For the final edition of Cladding Matters this year, Gareth Wax is in the chair, joined by Hamish McLay and Stephen Day. Together, the focus turns to PAS 9980 and the role it continues to play in building safety decisions across the country, particularly where the theory of guidance meets the reality of lived experience.

PAS 9980, or Publicly Available Specification 9980, was introduced with the intention of bringing consistency and proportionality to fire risk assessments of external wall systems. Several years on, its impact remains deeply contested across the sector.

In principle, the guidance was meant to move assessments away from blanket assumptions and towards a more considered, risk-based approach. In practice, the way PAS 9980 is being applied often feels far removed from that aim, especially for residents caught in the middle.

The first of the three D’s is destructive. Buildings once considered safe to live in have been reopened, stripped back and investigated again. For residents, this frequently means months or years of disruption, with scaffolding, intrusive surveys and ongoing works becoming part of daily life.

The destruction is not only physical. There is a heavy emotional and financial toll. Leaseholders find themselves unable to sell or remortgage, living with prolonged uncertainty. Even when assessments later conclude that remediation is not required, the damage has often already been done.

The second D is derisive. PAS 9980 was meant to bring clarity, yet many now view it with scepticism. Outcomes can vary significantly between assessors, lenders and insurers, leaving residents and professionals questioning how reliable the process really is.

Two buildings with near-identical construction can receive very different conclusions. For those trying to make sense of their position, this inconsistency feels less like informed judgement and more like chance.
The third and most serious D is dangerous. Not because guidance exists, yet because of how it can be interpreted. A framework applied defensively, or without proper context, risks creating false reassurance in some cases and unnecessary alarm in others.

There is also a wider risk in how PAS 9980 interacts with lending and insurance decisions. Even where assessments indicate that no remediation is required, that reassurance does not always unlock mortgages or reduce premiums. Transactions stall, and residents remain stuck.

Stephen Day brings the perspective of someone living with these consequences day to day, where guidance documents translate into very real impacts on homes and lives. Hamish McLay adds the conveyancing and search angle, where uncertainty and inconsistency continue to feed delays and additional enquiries. Gareth Wax keeps the conversation grounded, drawing out how these issues connect across policy, practice and people.

Throughout this year, Cladding Matters has returned repeatedly to the gap between intention and outcome. PAS 9980 sits squarely in that space. It exists as a technical document, yet its effects are felt most sharply by those simply trying to live in their own homes.

As this final episode closes out the year, the discussion reflects on whether PAS 9980 can evolve into something more trusted and consistent, or whether it becomes another missed opportunity in the long road to building safety reform.

These issues are not abstract. They remain unresolved, deeply personal, and very close to home.

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