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Welcome to our Building Safety newsletter - designed to keep you regularly informed on the progress of the Building Safety Programme and fire safety matters affecting the people of Wales.
You can also follow us on X / Twitter using @WGCommunities
 Last week I was pleased to introduce our Building Safety (Wales) Bill to the Senedd and on the same day to publish our full response to the recommendations of the Grenfell Tower Inquiry Phase 2 report. It is essential that the lessons learned from the Grenfell disaster continue to shape our approach to building safety in Wales and I am fully committed to ensuring they do. More details on the Bill and the Grenfell Inquiry recommendations response can be found in the newsletter.
I met again with developers a few weeks ago to discuss progress, and their performance in meeting the May 2025 target I set for ensuring all buildings had been assessed. I also took the opportunity to discuss a future target for having works started on all developments in Wales. These conversations are ongoing, and we’ll provide an update in the next newsletter.
Finally, I was very pleased to hear of the success of the first meeting of the Leaseholder and Resident Group at the end of April. This group provides an opportunity for leaseholders to share their experiences, seek support and inform national policy regarding building safety in Wales. Listening carefully to the lived experiences of leaseholders and residents is incredibly important to help us understand the challenges and difficulties they face. If you are interested in attending a future meeting the details of how to register your interest can be found in the newsletter.
Our Building Safety (Wales) Bill was introduced into the Senedd on 7 July and represents a significant milestone in delivery of our Building Safety Programme.
The Bill will introduce a new building safety regime in Wales focusing on the occupation and ongoing management (“the occupation phase”) of multi-occupied residential buildings.
The Bill and accompanying Explanatory Memorandum are available on the Senedd website. We have also published our impact assessment for the Bill on our website.
The Senedd will now scrutinise the legislation, including listening to the views of stakeholders.
We have worked closely with stakeholders to develop the Bill and recently held a workshop with local authorities and Fire and Rescue Authorities to update them on the proposals.
Over the summer we will be holding webinars to provide an overview of what the Bill entails and what this means for those affected by it. The times and dates for the webinars are:
August 5 at 12:00
August 7 at 15:00
August 11 at 10:00.
To sign up to attend, please contact the BuildingSafety@gov.wales mailbox indicating which session you would like to attend.
Joint Inspection Team (JIT)
The Joint Inspection Team (JIT) continues to inspect buildings across Wales, with a programme of inspections agreed for the remainder of the year.
Recently the JIT held a training event for colleagues from local authorities and Fire and Rescue Authorities.
Further information on the JIT can be found at www.jit.wales or by emailing info@jit.wales
In tandem with the introduction of the Building Safety (Wales) Bill on 7 July, we were pleased to publish the Welsh Government's response to the Grenfell Tower Phase 2 report
This is an important milestone on our journey to ensuring the highest standards of building safety for residents in Wales. As can be seen from the response, work is already underway to address many of the recommendations and we will continue to work at pace to ensure they are fully implemented.
Remediation Programme Data
There are currently 461 buildings in the Welsh Building Safety Programme. Of these buildings, 275 are private tenure buildings and 186 social buildings.
Of the 461 buildings, 43% are either complete or works are underway, 47% of buildings are in the planning stages, with the remaining 10% either not requiring works, or remediation needs are yet to be identified.
These figures are subject to change as further buildings are identified, and more information is gathered.
Diagram 1 - Programme level performance
 Developer Performance
We are pleased to be able to provide an update on the progress being made by larger developers who have signed the contract with Welsh Government and have committed to undertake the fire safety works they are responsible for.
The diagram below provides the total number of buildings for each developer. Our latest data verification exercise has resulted in Barratt Redrow now reporting six buildings at a development which has previously been reported as one.
Please note: Westmark has not signed the developer contract, however, does report to Welsh Government on progress in line with the contract requirements.
Diagram 2 - Total number of buildings for each developer
 The diagram below shows the number of buildings at each of the various stages of progress for each developer. To ensure consistency of reporting for all buildings in the programme, the following descriptors are used when determining the stage of progress:
- Works completed: All necessary fire safety works have been completed
- Plans in Place – Works Started: Fire safety works have started and contractors are on site
- Plans in place – Works not Started: All required surveys are complete. Pre-construction activities underway such as detailed design, negotiating access licenses, tendering / negotiating contracts and planning permissions
- Plans in place – Awaiting surveys: The required surveys have been commissioned and/or scheduled, or they are complete and awaiting final reports
- No plans in place / Works not started: Building has been recognised as in scope for the programme, however no surveys or investigations have been undertaken to date – this may be due to lack of engagement for example
Diagram 3 - Developer level performance
 Remediation Guidance documents
We are pleased to publish two new guidance documents to support developers, responsible persons, leaseholders and residents whilst fire-safety remediation works are conducted on their building. The guidance below is currently being finalised and will be made available on our webpage in the coming weeks.
- Guidance on the Fire-safety Remediation of Residential Buildings – which outlines what leaseholders and residents can expect from those responsible for carrying out the remediation works.
- Welsh Government Developer Remediation Contract Guidance: Dispute Resolution – which has been developed to provide clarity on what is expected of developers and responsible persons (such as Managing Agents and Right to Manage companies) when a dispute arises.
In April, we hosted the first all-Wales Leaseholder and Resident Group. We committed to developing a forward plan of engagement activity, which could be shared in each newsletter. We have listened to feedback from those who attended, and we are pleased to provide our engagement plans for the next three months.
The drop-in sessions are designed to provide an informal setting where leaseholders and residents can come and discuss fire safety related concerns and issues within their building with Welsh Government officials.
August
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6 August: Leaseholder / Resident drop-in session, 11am-2pm. Community room, Asda, Cardiff Bay, Ferry Road, Cardiff, CF11 0JR.
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20 August: Leaseholder / Resident drop-in session, 11am-2pm. Tramshed Tech, Empire Room, Palace Theatre Building, 156 High Street, Swansea, SA1 1NE.
September
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17 September: Leaseholder / Resident drop-in session, 11am-2pm, Tramshed Tech, Griffin Street, High Street, Newport, NP20 1FX.
October
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October: Building Safety Newsletter publication
The date for the next All-Wales Leaseholder and Resident Group will be confirmed shortly. To express an interest in attending please click here.
For further information on the drop-in sessions or to be added to our contact list for future Leaseholder and Residents Groups you can contact the building safety team at: BuildingSafety@gov.wales
Consultation launch: Strengthening leaseholder protections over fees, charges and services
We’d like to hear your views about proposals to implement aspects of Part 4 of the Leasehold and Freehold Reform Act 2024 and future reform of leasehold charges and services.
This consultation closes on 26 September 2025.
The Leasehold and Freehold Reform Act 2024 brought in a range of measures to improve home ownership for millions of leaseholders in England and Wales. These measures include increasing transparency of service charges and building insurance policies, as well as tackling unjustified litigation costs.
This consultation seeks views on how to implement these new requirements through secondary legislation, which will help leaseholders to better scrutinise and challenge unfair fees and charges, as well as the reasonableness of the services they pay for.
This consultation also seeks views on proposals for further reform related to the charges leaseholders pay and services they receive.
More information can be found by clicking on the following link - Strengthening leaseholder protections over charges and services | GOV.WALES
Our consultation on the new building control regime for higher-risk buildings and wider changes to the building regulations in Wales has recently closed. Thank you to all those who provided a response, we really appreciate the time taken to provide feedback on the proposals.
We are now working through all the responses and comments provided and will publish a summary of these and the Welsh Government response in due course.
Supporting the Building Control profession
We are pleased to confirm the extension of existing funding to Local Authority Building Control (LABC) to deliver more trainee Building Control Inspectors. This will result in an additional to the number of trainee roles in Wales, supporting capacity and capability to deliver the existing regime and our planned reforms.
Fire and Rescue Services
South Wales Fire and Rescue Service (SWFRS) collaborates closely with the Welsh Government through the Welsh Building Safety Programme to support the remediation of residential buildings over 11 metres in height. This partnership enhances our fire safety audit process by:
- Incorporating findings from Welsh Government appointed fire engineer reports, which highlight critical fire safety issues.
- Engaging in coordinated, multi-agency discussions to agree on proportionate remediation measures.
- Ensuring best practices and alignment with legislation, emerging guidance, and lessons learned from similar cases.
These reports produced by Welsh Government appointed fire engineers provide valuable insights into fire safety deficiencies, informing any decision to use Action Plans instead of formal Enforcement Notices, which can slow down the remediation process.
SWFRS uses Action Plans that include a detailed schedule of works to address fire safety concerns identified in the reports, working collaboratively with building owners and managing agents.
For buildings not covered by the Welsh Government Developer Remediation Contract, we share information on alternative funding pathways that are available to all residential buildings of 11m and over through the Welsh Building Safety Fund. These include social buildings, those constructed by a smaller developer and Orphan buildings, which are those without a developer to take responsibility.
SWFRS also partners with the Joint Inspection Team (JIT), which is funded by the Welsh Government, through inspections and structured information sharing. This collaboration, informed by JIT inspections and SWFRS fire safety audits, provides a clearer understanding of specific fire safety risks, enabling targeted and effective action to improve safety for residents.
Managing Agent – Orphan Building – Ocean View
Ocean View is located in Rhos on Sea in North Wales and consists of a mix of forty residential apartments, consisting of 1-3 bedrooms. As a new build completed in July 2017, the owners never anticipated any problems with the building during the early years.
However, an invasive internal and external building survey, carried out in the wake of the Grenfell tragedy, identified a number of fire-related building safety issues. The estimated cost of carrying out the remedial work was significant and became a major financial concern for the owners. Though we felt it would have been reasonable for the developers to cover the costs, they responded by saying they were no longer trading.
This caused deep distress for many of the owners, and we were unsure where to turn for help. This was when we learned about the Welsh Government’s Building Safety Programme. As Ocean View was over 11 metres it could be adopted as an orphan building as part of the programme. The support and guidance provided by the Welsh Government Building Safety Team was invaluable.
We submitted our Expression of Interest in April 2024 and received confirmation three months later that the Building Safety Fund would cover the costs of all fire-related remedial works for our building. This was an enormous relief to all the apartment owners.
Further passive and invasive surveys were carried out by Welsh Government’s fire consultants to ensure all fire-related issues had been identified. The findings were collated into a Schedule of Works which formed the basis of a tender for the works to be completed.
The Building Safety Team have worked in close partnership with us keeping us informed at every stage by email and through regular meetings. The process is now at an advanced stage, and we hope the remediation work will be carried out over the summer ensuring Ocean View will be certified as a safe building later this year.
We would strongly encourage anyone facing similar issues with their building to contact the Welsh Government’s Building Safety Team who are always on hand to offer support.
David Podmore, Resident/Director, Ocean View (Rhos on Sea) Management Company Ltd
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