The Building Safety Bill requires improvement if it is to be successfully implemented, says Bethan Proctor.
The Welsh Government’s Building Safety (Wales) Bill will make a crucial contribution to improving resident safety and public confidence in the housing sector. As the representative body for housing associations in Wales, Community Housing Cymru (CHC) fully supports the Bill’s aims, which focus on improving safety in multi-occupied residential buildings, creating a robust safety regime and establishing duties for landlords to assess and manage fire and structural risks.
The Bill is founded on three core principles: safety, accountability, and resident voice. These are all principles which housing associations already take seriously, which is why in 2020, every housing association in Wales committed to Safety First in Housing, a framework which supports achieving and maintaining a transparent approach to health and safety matters with residents. This voluntary initiative aims to embed high standards of resident engagement and responsiveness on safety concerns and puts housing associations in a strong position ahead of the legislation being in place.
While we support the Bill’s intentions, its successful implementation depends on addressing some key issues.
Key concerns and challenges
Resource, capacity and funding pressures
The Bill introduces new measures like the establishment of robust safety case reports, a golden thread of information, and enhanced competencies, which will require substantial investment in workforce capacity and digital systems, irrespective of when the building was built. This comes at a time when the sector is already facing significant financial pressures on many fronts. Without targeted funding, there is a risk that tenants and leaseholders – often low-to middle-income households – will face increased costs, when we know that the cost of living crisis continues to add pressures to household finances. We do not believe this is acceptable or fair which is why we need to see the Welsh Government explore other options which would limit any additional cost burden for tenants.
The new Welsh Building Safety Regulator must be adequately resourced and staffed with suitably skilled professionals to be effective. Experience from England shows that an under-resourced regulator has caused significant delays, increased costs and inconsistency in enforcement.
Similarly, we would like assurance that the Residential Property Tribunal has the resource and capacity to manage a potentially significant increase of cases from social housing providers.
Workforce competency
There is currently a shortage of qualified building safety professionals, fire risk assessors, and competent persons in Wales. This skills gap presents a significant barrier to fulfilling the new duties placed on accountable persons and building managers, particularly in the short to medium term.
On a number of occasions the Bill refers to competent individuals or bodies needing ‘sufficient expertise’ to undertake certain duties. While we understand that further detail on what constitutes ‘sufficient expertise’ will be provided through secondary legislation or guidance, it is currently unclear when that guidance will be published or what it will include. Without this clarity, housing associations and other duty holders face uncertainty in workforce planning, recruitment, and assurance processes – potentially leading to inconsistency or delays in implementation.
Reliance on yet-to-be-developed secondary legislation
A major concern is the Bill’s over-reliance on secondary legislation and guidance. Many of the practical details are deferred to future regulations that have not yet been developed or consulted on. This creates substantial uncertainty for landlords who need to prepare for implementation. While guidance has an important role, it should not be relied upon to define the meaning of the primary legislation; greater clarity is needed on the face of the Bill itself to ensure consistency across the sector.
Provisions in the Bill that use vague terms – only to be defined later in guidance – create legal uncertainty and undermine transparency. This approach also reduces the level of scrutiny available during the Bill’s passage through the Senedd, which is a concern for us. The Act should be as self-explanatory and complete as possible, particularly given the importance of ensuring accountability and public trust in the building safety regime.
Clause 65
Another area of uncertainty is Clause 65, which introduces a provision allowing tenants to withhold rent if they do not receive certain required documents. While the principle of accountability is supported, the sector urgently needs clarity on how this clause will operate in practice to avoid unintended consequences. Clear, detailed guidance and transitional arrangements will be essential to avoid repeating these problems.
Regulatory landscape
Furthermore, the Bill introduces another layer to an already complex regulatory environment that includes the Fire Safety Order, the Renting Homes (Wales) Act, the Welsh Housing Quality Standard (WHQS) and the Housing Health and Safety Rating System (HHSRS). Without clear guidance on how these regimes align, there is a risk of duplication, gaps, or conflicting requirements, which would undermine effective compliance.
A path forward
To ensure the Bill achieves its aims without creating undue pressure on the sector, we would like to see Welsh Government:
- Commit to early, transparent, and collaborative development of the regulations and guidance, co-producing them with industry stakeholders to ensure the new framework is both proportionate and deliverable.
- Provide a clear, phased approach to implementation, giving duty holders and landlords sufficient lead-in time to prepare for new regulatory requirements.
- Address the existing workforce skills gap with a coordinated approach to workforce development, including support for training and upskilling across the sector.
- Ensure the Building Safety Regulator is equipped and resourced to undertake new responsibilities.
- Ensure strong resident protections around affordability and communication.
The Building Safety (Wales) Bill is a vital piece of legislation, and we are committed to working with the Welsh Government and other stakeholders on this path forward to ensure it is successful.
Bethan Proctor is head of policy and external affairs at Community Housing Cymru