diff --git a/index.js b/index.js
index 73f11d149..77f967d03 100644
--- a/index.js
+++ b/index.js
@@ -19,6 +19,7 @@ module.exports = {
 		bootstrapHtmlTransformer: require("./lib/processors/bootstrapHtmlTransformer"),
 		debugFileCreator: require("./lib/processors/debugFileCreator"),
 		resourceCopier: require("./lib/processors/resourceCopier"),
+		nonAsciiEscaper: require("./lib/processors/nonAsciiEscaper"),
 		stringReplacer: require("./lib/processors/stringReplacer"),
 		themeBuilder: require("./lib/processors/themeBuilder"),
 		uglifier: require("./lib/processors/uglifier"),
@@ -43,6 +44,7 @@ module.exports = {
 		generateApiIndex: require("./lib/tasks/jsdoc/generateApiIndex"),
 		generateJsdoc: require("./lib/tasks/jsdoc/generateJsdoc"),
 		generateVersionInfo: require("./lib/tasks/generateVersionInfo"),
+		escapeNonAsciiCharacters: require("./lib/tasks/escapeNonAsciiCharacters"),
 		replaceCopyright: require("./lib/tasks/replaceCopyright"),
 		replaceVersion: require("./lib/tasks/replaceVersion"),
 		transformBootstrapHtml: require("./lib/tasks/transformBootstrapHtml"),
diff --git a/lib/lbt/bundle/AutoSplitter.js b/lib/lbt/bundle/AutoSplitter.js
index da99f14c6..20c12a065 100644
--- a/lib/lbt/bundle/AutoSplitter.js
+++ b/lib/lbt/bundle/AutoSplitter.js
@@ -2,8 +2,10 @@
 
 const uglify = require("uglify-es");
 const {pd} = require("pretty-data");
+
 const ModuleName = require("../utils/ModuleName");
 const {SectionType} = require("./BundleDefinition");
+const escapePropertiesFile = require("../utils/escapePropertiesFile");
 const log = require("@ui5/logger").getLogger("lbt:bundle:AutoSplitter");
 
 const copyrightCommentsPattern = /copyright|\(c\)(?:[0-9]+|\s+[0-9A-za-z])|released under|license|\u00a9/i;
@@ -217,7 +219,6 @@ class AutoSplitter {
 				// trace.debug("analyzed %s:%d%n", module, mw.getTargetLength());
 				return fileContent.length;
 			} else if ( /\.properties$/.test(module) ) {
-				const fileContent = await resource.buffer();
 				/* NODE-TODO minimize *.properties
 				Properties props = new Properties();
 				props.load(in);
@@ -226,7 +227,12 @@ class AutoSplitter {
 				props.store(out, "");
 				return out.toString().length();
 				*/
-				return fileContent.toString("latin1").length;
+
+				// Since AutoSplitter is also used when splitting non-project resources (e.g. dependencies)
+				// *.properties files should be escaped if encoding option is specified
+				const fileContent = await escapePropertiesFile(resource);
+
+				return fileContent.length;
 			} else if ( this.optimizeXMLViews && /\.view.xml$/.test(module) ) {
 				// needs to be activated when it gets activated in JSMergedModuleBuilderExt
 				let fileContent = await resource.buffer();
diff --git a/lib/lbt/bundle/Builder.js b/lib/lbt/bundle/Builder.js
index 0dd366b6e..74bc73f73 100644
--- a/lib/lbt/bundle/Builder.js
+++ b/lib/lbt/bundle/Builder.js
@@ -12,6 +12,7 @@ const {Syntax} = esprima;
 const {isMethodCall} = require("../utils/ASTUtils");
 const ModuleName = require("../utils/ModuleName");
 const UI5ClientConstants = require("../UI5ClientConstants");
+const escapePropertiesFile = require("../utils/escapePropertiesFile");
 
 const BundleResolver = require("./Resolver");
 const BundleSplitter = require("./AutoSplitter");
@@ -442,9 +443,11 @@ class BundleBuilder {
 			}
 			outW.write( makeStringLiteral( fileContent ) );
 		} else if ( /\.properties$/.test(module) ) {
-			// same as for other text files, but input encoding is ISO_8859_1
-			const fileContent = await resource.buffer();
-			outW.write( makeStringLiteral( fileContent.toString("latin1") ) );
+			// Since the Builder is also used when building non-project resources (e.g. dependencies)
+			// *.properties files should be escaped if encoding option is specified
+			const fileContent = await escapePropertiesFile(resource);
+
+			outW.write( makeStringLiteral( fileContent ) );
 		} else {
 			log.error("don't know how to embed module " + module); // TODO throw?
 		}
diff --git a/lib/lbt/utils/escapePropertiesFile.js b/lib/lbt/utils/escapePropertiesFile.js
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..3e8158398
--- /dev/null
+++ b/lib/lbt/utils/escapePropertiesFile.js
@@ -0,0 +1,29 @@
+const nonAsciiEscaper = require("../../processors/nonAsciiEscaper");
+
+/**
+ * Can be used to escape *.properties files.
+ *
+ * Input encoding is read from project configuration.
+ * In case the resource belongs to no project (e.g. bundler is used standalone) the default is "ISO-8859-1".
+ *
+ * @private
+ * @param {Resource} resource the resource for which the content will be escaped
+ * @returns {Promise<string>} resolves with the escaped string content of the given Resource
+ */
+module.exports = async function(resource) {
+	const propertiesFileSourceEncoding = resource.getProject()
+			&& resource.getProject().resources
+			&& resource.getProject().resources.configuration
+			&& resource.getProject().resources.configuration.propertiesFileSourceEncoding;
+	const encoding = nonAsciiEscaper.getEncodingFromAlias(propertiesFileSourceEncoding || "ISO-8859-1");
+	await nonAsciiEscaper({
+		resources: [resource.resource],
+		options: {
+			encoding
+		}
+	});
+
+	const fileContent = await resource.buffer();
+
+	return fileContent.toString();
+};
diff --git a/lib/processors/bundlers/moduleBundler.js b/lib/processors/bundlers/moduleBundler.js
index aef847673..a6bc5da4e 100644
--- a/lib/processors/bundlers/moduleBundler.js
+++ b/lib/processors/bundlers/moduleBundler.js
@@ -16,6 +16,10 @@ class LocatorResource extends Resource {
 	buffer() {
 		return this.resource.getBuffer();
 	}
+
+	getProject() {
+		return this.resource._project;
+	}
 }
 
 class LocatorResourcePool extends ResourcePool {
diff --git a/lib/processors/nonAsciiEscaper.js b/lib/processors/nonAsciiEscaper.js
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..66b025d1d
--- /dev/null
+++ b/lib/processors/nonAsciiEscaper.js
@@ -0,0 +1,103 @@
+const escapeUnicode = require("escape-unicode");
+
+/**
+ * @see https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ASCII
+ * ascii contains 128 characters.
+ * its char codes reach from 0 to 127.
+ * @type {number}
+ */
+const CHAR_CODE_OF_LAST_ASCII_CHARACTER = 127;
+
+// use memoization for escapeUnicode function for performance
+const memoizeEscapeUnicodeMap = {};
+const memoizeEscapeUnicode = function(sChar) {
+	if (memoizeEscapeUnicodeMap[sChar]) {
+		return memoizeEscapeUnicodeMap[sChar];
+	}
+	memoizeEscapeUnicodeMap[sChar] = escapeUnicode(sChar);
+	return memoizeEscapeUnicodeMap[sChar];
+};
+
+/**
+ * Escapes non ASCII characters with unicode escape sequences.
+ *
+ * @see https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ASCII
+ * @see https://tools.ietf.org/html/rfc5137#section-6.1
+ *
+ *
+ * @param {string} string input string with non ascii characters, e.g. L♥VE
+ * @returns {{string: (string), modified: boolean}} output string with all non ascii
+ * characters being escaped by unicode sequence, e.g. L\u2665VE
+ */
+const escapeNonAscii = function(string) {
+	let result = "";
+	let modified = false;
+	for (let i = 0; i < string.length; i++) {
+		const char = string[i];
+		// check for non ascii characters (characters which have a char code
+		// greater than the ascii character code range)
+		if (string.charCodeAt(i) > CHAR_CODE_OF_LAST_ASCII_CHARACTER) {
+			result += memoizeEscapeUnicode(char);
+			modified = true;
+		} else {
+			result += char;
+		}
+	}
+	return {
+		modified,
+		string: result
+	};
+};
+
+/**
+ * Escapes non ASCII characters with unicode escape sequences.
+ *
+ * @example
+ * const encoding = nonAsciiEscaper.getEncodingFromAlias("ISO-8859-1");
+ * nonAsciiEscaper({resources, options: {encoding}});
+ *
+ *
+ * @public
+ * @alias module:@ui5/builder.processors.nonAsciiEscaper
+ * @param {Object} parameters Parameters
+ * @param {module:@ui5/fs.Resource[]} parameters.resources List of resources to be processed
+ * @param {Object} [parameters.options] Options
+ * @param {string} [parameters.options.encoding="utf8"] resource file encoding (node.js based encodings). Use #getEncodingFromAlias to get the encoding string
+ * {@link https://nodejs.org/api/buffer.html#buffer_buffers_and_character_encodings Node.js character encodings};
+ * @returns {Promise<module:@ui5/fs.Resource[]>} Promise resolving with the processed resources
+ */
+module.exports = async function nonAsciiEscaper({resources, options={}}) {
+	const encoding = options.encoding || "utf8";
+
+	async function processResource(resource) {
+		const resourceString = (await resource.getBuffer()).toString(encoding);
+		const escaped = escapeNonAscii(resourceString);
+		// only modify the resource's string if it was changed
+		if (escaped.modified) {
+			resource.setString(escaped.string);
+		}
+		return resource;
+	}
+
+	return Promise.all(resources.map(processResource));
+};
+
+const encodingMap = {
+	"UTF-8": "utf8",
+	"ISO-8859-1": "latin1",
+};
+
+/**
+ * Provides a mapping from user-friendly encoding name (alias) such as "UTF-8" and "ISO-8859-1" to node
+ * specific encoding name such as "utf8" or "latin1". Simplifies usage of nonAsciiEscaper encoding
+ * option such that it can be used standalone without the respective task (e.g. in Splitter, Bundler and related projects).
+ *
+ * @param {string} encoding encoding labels: "UTF-8" and "ISO-8859-1"
+ * @returns {string} node.js character encoding string, e.g. utf8 and latin1
+ */
+module.exports.getEncodingFromAlias = function(encoding) {
+	if (!encodingMap[encoding]) {
+		throw new Error(`Encoding "${encoding}" is not supported. Only ${Object.keys(encodingMap).join(", ")} are allowed values` );
+	}
+	return encodingMap[encoding];
+};
diff --git a/lib/tasks/escapeNonAsciiCharacters.js b/lib/tasks/escapeNonAsciiCharacters.js
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..5acb377b6
--- /dev/null
+++ b/lib/tasks/escapeNonAsciiCharacters.js
@@ -0,0 +1,30 @@
+const nonAsciiEscaper = require("../processors/nonAsciiEscaper");
+
+/**
+ * Task to escape non ascii characters in properties files resources.
+ *
+ * @public
+ * @alias module:@ui5/builder.tasks.escapeNonAsciiCharacters
+ * @param {Object} parameters Parameters
+ * @param {module:@ui5/fs.DuplexCollection} parameters.workspace DuplexCollection to read and write files
+ * @param {Object} parameters.options Options
+ * @param {string} parameters.options.pattern Glob pattern to locate the files to be processed
+ * @param {string} parameters.options.encoding source file encoding either "UTF-8" or "ISO-8859-1"
+ * @returns {Promise<undefined>} Promise resolving with <code>undefined</code> once data has been written
+ */
+module.exports = async function({workspace, options}) {
+	if (!options.encoding) {
+		throw new Error("[escapeNonAsciiCharacters] Mandatory option 'encoding' not provided");
+	}
+
+	const allResources = await workspace.byGlob(options.pattern);
+
+	const processedResources = await nonAsciiEscaper({
+		resources: allResources,
+		options: {
+			encoding: nonAsciiEscaper.getEncodingFromAlias(options.encoding)
+		}
+	});
+
+	await Promise.all(processedResources.map((resource) => workspace.write(resource)));
+};
diff --git a/lib/tasks/taskRepository.js b/lib/tasks/taskRepository.js
index b8a4dbb06..b45560f48 100644
--- a/lib/tasks/taskRepository.js
+++ b/lib/tasks/taskRepository.js
@@ -2,6 +2,7 @@ const tasks = {
 	replaceCopyright: require("./replaceCopyright"),
 	replaceVersion: require("./replaceVersion"),
 	createDebugFiles: require("./createDebugFiles"),
+	escapeNonAsciiCharacters: require("./escapeNonAsciiCharacters"),
 	executeJsdocSdkTransformation: require("./jsdoc/executeJsdocSdkTransformation"),
 	generateApiIndex: require("./jsdoc/generateApiIndex"),
 	generateJsdoc: require("./jsdoc/generateJsdoc"),
diff --git a/lib/types/application/ApplicationBuilder.js b/lib/types/application/ApplicationBuilder.js
index 0f7a393da..67043e786 100644
--- a/lib/types/application/ApplicationBuilder.js
+++ b/lib/types/application/ApplicationBuilder.js
@@ -8,6 +8,7 @@ const tasks = { // can't require index.js due to circular dependency
 	generateStandaloneAppBundle: require("../../tasks/bundlers/generateStandaloneAppBundle"),
 	generateBundle: require("../../tasks/bundlers/generateBundle"),
 	generateCachebusterInfo: require("../../tasks/generateCachebusterInfo"),
+	escapeNonAsciiCharacters: require("../../tasks/escapeNonAsciiCharacters"),
 	buildThemes: require("../../tasks/buildThemes"),
 	createDebugFiles: require("../../tasks/createDebugFiles"),
 	generateVersionInfo: require("../../tasks/generateVersionInfo"),
@@ -26,6 +27,19 @@ class ApplicationBuilder extends AbstractBuilder {
 					"Also see: https://github.com/SAP/ui5-builder#application");
 		}
 
+		this.addTask("escapeNonAsciiCharacters", () => {
+			const propertiesFileSourceEncoding = project.resources
+				&& project.resources.configuration
+				&& project.resources.configuration.propertiesFileSourceEncoding;
+			return tasks.escapeNonAsciiCharacters({
+				workspace: resourceCollections.workspace,
+				options: {
+					encoding: propertiesFileSourceEncoding,
+					pattern: "/**/*.properties"
+				}
+			});
+		});
+
 		this.addTask("replaceCopyright", () => {
 			return tasks.replaceCopyright({
 				workspace: resourceCollections.workspace,
diff --git a/lib/types/application/ApplicationFormatter.js b/lib/types/application/ApplicationFormatter.js
index b099bcffb..2a3fb0b3e 100644
--- a/lib/types/application/ApplicationFormatter.js
+++ b/lib/types/application/ApplicationFormatter.js
@@ -133,6 +133,15 @@ class ApplicationFormatter extends AbstractUi5Formatter {
 				project.resources.configuration.paths.webapp = "webapp";
 			}
 
+			// default encoding to "ISO-8859-1" if not specified
+			if (!project.resources.configuration.propertiesFileSourceEncoding) {
+				project.resources.configuration.propertiesFileSourceEncoding = "ISO-8859-1";
+			}
+			if (!["ISO-8859-1", "UTF-8"].includes(project.resources.configuration.propertiesFileSourceEncoding)) {
+				throw new Error(`Invalid properties file encoding specified for project ${project.id}: ` +
+					`encoding provided: ${project.resources.configuration.propertiesFileSourceEncoding}. Must be either "ISO-8859-1" or "UTF-8".`);
+			}
+
 			const absolutePath = path.join(project.path, project.resources.configuration.paths.webapp);
 			return this.dirExists(absolutePath).then((bExists) => {
 				if (!bExists) {
diff --git a/lib/types/library/LibraryBuilder.js b/lib/types/library/LibraryBuilder.js
index 806278ee8..b1125b794 100644
--- a/lib/types/library/LibraryBuilder.js
+++ b/lib/types/library/LibraryBuilder.js
@@ -6,6 +6,7 @@ const tasks = { // can't require index.js due to circular dependency
 	generateLibraryPreload: require("../../tasks/bundlers/generateLibraryPreload"),
 	generateManifestBundle: require("../../tasks/bundlers/generateManifestBundle"),
 	generateStandaloneAppBundle: require("../../tasks/bundlers/generateStandaloneAppBundle"),
+	escapeNonAsciiCharacters: require("../../tasks/escapeNonAsciiCharacters"),
 	buildThemes: require("../../tasks/buildThemes"),
 	createDebugFiles: require("../../tasks/createDebugFiles"),
 	generateJsdoc: require("../../tasks/jsdoc/generateJsdoc"),
@@ -25,6 +26,19 @@ class LibraryBuilder extends AbstractBuilder {
 				"Also see: https://github.com/SAP/ui5-builder#library");
 		}
 
+		this.addTask("escapeNonAsciiCharacters", () => {
+			const propertiesFileSourceEncoding = project.resources
+				&& project.resources.configuration
+				&& project.resources.configuration.propertiesFileSourceEncoding;
+			return tasks.escapeNonAsciiCharacters({
+				workspace: resourceCollections.workspace,
+				options: {
+					encoding: propertiesFileSourceEncoding,
+					pattern: "/**/*.properties"
+				}
+			});
+		});
+
 		this.addTask("replaceCopyright", () => {
 			const replaceCopyright = tasks.replaceCopyright;
 			return replaceCopyright({
diff --git a/lib/types/library/LibraryFormatter.js b/lib/types/library/LibraryFormatter.js
index 652fb8323..7339d7184 100644
--- a/lib/types/library/LibraryFormatter.js
+++ b/lib/types/library/LibraryFormatter.js
@@ -340,6 +340,15 @@ class LibraryFormatter extends AbstractUi5Formatter {
 				project.resources.configuration.paths.test = "test";
 			}
 
+			// default encoding to "ISO-8859-1" if not specified
+			if (!project.resources.configuration.propertiesFileSourceEncoding) {
+				project.resources.configuration.propertiesFileSourceEncoding = "ISO-8859-1";
+			}
+			if (!["ISO-8859-1", "UTF-8"].includes(project.resources.configuration.propertiesFileSourceEncoding)) {
+				throw new Error(`Invalid properties file encoding specified for project ${project.id}: ` +
+					`encoding provided: ${project.resources.configuration.propertiesFileSourceEncoding}. Must be either "ISO-8859-1" or "UTF-8".`);
+			}
+
 			const absoluteSrcPath = path.join(project.path, project.resources.configuration.paths.src);
 			const absoluteTestPath = path.join(project.path, project.resources.configuration.paths.test);
 			return Promise.all([
diff --git a/package-lock.json b/package-lock.json
index a9bb42830..1b7bf02da 100644
--- a/package-lock.json
+++ b/package-lock.json
@@ -2255,6 +2255,11 @@
 			"resolved": "https://registry.npmjs.org/escape-string-regexp/-/escape-string-regexp-1.0.5.tgz",
 			"integrity": "sha1-G2HAViGQqN/2rjuyzwIAyhMLhtQ="
 		},
+		"escape-unicode": {
+			"version": "0.2.0",
+			"resolved": "https://registry.npmjs.org/escape-unicode/-/escape-unicode-0.2.0.tgz",
+			"integrity": "sha512-7jMQuKb8nm0h/9HYLfu4NCLFwoUsd5XO6OZ1z86PbKcMf8zDK1m7nFR0iA2CCShq4TSValaLIveE8T1UBxgALQ=="
+		},
 		"escodegen": {
 			"version": "1.11.1",
 			"resolved": "https://registry.npmjs.org/escodegen/-/escodegen-1.11.1.tgz",
@@ -4402,7 +4407,7 @@
 				},
 				"find-up": {
 					"version": "3.0.0",
-					"resolved": "https://registry.npmjs.org/find-up/-/find-up-3.0.0.tgz",
+					"resolved": false,
 					"integrity": "sha512-1yD6RmLI1XBfxugvORwlck6f75tYL+iR0jqwsOrOxMZyGYqUuDhJ0l4AXdO1iX/FTs9cBAMEk1gWSEx1kSbylg==",
 					"dev": true,
 					"requires": {
@@ -4411,7 +4416,7 @@
 				},
 				"locate-path": {
 					"version": "3.0.0",
-					"resolved": "https://registry.npmjs.org/locate-path/-/locate-path-3.0.0.tgz",
+					"resolved": false,
 					"integrity": "sha512-7AO748wWnIhNqAuaty2ZWHkQHRSNfPVIsPIfwEOWO22AmaoVrWavlOcMR5nzTLNYvp36X220/maaRsrec1G65A==",
 					"dev": true,
 					"requires": {
@@ -4431,7 +4436,7 @@
 				},
 				"p-locate": {
 					"version": "3.0.0",
-					"resolved": "https://registry.npmjs.org/p-locate/-/p-locate-3.0.0.tgz",
+					"resolved": false,
 					"integrity": "sha512-x+12w/To+4GFfgJhBEpiDcLozRJGegY+Ei7/z0tSLkMmxGZNybVMSfWj9aJn8Z5Fc7dBUNJOOVgPv2H7IwulSQ==",
 					"dev": true,
 					"requires": {
@@ -4440,13 +4445,13 @@
 				},
 				"path-exists": {
 					"version": "3.0.0",
-					"resolved": "https://registry.npmjs.org/path-exists/-/path-exists-3.0.0.tgz",
+					"resolved": false,
 					"integrity": "sha1-zg6+ql94yxiSXqfYENe1mwEP1RU=",
 					"dev": true
 				},
 				"resolve-from": {
 					"version": "4.0.0",
-					"resolved": "https://registry.npmjs.org/resolve-from/-/resolve-from-4.0.0.tgz",
+					"resolved": false,
 					"integrity": "sha512-pb/MYmXstAkysRFx8piNI1tGFNQIFA3vkE3Gq4EuA1dF6gHp/+vgZqsCGJapvy8N3Q+4o7FwvquPJcnZ7RYy4g==",
 					"dev": true
 				},
diff --git a/package.json b/package.json
index 8fefaf0ed..852e98cba 100644
--- a/package.json
+++ b/package.json
@@ -99,6 +99,7 @@
 		"@ui5/fs": "^1.1.2",
 		"@ui5/logger": "^1.0.1",
 		"cheerio": "^0.22.0",
+		"escape-unicode": "^0.2.0",
 		"escodegen": "^1.11.1",
 		"escope": "^3.6.0",
 		"esprima": "^4.0.1",
diff --git a/test/expected/build/application.b/dest/i18n/i18n.properties b/test/expected/build/application.b/dest/i18n/i18n.properties
index 575fb20d0..17772dbf5 100644
--- a/test/expected/build/application.b/dest/i18n/i18n.properties
+++ b/test/expected/build/application.b/dest/i18n/i18n.properties
@@ -1 +1,2 @@
-title=app-i18n
\ No newline at end of file
+title=app-i18n
+fame=Stra\u00dfe
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/test/expected/build/application.b/dest/i18n/i18n_de.properties b/test/expected/build/application.b/dest/i18n/i18n_de.properties
index f58858038..d2c23da4b 100644
--- a/test/expected/build/application.b/dest/i18n/i18n_de.properties
+++ b/test/expected/build/application.b/dest/i18n/i18n_de.properties
@@ -1 +1,2 @@
-title=app-i18n_de
\ No newline at end of file
+title=app-i18n_de
+fame=Stra\u00dfe
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/test/expected/build/application.b/dest/manifest-bundle/i18n/i18n.properties b/test/expected/build/application.b/dest/manifest-bundle/i18n/i18n.properties
index 575fb20d0..17772dbf5 100644
--- a/test/expected/build/application.b/dest/manifest-bundle/i18n/i18n.properties
+++ b/test/expected/build/application.b/dest/manifest-bundle/i18n/i18n.properties
@@ -1 +1,2 @@
-title=app-i18n
\ No newline at end of file
+title=app-i18n
+fame=Stra\u00dfe
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/test/expected/build/application.b/dest/manifest-bundle/i18n/i18n_de.properties b/test/expected/build/application.b/dest/manifest-bundle/i18n/i18n_de.properties
index f58858038..d2c23da4b 100644
--- a/test/expected/build/application.b/dest/manifest-bundle/i18n/i18n_de.properties
+++ b/test/expected/build/application.b/dest/manifest-bundle/i18n/i18n_de.properties
@@ -1 +1,2 @@
-title=app-i18n_de
\ No newline at end of file
+title=app-i18n_de
+fame=Stra\u00dfe
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/test/expected/build/application.b/standalone/i18n.properties b/test/expected/build/application.b/standalone/i18n.properties
index 88b84f602..d8d43be34 100644
--- a/test/expected/build/application.b/standalone/i18n.properties
+++ b/test/expected/build/application.b/standalone/i18n.properties
@@ -1 +1,2 @@
-title=app-i18n-wrong
\ No newline at end of file
+title=app-i18n-wrong
+fame=Straße
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/test/expected/build/application.b/standalone/i18n/i18n.properties b/test/expected/build/application.b/standalone/i18n/i18n.properties
index 575fb20d0..49f4756f9 100644
--- a/test/expected/build/application.b/standalone/i18n/i18n.properties
+++ b/test/expected/build/application.b/standalone/i18n/i18n.properties
@@ -1 +1,2 @@
-title=app-i18n
\ No newline at end of file
+title=app-i18n
+fame=Straße
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/test/expected/build/application.b/standalone/i18n/i18n_de.properties b/test/expected/build/application.b/standalone/i18n/i18n_de.properties
index f58858038..a81193360 100644
--- a/test/expected/build/application.b/standalone/i18n/i18n_de.properties
+++ b/test/expected/build/application.b/standalone/i18n/i18n_de.properties
@@ -1 +1,2 @@
-title=app-i18n_de
\ No newline at end of file
+title=app-i18n_de
+fame=Straße
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/test/expected/build/application.b/standalone/i18n/l10n.properties b/test/expected/build/application.b/standalone/i18n/l10n.properties
index 88b84f602..d8d43be34 100644
--- a/test/expected/build/application.b/standalone/i18n/l10n.properties
+++ b/test/expected/build/application.b/standalone/i18n/l10n.properties
@@ -1 +1,2 @@
-title=app-i18n-wrong
\ No newline at end of file
+title=app-i18n-wrong
+fame=Straße
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/test/expected/build/application.b/standalone/resources/sap-ui-custom.js b/test/expected/build/application.b/standalone/resources/sap-ui-custom.js
index 5da6683a2..2f1bb3225 100644
--- a/test/expected/build/application.b/standalone/resources/sap-ui-custom.js
+++ b/test/expected/build/application.b/standalone/resources/sap-ui-custom.js
@@ -5,10 +5,10 @@ jQuery.sap.registerPreloadedModules({
 	"id1/embedded/i18n/i18n_de.properties":'title=embedded-i18n_de',
 	"id1/embedded/i18n_fr.properties":'title=embedded-i18n_fr-wrong',
 	"id1/embedded/manifest.json":'{"_version":"1.1.0","sap.app":{"_version":"1.1.0","id":"id1.embedded","type":"component","applicationVersion":{"version":"1.2.2"},"embeddedBy":"../","title":"{{title}}"}}',
-	"id1/i18n.properties":'title=app-i18n-wrong',
-	"id1/i18n/i18n.properties":'title=app-i18n',
-	"id1/i18n/i18n_de.properties":'title=app-i18n_de',
-	"id1/i18n/l10n.properties":'title=app-i18n-wrong',
+	"id1/i18n.properties":'title=app-i18n-wrong\nfame=Stra\\u00dfe',
+	"id1/i18n/i18n.properties":'title=app-i18n\nfame=Stra\\u00dfe',
+	"id1/i18n/i18n_de.properties":'title=app-i18n_de\nfame=Stra\\u00dfe',
+	"id1/i18n/l10n.properties":'title=app-i18n-wrong\nfame=Stra\\u00dfe',
 	"id1/manifest.json":'{"_version":"1.1.0","sap.app":{"_version":"1.1.0","id":"id1","type":"application","applicationVersion":{"version":"1.2.2"},"embeds":["embedded"],"title":"{{title}}"}}',
 	"sap/ui/core/Core.js":function(){
 }
diff --git a/test/fixtures/application.b/webapp/i18n.properties b/test/fixtures/application.b/webapp/i18n.properties
index 88b84f602..d8d43be34 100644
--- a/test/fixtures/application.b/webapp/i18n.properties
+++ b/test/fixtures/application.b/webapp/i18n.properties
@@ -1 +1,2 @@
-title=app-i18n-wrong
\ No newline at end of file
+title=app-i18n-wrong
+fame=Straße
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/test/fixtures/application.b/webapp/i18n/i18n.properties b/test/fixtures/application.b/webapp/i18n/i18n.properties
index 575fb20d0..49f4756f9 100644
--- a/test/fixtures/application.b/webapp/i18n/i18n.properties
+++ b/test/fixtures/application.b/webapp/i18n/i18n.properties
@@ -1 +1,2 @@
-title=app-i18n
\ No newline at end of file
+title=app-i18n
+fame=Straße
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/test/fixtures/application.b/webapp/i18n/i18n_de.properties b/test/fixtures/application.b/webapp/i18n/i18n_de.properties
index f58858038..a81193360 100644
--- a/test/fixtures/application.b/webapp/i18n/i18n_de.properties
+++ b/test/fixtures/application.b/webapp/i18n/i18n_de.properties
@@ -1 +1,2 @@
-title=app-i18n_de
\ No newline at end of file
+title=app-i18n_de
+fame=Straße
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/test/fixtures/application.b/webapp/i18n/l10n.properties b/test/fixtures/application.b/webapp/i18n/l10n.properties
index 88b84f602..d8d43be34 100644
--- a/test/fixtures/application.b/webapp/i18n/l10n.properties
+++ b/test/fixtures/application.b/webapp/i18n/l10n.properties
@@ -1 +1,2 @@
-title=app-i18n-wrong
\ No newline at end of file
+title=app-i18n-wrong
+fame=Straße
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/test/lib/builder/builder.js b/test/lib/builder/builder.js
index cc4af0b93..91292d72e 100644
--- a/test/lib/builder/builder.js
+++ b/test/lib/builder/builder.js
@@ -533,7 +533,8 @@ const applicationATree = {
 		"configuration": {
 			"paths": {
 				"webapp": "webapp"
-			}
+			},
+			"propertiesFileSourceEncoding": "ISO-8859-1"
 		},
 		"pathMappings": {
 			"/": "webapp"
@@ -556,7 +557,8 @@ const applicationATreeBadType = {
 		"configuration": {
 			"paths": {
 				"webapp": "webapp"
-			}
+			},
+			"propertiesFileSourceEncoding": "ISO-8859-1"
 		},
 		"pathMappings": {
 			"/": "webapp"
@@ -581,7 +583,8 @@ const applicationGTree = {
 		"configuration": {
 			"paths": {
 				"webapp": "webapp"
-			}
+			},
+			"propertiesFileSourceEncoding": "ISO-8859-1"
 		},
 		"pathMappings": {
 			"/": "webapp"
@@ -615,7 +618,8 @@ const applicationGTreeWithExcludes = {
 		"configuration": {
 			"paths": {
 				"webapp": "webapp"
-			}
+			},
+			"propertiesFileSourceEncoding": "ISO-8859-1"
 		},
 		"pathMappings": {
 			"/": "webapp"
@@ -650,7 +654,8 @@ const applicationGTreeComponentPreloadPaths = {
 		"configuration": {
 			"paths": {
 				"webapp": "webapp"
-			}
+			},
+			"propertiesFileSourceEncoding": "ISO-8859-1"
 		},
 		"pathMappings": {
 			"/": "webapp"
@@ -681,7 +686,8 @@ const applicationHTree = {
 		"configuration": {
 			"paths": {
 				"webapp": "webapp"
-			}
+			},
+			"propertiesFileSourceEncoding": "ISO-8859-1"
 		},
 		"pathMappings": {
 			"/": "webapp"
@@ -741,7 +747,8 @@ const applicationITree = {
 		"configuration": {
 			"paths": {
 				"webapp": "webapp"
-			}
+			},
+			"propertiesFileSourceEncoding": "ISO-8859-1"
 		},
 		"pathMappings": {
 			"/": "webapp"
@@ -795,7 +802,8 @@ const libraryDTree = {
 			"paths": {
 				"src": "main/src",
 				"test": "main/test"
-			}
+			},
+			"propertiesFileSourceEncoding": "ISO-8859-1"
 		},
 		"pathMappings": {
 			"/resources/": "main/src",
@@ -847,7 +855,8 @@ const libraryETree = {
 			"paths": {
 				"src": "src",
 				"test": "test"
-			}
+			},
+			"propertiesFileSourceEncoding": "ISO-8859-1"
 		},
 		"pathMappings": {
 			"/resources/": "src",
@@ -899,7 +908,8 @@ const libraryHTree = {
 			"paths": {
 				"src": "main/src",
 				"test": "main/test"
-			}
+			},
+			"propertiesFileSourceEncoding": "ISO-8859-1"
 		},
 		"pathMappings": {
 			"/resources/": "main/src",
@@ -984,7 +994,8 @@ const libraryITree = {
 			"paths": {
 				"src": "main/src",
 				"test": "main/test"
-			}
+			},
+			"propertiesFileSourceEncoding": "ISO-8859-1"
 		},
 		"pathMappings": {
 			"/resources/": "main/src"
@@ -1035,7 +1046,8 @@ const themeJTree = {
 			"paths": {
 				"src": "main/src",
 				"test": "main/test"
-			}
+			},
+			"propertiesFileSourceEncoding": "ISO-8859-1"
 		},
 		"pathMappings": {
 			"/resources/": "main/src"
diff --git a/test/lib/lbt/bundle/AutoSplitter.js b/test/lib/lbt/bundle/AutoSplitter.js
index b17747613..d0d285213 100644
--- a/test/lib/lbt/bundle/AutoSplitter.js
+++ b/test/lib/lbt/bundle/AutoSplitter.js
@@ -16,7 +16,22 @@ function createMockPool(dependencies) {
 			if (name === "c.js") {
 				info.compressedSize = 512;
 			}
-			return {info, buffer: async () => name.padStart(2048, "*")};
+			return {
+				info,
+				buffer: async () => Buffer.from(name.padStart(2048, "*")),
+				getProject: () => {
+					return {
+						"resources": {
+							"configuration": {
+								"propertiesFileSourceEncoding": "ISO-8859-1"
+							}
+						}
+					};
+				},
+				resource: {
+					getBuffer: async () => Buffer.from(name.padStart(2048, "*"))
+				}
+			};
 		},
 		resources: [{
 			name: "a.js"
@@ -152,7 +167,8 @@ test("_calcMinSize: js resource", async (t) => {
 					size: 333,
 					compressedSize: 333
 				},
-				buffer: async () => "var test = 5;"
+				buffer: async () => "var test = 5;",
+				getProject: () => undefined
 			};
 		}
 	};
@@ -170,7 +186,8 @@ test.serial("_calcMinSize: uglify js resource", async (t) => {
 					size: 333,
 					compressedSize: 333
 				},
-				buffer: async () => "var test = 5;"
+				buffer: async () => "var test = 5;",
+				getProject: () => undefined
 			};
 		}
 	};
@@ -183,20 +200,37 @@ test.serial("_calcMinSize: uglify js resource", async (t) => {
 test("_calcMinSize: properties resource", async (t) => {
 	const pool = {
 		findResourceWithInfo: function() {
+			let content = "1234ß";
 			return {
-				buffer: async () => "1234"
+				buffer: async () => Buffer.from(content),
+				resource: {
+					setString: (string) => {
+						content = string;
+					},
+					getBuffer: async () => Buffer.from(content, "latin1")
+				},
+				getProject: () => {
+					return {
+						"resources": {
+							"configuration": {
+								"propertiesFileSourceEncoding": "ISO-8859-1"
+							}
+						}
+					};
+				}
 			};
 		}
 	};
 	const autpSplitter = new AutoSplitter(pool);
-	t.deepEqual(await autpSplitter._calcMinSize("mymodule.properties"), 4);
+	t.deepEqual(await autpSplitter._calcMinSize("mymodule.properties"), 10, "length of 1234\\u00df");
 });
 
 test("_calcMinSize: xml view resource", async (t) => {
 	const pool = {
 		findResourceWithInfo: function() {
 			return {
-				buffer: async () => "12345"
+				buffer: async () => "12345",
+				getProject: () => undefined
 			};
 		}
 	};
@@ -209,7 +243,8 @@ test("_calcMinSize: xml view resource without optimizeXMLViews", async (t) => {
 	const pool = {
 		findResourceWithInfo: function() {
 			return {
-				buffer: async () => "123456"
+				buffer: async () => "123456",
+				getProject: () => undefined
 			};
 		}
 	};
@@ -222,7 +257,8 @@ test.serial("_calcMinSize: optimize xml view resource", async (t) => {
 	const pool = {
 		findResourceWithInfo: function() {
 			return {
-				buffer: async () => "xxx"
+				buffer: async () => "xxx",
+				getProject: () => undefined
 			};
 		}
 	};
@@ -238,7 +274,8 @@ test.serial("_calcMinSize: optimize xml view resource and pre tag", async (t) =>
 	const pool = {
 		findResourceWithInfo: function() {
 			return {
-				buffer: async () => "<xml><pre>asd</pre>"
+				buffer: async () => "<xml><pre>asd</pre>",
+				getProject: () => undefined
 			};
 		}
 	};
diff --git a/test/lib/processors/nonAsciiEscaper.js b/test/lib/processors/nonAsciiEscaper.js
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..4b10c0c1b
--- /dev/null
+++ b/test/lib/processors/nonAsciiEscaper.js
@@ -0,0 +1,127 @@
+const test = require("ava");
+
+const nonAsciiEscaper = require("../../../lib/processors/nonAsciiEscaper");
+const Resource = require("@ui5/fs").Resource;
+
+/**
+ * Executes string escaping. Returns <code>undefined</code> if nothing was escaped.
+ *
+ * @param {string} input string
+ * @param {Object} [options]
+ * @param {string} encoding character encoding used, e.g. utf8, latin1, ..
+ * @returns {Promise<string|undefined>} escaped string if non-ascii characters present, <code>undefined</code> otherwise
+ */
+const escape = async function(input, options={}, encoding="utf8") {
+	const resource = new Resource({
+		path: "my.properties",
+		buffer: Buffer.from(input, encoding)
+	});
+	return nonAsciiEscaper({resources: [resource], options});
+};
+
+test("Escape characters (ISO-8859-1)", async (t) => {
+	t.plan(1);
+
+	const input = `Viele Grüße`;
+	const expected = `Viele Gr\\u00fc\\u00dfe`;
+	const [resource] = await escape(input, {
+		encoding: "latin1" // escape encoding
+	}, "latin1"); // resource encoding
+	t.deepEqual(await resource.getString(), expected, "Correct file content should be set");
+});
+
+test("Escape characters (UTF-8, explicit parameter)", async (t) => {
+	t.plan(1);
+
+	const input = `These are 人物 characters`;
+	const expected = "These are \\u4eba\\u7269 characters";
+	const [resource] = await escape(input, {
+		encoding: "utf8" // escape encoding
+	}, "utf8"); // resource encoding
+	t.deepEqual(await resource.getString(), expected, "Correct file content should be set");
+});
+
+test("Escape characters (UTF-8, default)", async (t) => {
+	t.plan(1);
+
+	const input = `Viele Grüße`;
+	const expected = `Viele Gr\\u00fc\\u00dfe`;
+	// default encoding is utf8
+	const [resource] = await escape(input);
+	t.deepEqual(await resource.getString(), expected, "Correct file content should be set");
+});
+
+test("Replace symbol characters", async (t) => {
+	t.plan(1);
+
+	const input = `L♥VE is everywhere`;
+	const expected = `L\\u2665VE is everywhere`;
+	const [resource] = await escape(input);
+	t.deepEqual(await resource.getString(), expected, "Correct file content should be set");
+});
+
+test("Replace chinese characters", async (t) => {
+	t.plan(1);
+
+	const input = `These are 人物 characters`;
+	const expected = "These are \\u4eba\\u7269 characters";
+	const [resource] = await escape(input);
+	t.deepEqual(await resource.getString(), expected, "Correct file content should be set");
+});
+
+test("Replace umlaut characters", async (t) => {
+	t.plan(1);
+
+	const input = `Achso Ähem`;
+	const expected = "Achso \\u00c4hem";
+	const [resource] = await escape(input);
+	t.deepEqual(await resource.getString(), expected, "Correct file content should be set");
+});
+
+test("Replace constructed characters", async (t) => {
+	t.plan(1);
+
+	const input = `Oh ẛ̣ that's ẛ̣ yes`;
+	const expected = "Oh \\u1e9b\\u0323 that's \\u1e9b\\u0323 yes";
+	const [resource] = await escape(input);
+	t.deepEqual(await resource.getString(), expected, "Correct file content should be set");
+});
+
+
+test("Replace multiple times same character", async (t) => {
+	t.plan(1);
+
+	const input = `♥H L♥VE AND HARM♥NY ♥MG`;
+	const expected = "\\u2665H L\\u2665VE AND HARM\\u2665NY \\u2665MG";
+	const [resource] = await escape(input);
+	t.deepEqual(await resource.getString(), expected, "Correct file content should be set");
+});
+
+test("No Replace of characters", async (t) => {
+	t.plan(1);
+
+	const input = `ONE LOVE`;
+	const expected = `ONE LOVE`;
+	const [resource] = await escape(input);
+	t.deepEqual(await resource.getString(), expected, "Correct file content should be set");
+});
+
+test("Invalid encoding", async (t) => {
+	t.plan(2);
+
+	const input = `ONE LOVE`;
+	const error = await t.throwsAsync(escape(input, {encoding: "asd"}));
+	t.is(error.message, "Unknown encoding: asd");
+});
+
+
+test("getEncodingFromAlias", (t) => {
+	t.is("utf8", nonAsciiEscaper.getEncodingFromAlias("UTF-8"));
+});
+
+test("getEncodingFromAlias invalid", (t) => {
+	const error = t.throws(function() {
+		nonAsciiEscaper.getEncodingFromAlias("asd");
+	});
+	t.is(error.message, `Encoding "asd" is not supported. Only UTF-8, ISO-8859-1 are allowed values`);
+});
diff --git a/test/lib/tasks/bundlers/generateManifestBundle.js b/test/lib/tasks/bundlers/generateManifestBundle.js
index 3cb5e9b5b..8ec5d5938 100644
--- a/test/lib/tasks/bundlers/generateManifestBundle.js
+++ b/test/lib/tasks/bundlers/generateManifestBundle.js
@@ -118,7 +118,7 @@ test("integration: Build application.b with manifestBundler", (t) => {
 	const destBundle = path.resolve(path.join(destPath, "manifest-bundle"));
 	const expectedPath = path.join("test", "expected", "build", "application.b", "dest", "manifest-bundle");
 	const excludedTasks = ["*"];
-	const includedTasks = ["generateManifestBundle"];
+	const includedTasks = ["escapeNonAsciiCharacters", "generateManifestBundle"];
 
 	return builder.build({
 		tree: applicationBTree,
@@ -189,7 +189,8 @@ const applicationBTree = {
 		"configuration": {
 			"paths": {
 				"webapp": "webapp"
-			}
+			},
+			"propertiesFileSourceEncoding": "ISO-8859-1"
 		},
 		"pathMappings": {
 			"/": "webapp"
diff --git a/test/lib/tasks/bundlers/generateStandaloneAppBundle.js b/test/lib/tasks/bundlers/generateStandaloneAppBundle.js
index cb0a975ee..9415cb129 100644
--- a/test/lib/tasks/bundlers/generateStandaloneAppBundle.js
+++ b/test/lib/tasks/bundlers/generateStandaloneAppBundle.js
@@ -329,7 +329,8 @@ const applicationBTree = {
 		"configuration": {
 			"paths": {
 				"webapp": "webapp"
-			}
+			},
+			"propertiesFileSourceEncoding": "ISO-8859-1"
 		},
 		"pathMappings": {
 			"/": "webapp"
diff --git a/test/lib/tasks/escapeNonAsciiCharacters.js b/test/lib/tasks/escapeNonAsciiCharacters.js
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..9c16de7a4
--- /dev/null
+++ b/test/lib/tasks/escapeNonAsciiCharacters.js
@@ -0,0 +1,144 @@
+const test = require("ava");
+
+const ui5Builder = require("../../../");
+const tasks = ui5Builder.builder.tasks;
+const ui5Fs = require("@ui5/fs");
+const resourceFactory = ui5Fs.resourceFactory;
+const DuplexCollection = ui5Fs.DuplexCollection;
+
+test("integration: escape non ascii characters (utf8, default)", (t) => {
+	const reader = resourceFactory.createAdapter({
+		virBasePath: "/"
+	});
+	const writer = resourceFactory.createAdapter({
+		virBasePath: "/"
+	});
+	const workspace = new DuplexCollection({reader, writer});
+
+	const content = `welcome=Willkommen {0}. Bitte geben Sie einen neuen Kontakt ein:
+lastname=Nachname:
+firstname=Vorname:
+street=Straße:♥
+zip=PLZ:
+city=Ort:`;
+
+	const expected = `welcome=Willkommen {0}. Bitte geben Sie einen neuen Kontakt ein:
+lastname=Nachname:
+firstname=Vorname:
+street=Stra\\u00dfe:\\u2665
+zip=PLZ:
+city=Ort:`;
+
+	const resource = resourceFactory.createResource({
+		path: "/i18n.properties",
+		string: content
+	});
+
+	return workspace.write(resource).then(() => {
+		return tasks.escapeNonAsciiCharacters({
+			workspace,
+			options: {
+				encoding: "UTF-8",
+				pattern: "/**/*.properties"
+			}
+		}).then(() => {
+			return writer.byPath("/i18n.properties").then((resource) => {
+				if (!resource) {
+					t.fail("Could not find /i18n.properties in target");
+				} else {
+					return resource.getString();
+				}
+			});
+		}).then((result) => {
+			return t.deepEqual(result, expected);
+		});
+	});
+});
+
+test("integration: escape non ascii characters source encoding being (ISO-8859-1)", (t) => {
+	const reader = resourceFactory.createAdapter({
+		virBasePath: "/"
+	});
+	const writer = resourceFactory.createAdapter({
+		virBasePath: "/"
+	});
+	const workspace = new DuplexCollection({reader, writer});
+
+	// create buffer in ISO encoding
+	const content = Buffer.from(`welcome=Willkommen {0}. Bitte geben Sie einen neuen Kontakt ein:
+lastname=Nachname:
+firstname=Vorname:
+street=Straße:
+zip=PLZ:
+city=Ort:`, "latin1");
+
+	const expected = `welcome=Willkommen {0}. Bitte geben Sie einen neuen Kontakt ein:
+lastname=Nachname:
+firstname=Vorname:
+street=Stra\\u00dfe:
+zip=PLZ:
+city=Ort:`;
+
+	const resource = resourceFactory.createResource({
+		path: "/i18n.properties",
+		buffer: content
+	});
+
+	return workspace.write(resource).then(() => {
+		return tasks.escapeNonAsciiCharacters({
+			workspace,
+			options: {
+				encoding: "ISO-8859-1",
+				pattern: "/**/*.properties"
+			}
+		}).then(() => {
+			return writer.byPath("/i18n.properties").then((resource) => {
+				if (!resource) {
+					t.fail("Could not find /i18n.properties in target");
+				} else {
+					return resource.getString();
+				}
+			});
+		}).then((result) => {
+			return t.deepEqual(result, expected);
+		});
+	});
+});
+
+test("integration: escape non ascii characters source encoding being empty", async (t) => {
+	const reader = resourceFactory.createAdapter({
+		virBasePath: "/"
+	});
+	const writer = resourceFactory.createAdapter({
+		virBasePath: "/"
+	});
+	const workspace = new DuplexCollection({reader, writer});
+
+	const error = await t.throwsAsync(tasks.escapeNonAsciiCharacters({
+		workspace,
+		options: {
+			encoding: "",
+			pattern: "/**/*.properties"
+		}
+	}));
+	return t.is(error.message, "[escapeNonAsciiCharacters] Mandatory option 'encoding' not provided");
+});
+
+test("integration: escape non ascii characters source encoding being UTF-16", async (t) => {
+	const reader = resourceFactory.createAdapter({
+		virBasePath: "/"
+	});
+	const writer = resourceFactory.createAdapter({
+		virBasePath: "/"
+	});
+	const workspace = new DuplexCollection({reader, writer});
+
+	const error = await t.throwsAsync(tasks.escapeNonAsciiCharacters({
+		workspace,
+		options: {
+			encoding: "utf16le",
+			pattern: "/**/*.properties"
+		}
+	}));
+	return t.is(error.message, `Encoding "utf16le" is not supported. Only UTF-8, ISO-8859-1 are allowed values`);
+});
diff --git a/test/lib/tasks/generateCachebusterInfo.js b/test/lib/tasks/generateCachebusterInfo.js
index 17ddaa9bb..52a403ced 100644
--- a/test/lib/tasks/generateCachebusterInfo.js
+++ b/test/lib/tasks/generateCachebusterInfo.js
@@ -27,7 +27,7 @@ const findFiles = (folder) => {
 test("integration: Build application.g with manifestBundler", (t) => {
 	const destPath = path.join("test", "tmp", "build", "application.g", "cachebuster");
 	const expectedPath = path.join("test", "expected", "build", "application.g", "cachebuster");
-	const excludedTasks = ["generateVersionInfo"];
+	const excludedTasks = ["escapeNonAsciiCharacters", "generateVersionInfo"];
 	const includedTasks = ["generateCachebusterInfo"];
 
 	return builder.build({
@@ -60,7 +60,7 @@ test("integration: Build application.g with manifestBundler", (t) => {
 test("integration: Build application.g with manifestBundler and cachebuster using hashes", (t) => {
 	const destPath = path.join("test", "tmp", "build", "application.g", "cachebuster_hash");
 	const expectedPath = path.join("test", "expected", "build", "application.g", "cachebuster");
-	const excludedTasks = ["generateVersionInfo"];
+	const excludedTasks = ["escapeNonAsciiCharacters", "generateVersionInfo"];
 	const includedTasks = ["generateCachebusterInfo"];
 
 	return builder.build({
diff --git a/test/lib/types/application/ApplicationBuilder.js b/test/lib/types/application/ApplicationBuilder.js
index 57bf109d8..f05d56552 100644
--- a/test/lib/types/application/ApplicationBuilder.js
+++ b/test/lib/types/application/ApplicationBuilder.js
@@ -57,6 +57,7 @@ test("Instantiation", (t) => {
 	const appBuilder = new ApplicationBuilder({parentLogger, project});
 	t.truthy(appBuilder);
 	t.deepEqual(appBuilder.taskExecutionOrder, [
+		"escapeNonAsciiCharacters",
 		"replaceCopyright",
 		"replaceVersion",
 		"generateFlexChangesBundle",
@@ -79,6 +80,7 @@ test("Instantiation without component preload project configuration", (t) => {
 	const appBuilder = new ApplicationBuilder({parentLogger, project});
 	t.truthy(appBuilder);
 	t.deepEqual(appBuilder.taskExecutionOrder, [
+		"escapeNonAsciiCharacters",
 		"replaceCopyright",
 		"replaceVersion",
 		"generateFlexChangesBundle",
@@ -102,6 +104,7 @@ test("Instantiation without project namespace", (t) => {
 	const appBuilder = new ApplicationBuilder({parentLogger, project});
 	t.truthy(appBuilder);
 	t.deepEqual(appBuilder.taskExecutionOrder, [
+		"escapeNonAsciiCharacters",
 		"replaceCopyright",
 		"replaceVersion",
 		"generateFlexChangesBundle",
@@ -124,6 +127,7 @@ test("Instantiation with custom tasks", (t) => {
 	const appBuilder = new ApplicationBuilder({parentLogger, project});
 	t.truthy(appBuilder);
 	t.deepEqual(appBuilder.taskExecutionOrder, [
+		"escapeNonAsciiCharacters",
 		"replaceCopyright",
 		"uglify--1",
 		"replaceVersion",
diff --git a/test/lib/types/application/ApplicationFormatter.js b/test/lib/types/application/ApplicationFormatter.js
index b65095a5c..67919da95 100644
--- a/test/lib/types/application/ApplicationFormatter.js
+++ b/test/lib/types/application/ApplicationFormatter.js
@@ -96,6 +96,25 @@ test("validate: empty resources", async (t) => {
 	t.deepEqual(myProject.resources.configuration.paths.webapp, "webapp", "default webapp directory is set");
 });
 
+test("validate: empty encoding", async (t) => {
+	const myProject = clone(applicationBTree);
+	delete myProject.resources.configuration.propertiesFileSourceEncoding;
+	const applicationFormatter = new ApplicationFormatter({project: myProject});
+
+	await applicationFormatter.validate(myProject);
+	t.deepEqual(myProject.resources.configuration.propertiesFileSourceEncoding, "ISO-8859-1", "default resources encoding is set");
+});
+
+test("validate: test invalid encoding", async (t) => {
+	const myProject = clone(applicationBTree);
+	myProject.resources.configuration.propertiesFileSourceEncoding = "test";
+	const applicationFormatter = new ApplicationFormatter({project: myProject});
+
+	const error = await t.throwsAsync(applicationFormatter.validate(myProject));
+	t.is(error.message, `Invalid properties file encoding specified for project application.b: encoding provided: test. Must be either "ISO-8859-1" or "UTF-8".`,
+		"Missing source directory caused error");
+});
+
 function createMockProject() {
 	return {
 		resources: {
diff --git a/test/lib/types/library/LibraryFormatter.js b/test/lib/types/library/LibraryFormatter.js
index 70ec04309..5d13f6ebc 100644
--- a/test/lib/types/library/LibraryFormatter.js
+++ b/test/lib/types/library/LibraryFormatter.js
@@ -88,6 +88,15 @@ test("validate: empty resources", async (t) => {
 	t.deepEqual(myProject.resources.configuration.paths.test, "test", "default test directory is set");
 });
 
+test("validate: empty encoding", async (t) => {
+	const myProject = clone(libraryETree);
+	delete myProject.resources.configuration.propertiesFileSourceEncoding;
+	const libraryFormatter = new LibraryFormatter({project: myProject});
+
+	await libraryFormatter.validate(myProject);
+	t.deepEqual(myProject.resources.configuration.propertiesFileSourceEncoding, "ISO-8859-1", "default resources encoding is set");
+});
+
 test("validate: src directory does not exist", async (t) => {
 	const myProject = clone(libraryETree);
 	const libraryFormatter = new LibraryFormatter({project: myProject});
@@ -95,7 +104,7 @@ test("validate: src directory does not exist", async (t) => {
 	dirExists.onFirstCall().resolves(false);
 	dirExists.onSecondCall().resolves(true);
 
-	const error = await await t.throwsAsync(libraryFormatter.validate(myProject));
+	const error = await t.throwsAsync(libraryFormatter.validate(myProject));
 	t.regex(error.message, /^Could not find source directory of project library\.e\.id: (?!(undefined))+/,
 		"Missing source directory caused error");
 });
@@ -109,7 +118,17 @@ test("validate: test directory does not exist", async (t) => {
 
 	await libraryFormatter.validate(myProject);
 	// Missing test directory is not an error
-	t.deepEqual(myProject.resources.configuration.paths.test, null, "Project test path configuration is set to nul");
+	t.deepEqual(myProject.resources.configuration.paths.test, null, "Project test path configuration is set to null");
+});
+
+test("validate: test invalid encoding", async (t) => {
+	const myProject = clone(libraryETree);
+	myProject.resources.configuration.propertiesFileSourceEncoding = "test";
+	const libraryFormatter = new LibraryFormatter({project: myProject});
+
+	const error = await t.throwsAsync(libraryFormatter.validate(myProject));
+	t.is(error.message, `Invalid properties file encoding specified for project library.e.id: encoding provided: test. Must be either "ISO-8859-1" or "UTF-8".`,
+		"Missing source directory caused error");
 });
 
 test("format: copyright already configured", async (t) => {