The Building Safety (Wales) Act 2026 received Royal Assent on the 27th April, bringing in significant changes to building safety requirements for multi-occupied residential buildings and houses in multiple occupancy (HMOs) in Wales.
In this article we outline the key requirements of the Act, who they apply to and when they will apply.
What is the purpose of the Act?
The Act is designed to reform how multi-occupied residential buildings are managed and maintained to prevent fire and structural safety risks. It forms part of the Senedd’s response to the Grenfell Tower tragedy and covers wider multi-occupied residential buildings rather than just high-rise residential buildings. It is estimated over 60,000 buildings in Wales will be covered by the Act.
There are 3 fundamental principles to the Act:
- enhanced safety in multi-occupied residential buildings; 2.
- defined accountable persons for assessing and managing risks; and
- giving residents a voice and role to play in building safety.
What buildings does the Act apply to?
The Act sets out requirements for regulated buildings.
A regulated building means a building containing at least 2 residential units in Wales, except for excluded buildings listed in Schedule 1, such as prisons, hospitals, care homes and schools.
Regulated buildings are divided into 3 categories:
- Category 1 = a regulated building at least 18 metres in height, or which has at least 7 storeys.
- Category 2 = a regulated building less than 18 metres in height and which is at least 11 metres in height, or which has 5 storeys.
- Category 3 = a regulated building less than 11 metres in height and which has fewer than 5 storeys.
Building safety requirements are also set out for HMOs, irrespective of their height.
An HMO is a building, or part of a building, which consists of living accommodation occupied by persons who do not form a single household, as defined under the Housing Act 2004.
Who has duties under the Act?
Duties are held by accountable persons for a building (usually the building owner), those contracted to manage and maintain buildings and residents. Local authorities also have responsibilities as building safety authorities along with fire safety authorities.
What duties are implemented through the Act?
The Act establishes requirements to manage fire safety risks and structural safety risks for occupied regulated buildings and HMOs.
Duties include:
- registering category 1 and 2 buildings with the local building safety authority;
- assessing and managing fire and structural safety risks;
- engaging with residents to address issues and incidents; and
- keeping and sharing information and documentation.
- A full summary of duties can be found in LUS here.
What are the consequences of non-compliance?
Building safety authorities and fire safety authorities are responsible for enforcing compliance with requirements with powers to enter premises and issue compliance and prohibition notices.
Those who fail to comply with requirements may face fines and imprisonment.
When does the Act apply from and what happens next?
Whilst the Act is already partly in force, specific duties to manage building safety risks will only apply when brought into force by Welsh Ministers through orders and regulations.
The Senedd has advised they expect secondary legislation to be implemented with effect from April 2027. We will add this legislation to LUS once made and notify subscribers as part of the updates service.
