Changes to the building safety regime in Wales

From July 2026, developers and dutyholders in Wales will face changes to the building safety regime including;

1. a dutyholder regime, similar to the regime in place in England, that will apply to all "building work" ; and
2. a new regulatory regime governing the design and construction of higher-risk buildings (HRBs) in Wales.

Clients procuring building works in Wales will need to review their project arrangements and procurement processes to ensure that they are suitable to enable compliance under the new regime.

Below we set out a high-level summary of the most significant changes you need to know about before the new regime takes effect.

Understanding the regulatory shift

The Building Safety Act 2022 (BSA) and its related secondary legislation established a more stringent building control regime for HRBs in England, which has now been in force since 1 October 2023, when the Building Safety Regulator became the building control authority for all HRBs in England.

The 'dutyholder and competence' regime – which applies to all projects in England that require building control approval, with only limited exemptions – also came into force on 1 October 2023.

Neither of these regimes currently applies in Wales. However, following a consultation carried out by the Welsh Government in 2025, and the response it issued in November 2025, it has now published two key pieces of secondary legislation:

1. The Building etc. (Amendment) (No. 2) (Wales) Regulations 2025; and
2. The Building (Higher-Risk Buildings Procedures) (Wales) Regulations 2025.

These regulations, laid before Senedd Cymru in December 2025, implement Part 3 of the Building Safety Act 2022 for Wales, overhauling building control procedures and dutyholder responsibilities, especially for HRBs.

What's changing in Wales?

The main takeaways from the new legislation, and the key differences from the HRB regime in England, include:

Local authorities to be the building control authorities for HRBs

Unlike in England where the HRB regime is overseen by the Building Safety Regulator (BSR), the building control authority for HRBs in Wales will be the relevant local authority (LA). The likely quantity of applications for HRB in Wales is very small compared to England so the additional caseload for LAs is less significant.

Different definition of higher-risk buildings in Wales

The Welsh regime will apply to “higher-risk buildings” as defined in The Building Safety (Description of Higher-Risk Building) (Design and Construction Phase) (Wales) Regulations 2023, i.e. buildings which for the purposes of the design and construction phase are least 18 metres in height or have at least seven storeys and also contain at least one residential unit (or is a hospital, care home or children's home).

This can be contrasted with the HRB definition applicable in England, which requires two or more residential units.

New dutyholder regime for Wales

A new dutyholder regime will apply from 1 July 2026. This will be set out in new Part 2B of the Building Regulations 2010 and largely mirrors the approach in England.

As in England:

• The dutyholder and competence regime will apply to all "building work" (including work to HRBs) with only limited exceptions.
• The dutyholder roles align with CDM dutyholder roles, aiming to ensure clear responsibility for compliance with building regulations.

For most building projects, the client (the person commissioning the work) must appoint a Principal Designer and a Principal Contractor to manage safety during design and construction, respectively. All dutyholders (client, designers, contractors) have explicit obligations to plan, manage and monitor their work, and must be competent (or supervised by competent persons).

Gateway 2 and 3 "hard stops"

As in England, HRB building control approval applications, i.e. Gateway 2 (GW2) will be a "hard stop" point where it will be an offence for the dutyholders to start work without GW2 approval. The application will need to be submitted to the LA in writing and signed by the client. The Principal Contractor and Principal Designer may assist in preparing the application / submitting it on the client's behalf.

Notice before starting work on site

Once building control approval (GW2) has been granted, in line with existing practice in both Wales and England, the client is required to give notice to the building control authority before starting work on site. Currently, in Wales, this notice must be given at least two days before the work can begin (compared with five days' notice to the BSR in England). The new regulations increase the notice period to five days, in line with England.

"Golden Thread"

In the Welsh Government's response to the consultation it undertook in 2025, it noted the high level of agreement with its proposals concerning the "Golden Thread" of information, reflecting a "clear consensus on the importance of transparency, accessibility and accountability in managing building safety information". However, it changed its original proposal to place responsibility for updating the "Golden Thread" on the Principal Designer and Principal Contractor. Instead – and in alignment with the position in England – the duty of ensuring the "Golden Thread" is complete will rest on the client (who has ultimate responsibility for the project).

These changes mark a significant shift in building safety responsibilities in Wales. Early preparation, through reviewing contracts, appointing competent dutyholders and ensuring robust information management, will be essential to avoid delays and maintain compliance.

Gemma Whittaker and Philip Baker are Partners and Emma Knight is a PSL Principal Associate at Gowling WLG.