAS 9980 explained

In short: PAS 9980:2022 is the published standard that sets out how a competent professional carries out a fire risk appraisal of external walls (FRAEW) on an existing multi-occupied residential building. It gives a structured, risk-based method for judging how likely fire is to spread over or within the external wall, and grades the result low, medium or high risk. A PAS 9980 appraisal is the technical evidence that sits behind an EWS1 rating and informs decisions about whether remediation is needed.

What PAS 9980 is

PAS 9980 (a "publicly available specification" published by BSI in 2022) was written to bring consistency to external-wall fire assessments after the widespread uncertainty that followed Grenfell. Rather than defaulting to "strip and replace", it asks the assessor to appraise the whole wall system in its context - the materials, cavities, cavity barriers, attachments such as balconies, and how they interact - and to reach a proportionate judgement about the risk to occupants.

The FRAEW and its outcomes

A fire risk appraisal of external walls (FRAEW) carried out to PAS 9980 produces one of three risk outcomes:

• Low risk - external fire spread would be within normal expectations; no remediation is necessary.
• Medium risk - spread could be more rapid than normal, but the heightened risk is judged tolerable, sometimes with interim measures or a management response.
• High risk - spread would be more rapid than normal and is clearly unacceptable; action (remediation or mitigation) is required.

The point of the method is proportionality: not every building with imperfect cladding needs full remediation, and PAS 9980 gives a defensible basis for saying so - or for confirming that works genuinely are needed.

How it relates to EWS1

The two are often confused. An EWS1 form is a short industry form used by lenders and valuers to record an external-wall rating for mortgage and valuation purposes. A PAS 9980 FRAEW is the detailed technical appraisal behind that rating. In practice, a competent professional carries out the FRAEW, and its conclusion is what allows an EWS1 rating to be given. They are not the same document and are not commissioned for the same reason - the EWS1 serves the lending market, while the FRAEW is the fire-engineering assessment of the wall itself.

Why it matters for building owners and RMCs

For a freeholder, RMC or RTM company, a PAS 9980 FRAEW is often the pivot point of a building-safety project. It determines whether remediation is needed at all, shapes the scope and cost if it is, and provides the evidence that unlocks funding routes and reassures lenders and residents. Its findings should feed straight into the building's golden thread and safety case, and it connects directly to the question of who pays for cladding remediation.

How CTS helps

CTS advises building owners, RMCs and managing agents on external-wall risk - helping you commission a competent PAS 9980 FRAEW, interpret what the outcome means for your building, coordinate any specialists needed, and fold the result into your golden thread and safety case so the compliance position is clear and defensible.

General information, not legal advice. Reviewed by the CTS building safety team.