Welcome to our Building Safety newsletter - designed to keep you regularly informed on developments in Wales.

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I am pleased to share a progress update on the actions we are taking, together with Plaid Cymru, to address building safety in Wales.
All buildings of 11 metres and over have a route to address fire safety risks in Wales.

We are pleased to announce we now have a route to address fire safety issues in all residential buildings of 11 metres and over.

This is not limited to buildings with cladding. Wales is the only UK nation to make this commitment.

In December 2023, The Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors will publish their updated cladding valuation guidance to include Wales.

This is a major step in providing consistency and transparency in the valuation process for flats in blocks affected by cladding issues.

The updated guidance will assist valuers and lenders in their decision making, in turn, this will reduce friction and delay for home buyers, sellers, and leaseholders wishing to sell or re-mortgage their homes.

The guidance will reflect the Welsh Government’s position, confirming to valuers and lenders there are funded routes to remediation of fire safety issues, at no cost to leaseholders, for all residential buildings in Wales of 11 metres or over in height. This is whether repairs are the responsibility of social sector partners, developers, or orphan buildings, where there is no accountable developer available to undertake works.

Valuation approach for properties in residential buildings with cladding
Cladding External Wall System (EWS) FAQs

Developer’s Contract

Ten major UK developers have already signed the Welsh Government contract.

These developers remain actively engaged with the Welsh Government in both the quarterly contract monitoring meetings, as well as informally to address specific concerns brought to our attention by leaseholders and residents.

There are currently 34 buildings with remediation works underway, at sites such as Aurora, Davids Wharf, Prospect Place and Century Wharf.

A further 34 buildings are estimated to start in 2024.

Officials have also been working with other developers who were not included in the first cohort of developers to sign the contract.

We are pleased to confirm that Lendlease have now signed the Developer’s Contract issued by Welsh Government, and we are in positive dialogue with Watkin Jones.

Smaller developers

We can also confirm we have an agreed approach to working with smaller developers.

We have considered how we support those companies who can’t cover the full costs of remediation, through the Welsh Building Safety Fund, whilst ensuring that those who can pay, will pay.

This will safeguard the social and economic benefits these developers bring to the communities in which they work.

Orphan Building Scheme

In July, we confirmed we had launched our Orphan Building scheme, which provides a route to remediation of fire safety issues for orphan buildings identified to date.

The preparation of work schedules for these buildings are underway, and we are pleased that works have already started in a number of these buildings, such as Kings Court, Newport.

Work is continuing to ensure any other orphan buildings identified receive the support they need through the Welsh Building Safety Fund.

Therefore, all buildings of 11 metres and over have a route to address fire safety risks in Wales.

The gateway to Welsh Government support remains through an Expression of Interest to the Welsh Building Safety Fund.

We strongly encourage all Responsible Persons who have not yet submitted an Expression of Interest to do so. An Expression of Interest can be registered through the Welsh Government webpages.

Social Sector Scheme

To ensure all buildings of 11 metres and over are as fire safe as possible, our social sector scheme completes the picture. After a successful round of funding applications to our existing Building Safety Fund, we can confirm a further £39 million of funding has been approved.

In total, 131 buildings will benefit from this fund, with works progressing at pace.

Legal advice for leaseholders

We are proud to say as well as our progress in reforming the building safety regime and crucially remediating buildings in Wales, we are providing support to individual households impacted by fire safety concerns.

We recognise the complexity and cost of legal process and leaseholders getting the right advice, so we are making independent legal advice available for leaseholders in Wales who have concerns over the fire safety of their building, or the works being done to remediate them.

Leaseholders will be able to access this legal advice through the leaseholder advisory service, who, where appropriate, will signpost leaseholders to free specialist legal advice. This new service will help prevent costly disputes and delays. Officials are currently engaged in the process of appointing a specialist independent legal advisor and we look forward to sharing further details on the launch of this service soon.

Reforming the building safety regime in Wales

The first set of regulations have been agreed and these describe what constitutes a higher risk building.

Buildings falling within scope of these regulations will be subject to tighter controls on who can supervise and approve work undertaken. They will also be subject to a new, enhanced regime during the design, construction, and refurbishment phases.

From April 2024, we will restrict the oversight of new high-risk buildings to local authority building control, introducing a new class system for registered building inspectors. This is to make sure only individuals who have the relevant skills, knowledge, and experience necessary are advising decision-makers.

As part of the registration conditions, inspectors and approvers will have to comply with new standards, codes, and rules. Building inspectors will also be required to have their competence verified by a third-party scheme.

We plan to open the registration process in January 2024, however, would encourage those who need to register to get ahead of the game and have their competence verified and then apply to register as soon as possible.

Further information about these conditions can be found on the Welsh Government website and via this circular.

Work continues to reform oversight of design, construction and refurbishment of higher-risk buildings and the building control system in Wales.

Frequently Asked Questions:

Q: How will the Welsh Government ensure developers undertake works to address fire safety risks in residential buildings of 11m and over in accordance with the required standards:
A: In accordance with the developer’s remediation contract, the developer will be responsible for ensuring a qualifying assessment is carried out by a suitably experienced, qualified, independent, and competent assessor to the appropriate standard. Whilst the developer will commission the assessor, the ultimate responsibility for the Qualifying Assessment will fall to the assessor and not the developer.

The contract also requires developers to provide the qualifying assessment to the Welsh Ministers within 20 working days of them receiving it. The Welsh Ministers can undertake an audit of the qualifying assessment to determine it meets the standard required.

Q: Welsh Government has surveyed my building so why is the developer doing it again?
A: The Welsh Government has commissioned surveyors to undertake an internal Fire Risk Assessment of the building, and if the building has cladding, to undertake an intrusive inspection of it.
For some larger and more complex buildings, further survey work may be needed to identify the full extent of the works.

Q: How will the Welsh Government ensure the materials and workmanship for the Developer’s remediation works meet the required standards?
A: In addition to meeting the standards for the assessment and schedule of works, the Welsh Government’s Developers’ Contract requires the developer to undertake the fire safety works using suitably qualified, accredited, and insured companies.

As part of the monitoring undertaken with the Welsh Government, developers must provide details of the companies they have appointed. The Welsh Government has the right to audit this information to make sure the contractors’ qualifications, accreditations and insurances are in place.

In the case where the works are subject to Building Regulations, they will also have to meet the applicable standards.

Q: My building has cladding but my developer is not replacing it?
A: The standard for identifying the fire safety risk with an external wall system (cladding) and the works needed to reduce these risks are undertaken through a Fire Risk Appraisal of the External Wall and a PAS9980:22 assessment. The assessor will undertake these and propose works to address the risks. These works may not include the replacement of the cladding, but instead suggest acceptable measures and works to offset the risk.

It is possible that different assessors will come up with different solutions to address fire risks. However, this does not mean each proposed method will not achieve the objective of making the building as safe as possible in the event of a fire. To help promote further understanding and consistency in the application of PAS 9980, the Welsh Government has set up an expert group. This group will produce a wide range of case studies, which look at different types of building construction and different levels of risks, to be able to promote best practice.

UK Building Safety Act 2022

Only some sections of the Building Safety Act 2022 apply to Wales. Section 1 of the Act contains an overview and the Explanatory Notes to the Act are also helpful in setting out which sections apply to England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland.

Q: Which parts of the Building Safety Act 2022, do not apply in Wales?

The below is for information purposes only and it is not exhaustive. Please note that work is underway to introduce a Building Safety Act for Wales before the end of the current Senedd term and further updates will be provided once available.

• Registration of high-rise buildings
  Some of the duties placed on accountable persons in England include the requirement to register the building. This requirement does not apply to Wales.
• Requirement for a Landlord certificate
  In England, the landlord is required to provide a certificate demonstrating that they do not meet the contribution condition before being able to pass on costs to leaseholders. This requirement is contained in Schedule 8 to the Act and that Schedule does not apply to Wales.
• The concept of qualifying and non-qualifying leaseholders
  The term ‘qualifying lease’ applies to England only. Section 119 of the Act outlines the criteria the lease must meet to be considered as ‘qualifying’ and section 119 does not apply to Wales.