Building Safety (Wales) Act 2026
Building Safety (Wales) Bill Passed
A new era of accountability and structural safety for multi-occupied residential buildings in Wales.
On 10 March 2026, the Senedd passed the Building Safety (Wales) Bill. The legislation received Royal Assent on 27 April 2026 and is now the Building Safety (Wales) Act 2026. It represents the most significant shift in property safety management in decades, expanding oversight beyond high-rises to include a wider range of residential buildings.
Key regulatory changes
New duty holders
The Act introduces statutory roles with clear legal responsibilities:
- Principal Accountable Person (PAP): the lead accountable person for the building. Where there is more than one accountable person, this will generally be the person responsible for the building’s external structure.
- Accountable Person (AP): a person or organisation with legal responsibility for relevant common parts or repairing obligations. Accountable persons have duties to manage building safety risks in the areas for which they are responsible.
- Competence standards: the Act provides for standards around the competence of those undertaking fire risk assessments and other safety work.
Building categorisation
The Welsh regime uses a three-tier system to determine the level of oversight required:
- Category 1: 18 metres or more, or 7 or more storeys — the highest level of oversight.
- Category 2: at least 11 metres or 5–6 storeys, but below the Category 1 threshold.
- Category 3: below 11 metres and fewer than 5 storeys.
The category of a building determines which duties apply. The Act also contains fire-safety provisions for certain houses in multiple occupation.
What the Building Safety (Wales) Act 2026 means for managing agents, landlords and residential blocks
The Building Safety (Wales) Act 2026 creates a more structured and accountable approach to managing fire and structural safety in multi-occupied residential buildings across Wales. It follows the post-Grenfell programme of building-safety reform.
For managing agents, landlords, freeholders, Right to Manage companies and those responsible for residential blocks, the Act creates new legal duties, stronger compliance expectations and clearer accountability.
Which buildings are covered?
The Act’s main regime applies to regulated buildings: buildings containing two or more residential units. This can include blocks of flats, mixed-use buildings with residential accommodation and converted residential buildings. The Act also makes separate provision for relevant HMOs.
Understanding the Accountable Person and Principal Accountable Person
Identifying the right duty holder is a central part of the regime. An Accountable Person may be an individual, company or public body with responsibility for relevant common parts. The Principal Accountable Person is the lead person for building-wide duties.
Depending on the ownership and repairing arrangements, this may involve a freeholder, management company, RTM company or another party with the relevant legal estate or repairing obligation. A managing agent may carry out work on an owner’s behalf, but the statutory role must be identified from the building’s legal arrangements.
Fire risk assessments and ongoing reviews
The Principal Accountable Person must ensure that a suitable and sufficient fire risk assessment is in place for an occupied regulated building. The current assessment must be reviewed at least every 12 months, and a further assessment may be required following specified changes or events, such as building works, changes to use, a fire incident or structural alterations.
This moves building safety away from a one-off, tick-box approach and towards continuous risk management, documented decisions and regular review.
Managing fire and structural safety risks
Accountable Persons must take all reasonable steps to manage building safety risks in the parts of a building for which they are responsible. In practice, this calls for clear records, suitable contractor controls, maintenance of safety measures and meaningful communication with residents.
For Category 1 and Category 2 buildings, the regime goes beyond fire safety alone. The Act includes registration requirements for occupied buildings in these categories. Failure to register can be an offence. Category 1 buildings also have additional duties, including preparation and maintenance of a safety case report.
What managing agents and responsible persons should do now
- Confirm whether each building is a regulated building and identify its category.
- Review the ownership, common-parts and repairing arrangements to establish the Accountable Person and Principal Accountable Person.
- Check that fire risk assessments, maintenance records and contractor information are current and well documented.
- Plan for regular fire risk assessment reviews and for reassessment when significant changes occur.
- Keep residents appropriately informed about building-safety matters that affect them.
How West Quay Property Management can help
West Quay Property Management works with residential blocks and estates across Barry, Cardiff, the Vale of Glamorgan and South Wales. We can support clients with organised block-management processes, clear communication and robust records as the new building-safety regime is implemented.
Contact West Quay Property Management to discuss your block’s management needs.
Important: This page provides general information only and is not legal or professional fire-safety advice. The Act is being implemented through further commencement arrangements and regulations. Duties, timescales and the requirements for an individual building should be confirmed with appropriately qualified legal, fire-safety and building-safety advisers.