Wales: what the Building Safety (Wales) Act 2026 means for blocks run by their own company

What happened

The Building Safety (Wales) Act 2026 received Royal Assent on 27 April 2026. It sets up a new safety regime for “regulated buildings”, which the Act defines as buildings containing two or more residential units. Unlike the higher-risk building regime in England, it reaches converted houses and small blocks as well as towers.

On 17 June 2026 the Welsh Government opened its first consultation on putting the Act into practice. It covered limits on what leaseholders can be charged for remediation work, a tribunal system for remediation orders, and how to measure a building’s height. That consultation closed on 7 September 2026, and the Welsh Government has not yet published its response.

Is it in force? Mostly not. Section 138 brought only sections 1 to 9, 13 to 17 and a handful of general sections into force the day after Royal Assent. Those are mainly the overview and the definitions. Everything else, including the duties on accountable persons, starts on a day the Welsh Ministers appoint by order. On 3 November 2026 we could not find a commencement order for those duties on legislation.gov.uk.

The three categories

Section 6 sorts buildings by height and storeys:

Category	Height or storeys
Category 1	at least 18 metres, or at least 7 storeys
Category 2	under 18 metres and fewer than 7 storeys, but at least 11 metres or at least 5 storeys
Category 3	under 11 metres and fewer than 5 storeys

Many resident-run blocks in Wales, such as a converted house or a three-storey block, will be category 3.

What it means for your building

The Act puts its duties on the accountable person, and in a building with more than one, on a principal accountable person who is usually responsible for the roof, external walls and foundations. Broadly, the accountable person is whoever holds the common parts or is under a repairing obligation for them. In a block whose leaseholders own the freehold through a company, that will often be the company. Where an RTM company has taken over the repairing duties, the Act makes it the accountable person instead of the freeholder.

Once the duties are in force, the Act provides for:

• every category: fire risk assessments of the common parts by a competent person, reviewed on a timetable, with the accountable persons managing the risks found;
• categories 1 and 2: registration with the building safety authority, and assessment and management of structural risks;
• category 1 only: a safety case report, an occurrence reporting system, a residents’ engagement strategy and a building certificate;
• all categories: duties to keep and pass on building information and to deal with complaints, and duties on residents not to undermine fire safety, with warning notices where they do.

The Act also changes leases of seven years or more with a variable service charge. Building safety costs are treated as service charge costs even where the lease is silent, and before charging for building safety works the accountable person must take reasonable steps to find grants or third-party money. Penalties and enforcement costs, and costs caused by the accountable person’s own negligence or breach, cannot go on the service charge.

What to do now

• Measure your building: height in metres and number of storeys, so you know its likely category. The Welsh Government has consulted on how height should be measured, so check the final method when it is published.
• Confirm who owns the common parts and who has the repairing obligations, from your title and leases.
• Make sure your current fire risk assessment is up to date and was done by someone competent. That is good practice now and will be a duty later.
• Start a simple record of building information: plans, fire doors, alarms, works done. You will need it under the new information duties.
• Watch for the Welsh Government’s consultation response and commencement orders. We will report them.

This is general information about the Act, not legal advice. Check the Act and the Welsh Government’s guidance for your own building, and take advice if you are unsure who the accountable person is.

How Freeholdpilot helps

Freeholdpilot’s directors’ portal keeps the fire risk assessment and building documents in one place, puts review dates on the compliance calendar and records board decisions, so a company in Wales can build the record the Act will ask for.