Building safety in Wales

In 2026, we anticipate seeing significant changes to the regulation of the built environment in Wales.

Anticipated changes include: 

• the Building Safety (Wales) Bill is likely to bring into force new duties and responsibilities for stakeholders involved in the management and occupation of multi-occupancy residential buildings in Wales; and 
• Welsh Government is expected to publish the details of the new procedural requirements of the building regulations in Wales, which will apply to all building work.

Building Safety (Wales) Bill Update

Whist the key changes implemented by the Building Safety Act 2022 are in full effect in England and Wales, certain aspects have been devolved to the Welsh Government including the regulation of building control and new procedural requirements applicable to the design and carrying out of building work to all building types with additional requirements for higher-risk buildings. It is anticipated the consequences of non-compliance will be serious, and include fines and imprisonment. 

The Building Safety (Wales) Bill was published in July 2025 and is currently progressing through the final stages before it is anticipated to come into force as law in 2026. 

The Bill regulates the occupation phase of all buildings with two or more residential units irrespective of the height - in contrast to England's regime which applies only where a building is of at least 18 metres in height or with at least seven storeys. 

The Bill divides buildings into three categories: 

• Category 1 (at least 18 metres or 7 storeys high, of which there are around 180 in Wales);
• Category 2 (between 11-18 metres or 5-7 storeys high, of which there are around 450 in Wales); and 
• Category 3 (less than 11 metres or 5 storeys high, of which there are more than 51,000 in Wales).

Once the Bill is in force, stakeholders across the sector who operate in Wales will need to recognise that their duties during the occupation phase of a building will be significantly expanded:

• Accountable Persons (as defined in the Bill) / building owners will retain ongoing legal responsibility for managing fire and structural risks; 
• Managing Agents will have greater day-to-day compliance obligations and requirements to communicate with residents; and
• Local authorities and fire services will now handle enforcement issues throughout the occupation phase of, which will include inspections and the issuance of sanctions for non-compliance. 

Building control in Wales

Wales has also opted for a local authority-led regulatory system. Rather than establishing a national body (such as the Building Safety Regulator), county or county borough councils will be responsible for the regulation of all building types as the 'building safety authorities'. 

Design and construction

The design and construction phases for all building work will be regulated separately through the coming into force of new procedural regulations forming part of a new building control regime. These regulations are in the process of being drafted following the Welsh Government’s consultation, which concluded in May 2025. 

Despite the Building Safety Act 2022 having fundamentally changed personal and organisational risk profiles for contractors, developers, housing associations, local authorities, and manufacturers across the built environment sector, it was striking that only 61 responses to the Welsh Government’s consultation on building regulations were received (of which only one was a building contractor). This lack of industry engagement suggests that there is a risk of future regulations being implemented without adequate input from those affected, and that stakeholders may indeed be unprepared for compliance once the regime does come into force. 

At Browne Jacobson’s recent building safety roundtable event, Mark Tambini, Head of Regulations Policy at Welsh Government, provided an overview of the proposed new regulations and confirmed that the intention is that they will broadly align with Part 2A Building Regulations and HRB Procedures Regulations.

This will see Wales will bring into force the duty holder regime for all building work, a gateway process for HRBs, and golden thread/mandatory occurrence reporting requirements for HRBs, with the new regime expected to be in full effect by summer 2026.

Gavin Hoccom, who heads up Browne Jacobson’s Construction team in Wales, said: “The new regulations which Welsh Government plans to bring into force in the next 12 – 18 months will fundamentally change the process of delivering building work of all types.

“Whilst the final details are unknown, the consistent messaging from Welsh Governemnt has been that the requirements will broadly align with those in England. This means built environment stakeholders in Wales have the opportunity now to begin to prepare for the implementation of those changes by developing and implementing the policy and processes necessary to manage organisational and personal risk in the new regulatory landscape.

“By doing so, stakeholders may be able to avoid being exposed to the gaps in compliance and record-keeping that may problematic for the built environment in England in future”.

If you’d like to discuss how the changes to regulation in Wales may affect you, please contact Gavin Hoccom.