The Welsh Government has promised to bring forward new rights for residents on building safety remediation in the Building Safety (Wales) Bill in response to scrutiny by Senedd committees and amendments put forward by Members.
During Stage 2 proceedings on 29 January 2026, Cabinet Secretary for Local Government and Housing Jayne Bryant MS said she’d listened to the views of residents and Members of the Senedd.
She committed to bring forward amendments at Stage 3 to introduce provisions similar to sections 116 to 124 of the Building Safety Act 2022. These sections currently give residents in England new rights to require developers to carry out and pay for remediation works.
Other important changes were made to the Bill at Stage 2, including:
- Limiting the number of Building Safety Authorities to three;
- Strengthening resident engagement;
- Introducing fixed penalties for certain offences; and
- A new “duty to repair”.
The Cabinet Secretary promised further amendments at Stage 3, including:
- Extending the compliance deadline for certain buildings with a lower fire risk; and
- Clarifying whether landlords need to vary tenancy contracts.
This article explains what’s changed so far and what to look out for.
For more background on the Bill see our Bill resource page and our article on Stage 1.
Remediation
An absence of measures to speed up developer-led remediation has been one of the biggest criticisms of the Bill made by witnesses and Members.
Siân Gwenllian MS put forward amendments proposing a range of measures including completion deadlines for remediation works and publication of remediation plans.
Rhys ab Owen MS also tabled amendments that would introduce provisions similar to sections 116 to 124 of the Building Safety Act 2022 that are already in force in England. These provisions, if agreed, would allow leaseholders in Wales to apply to a tribunal for:
- remediation orders (to require landlords to undertake remediation work); and
- remediation contribution orders (to require landlords to pay towards the costs of remediation).
The former Cabinet Secretary Julie James MS had previously said these weren’t needed in Wales since the Welsh Government would take non-compliant developers to court on residents’ behalf.
At Stage 2, Jayne Bryant MS said that while the Welsh Government hadn’t yet introduced legal protections for leaseholders because there’d been no need, she was aware of the ongoing calls from leaseholders and campaigners like the Welsh Cladiators.
She added that structural safety issues have emerged in some buildings “that may require a different approach”. While she didn’t support Rhys ab Owen MS’s amendments as drafted, she did support the principle, and pledged that:
I am, though, very happy to commit to bring forward Government amendments at Stage 3 that will deliver in Wales legal protections similar to those that apply in England under sections 116 to 124 of the Building Safety Act 2022.
She urged the Committee not to support Siân Gwenllian MS’s amendments regarding remediation works and remediation plans, saying that they wouldn’t be affordable to the Government or the private sector, and could affect the value of leaseholders’ properties. She committed to work with Members on amendments at Stage 3 on leaseholders’ cost protections.
Siân Gwenllian MS withdrew her lead amendment, saying that “we will continue with the constructive discussions that we have had to date”.
The delivery model
Another much-discussed issue has been how many Building Safety Authorities (BSAs) there should be. Although the Bill as introduced allows for the creation of up to 22 BSAs, the Welsh Government had since heard results of a consultation exercise by consultancy Local Partnerships which arrived at a preferred model of three BSAs aligned with Wales’s three fire and rescue services.
Previously the Welsh Government rejected a recommendation from the Local Government and Housing Committee at Stage 1 that the Bill be amended to include the preferred delivery model, stating that it wanted to retain flexibility.
At Stage 2 Lee Waters MS tabled an amendment that would require the BSAs to align with the fire safety authorities . The Cabinet Secretary said that although she felt Welsh Ministers already have enough powers to direct local authorities if needed, she accepted that “there remains a degree of concern” and so was willing to support it. The amendment was agreed.
More time
By far the biggest category of regulated building is Category 3, which are multi-occupied buildings less than 11m or five storeys high. There are more than 51,000 of these, many owned by small-scale landlords.
At Stage 1 the Local Government and Housing Committee said that the plan to bring all Category 3 buildings into the regime by the end of 2028 was “unrealistic”. It recommended a “stratified risk-based approach”, bringing higher-risk Category 3 buildings and houses in multiple occupation (HMOs) in first.
At Stage 2 Joel James MS tabled an amendment that would have given more time for Category 3 buildings to have an initial fire risk assessment. While the Cabinet Secretary didn’t support the amendment, she did promise to table Stage 3 amendments to extend the deadline for walk-up flats and similar lower-risk buildings that don’t have shared communal parts. On that basis, Joel James MS withdrew the amendment.
Resident voice
The Local Government and Housing Committee and the Legislation, Justice and Constitution Committee both called for the Welsh Government to place itself under a duty to consult with residents in the development of building safety legislation and guidance.
At Stage 2 the Cabinet Secretary said that she was “acutely aware” of the need to ensure residents have a voice, and in light of the uncertainty of the upcoming election she’d decided a duty was appropriate.
The Cabinet Secretary also tabled an amendment to give residents of Category 1 buildings a say in the creation of the residents’ engagement strategy for their building. These amendments were agreed.
Fixed penalties and the “duty to repair”
The Cabinet Secretary tabled amendments to create a new “duty to repair” any damage that could lead to the spread of fire. She said this would strengthen the requirements on those with repairing obligations to take swift action.
Another amendment tabled by the Cabinet Secretary introduced fixed penalties for certain offences which enforcement officers could use instead of prosecution.
These amendments were agreed.
Renting Homes (Wales) Act 2016
Another commitment to look out for is clarification over whether the Bill will require landlords to issue tenants with legal notices to vary the terms of their tenancy contracts.
The Cabinet Secretary promised to bring forward an amendment at Stage 3 to “provide the clarity landlords are asking for” while also ensuring that occupation contracts remain a complete record of the agreement between landlord and contract-holder.
Next steps
Stage 3 proceedings will take place in Plenary on Tuesday 3 March 2026, giving Members another opportunity to amend the Bill.
Article by Jennie Bibbings, Senedd Research, Welsh Parliament
