This page assumes you already have a FRAEW report, or are about to. For background on what a FRAEW is and how it works, see Do I Need a FRAEW? and PAS 9980 Explained.
What kind of outcome are you dealing with?
A FRAEW carried out against PAS 9980 doesn't produce a simple pass or fail — it sets out a professional judgement on the fire risk involved, with recommendations proportionate to that risk. In practice, most FRAEW conclusions point toward one of three broad paths:
No significant remediation required
This is a positive outcome, but it isn't necessarily the end of the file. Worth doing next:
- Check the report clearly states what was assessed and what evidence the conclusion is based on
- Update your building's fire safety record to reflect the finding
- Keep the report and supporting evidence on file — you're likely to need it again for a future sale, remortgage or insurance renewal
- Communicate the outcome clearly to residents, particularly if concerns had been raised beforehand
A "no further action" conclusion doesn't automatically produce an EWS1 that satisfies a lender — see FRAEW vs EWS1 for how the two relate. It's also worth remembering this isn't necessarily permanent: significant changes to the building, or new evidence coming to light, are reasons to look at it again.
Further investigation, limited works or additional measures
This is often the most misunderstood outcome. It isn't "you're fine," and it isn't full remediation — it's a request for more information or a specific, limited intervention. It typically means one or more of:
- A targeted opening-up survey of specific areas that couldn't be confirmed from existing records
- Interim risk-reduction or management measures pending further work
- A follow-up assessment once the additional evidence is available
The practical task is to treat this as a defined piece of work with an owner and a deadline — commission exactly what the report asks for, get the findings back to the original assessor (or an equally qualified party) to close out the file, and be prepared that new evidence could shift the building into Scenario C.
Significant remediation recommended
This is where a defined project begins, and where most of the practical questions arise. It's also worth being clear from the outset that "remediation required" doesn't automatically mean full removal and replacement of the cladding — PAS 9980 is built around proportionality, so the scope should match the specific risk identified, not a fixed template.
The stages below are typically involved, though not every project follows this exact sequence — some run in parallel rather than strictly one after another.
Understand the findings and required scope
Confirm precisely what risk has been identified and what the report recommends addressing. Get this wrong and everything downstream — design, funding, procurement — is built on the wrong basis.
Review potential funding routes
Depending on the building's height and circumstances, funding through schemes such as the Building Safety Fund or Cladding Safety Scheme may be available — see our guides on FRAEW cost and funding and Cladding Safety Scheme funding for buildings under 11 metres. Eligibility and funding decisions are made by the relevant scheme, not by whoever is coordinating the project, so it's worth establishing this early rather than after design work has already started.
Appoint the right professional team
Depending on the scope, this can include an architect or façade engineer, a structural engineer, a principal designer, and a fire engineer for design-stage input — who may or may not be the original FRAEW assessor. The exact team depends on the project, and appointments are usually staged rather than made all at once.
Further surveys or investigations, where required
Design teams often need more detail than the FRAEW alone provides — this can mean additional opening-up works, structural surveys, or fire strategy input.
Develop the remediation design
The design team works up a scheme addressing the FRAEW's recommendations, usually testing more than one option against cost, buildability and disruption to residents.
Regulatory approvals, where applicable
Some projects require formal regulatory approval before construction can start, depending on the building and the scope of works; others follow different routes. This is worth checking early, as it can affect programme timing.
Contractor procurement
There's no single procurement route that applies to every project — the right approach depends on complexity, funding requirements and contractor availability. On larger or more complex remediation schemes, involving a contractor early to help develop and price the design, rather than tendering a fixed design later, is often worth considering.
Construction and remediation works
Programme and budget management, quality assurance on site, and ongoing communication with residents while works are under way.
Completion evidence and sign-off
What's needed to demonstrate the works are complete depends on the building, the scope of works, and any regulatory or funding requirements that applied. Depending on the project, this can include as-built information, product and installation evidence, warranties or certification where applicable, regulatory completion documentation, updated fire safety information, and an EWS1 where separately required. There isn't one universal sign-off process — what's required varies by project, and completion is confirmed by the relevant qualified professionals and dutyholders, not by a single generic step.
Why remediation projects often stall after the FRAEW
In our experience, delays rarely come from a single cause. The more common pattern looks like this:
- Nobody takes ownership of the next stage — the report lands and sits with whoever received it, with no clear decision on who acts on it
- The recommendations aren't fully understood, leading to either inaction or the wrong scope being commissioned
- The scope isn't clearly defined before consultants are appointed, leading to inconsistent quotes and scope creep later
- Funding routes aren't reviewed early enough, so decisions stall while eligibility is worked out
- Building information is incomplete, triggering further surveys that weren't accounted for in the original programme
- Consultants are appointed individually, without anyone coordinating how their work fits together
- Design decisions stall waiting on information from another part of the process
- Procurement takes longer than expected, particularly given limited contractor capacity for this type of work
- Regulatory requirements are considered too late, rather than built into the programme from the outset
- Communication breaks down between the fire engineer, designer, contractor, managing agent and client, each looking at only their part of the project
How Wrightwood can help after a FRAEW
Most of the problems above come down to one thing: too many separate relationships, and no single point holding the overall picture together.
We sit between you and the specialists involved, coordinating the process end to end. We don't carry out the FRAEW, act as the fire engineer, or hold the role of the regulator, Building Control, the Building Safety Regulator, or the EWS1 signatory — those responsibilities remain with the appropriately qualified professionals and statutory dutyholders.
What we do:
- Reviewing the FRAEW recommendations and coordinating the practical next steps
- Reviewing potential funding routes and coordinating the information required for an application, where applicable
- Appointing and coordinating the design team, specialist consultants and contractors
- Coordinating further surveys or investigations alongside the design process
- Coordinating procurement, contractor appointments, programme, design information and project delivery
- Keeping the Responsible Entity informed and residents updated throughout
Rather than a freeholder, RTM board or managing agent managing multiple consultants, funding requirements, contractors and approvals directly, that coordination sits with us — with regular reporting back so you keep oversight and control of the decisions.