If you let out a leasehold flat in a block, the new Act decides whether you can be charged for fixing its safety defects. Landlords are not shut out. The key test is how many homes you owned on 20 February 2026. This page sets out what is already law and what is still a proposal.
The protections cover a "qualifying lease". A buy-to-let flat can qualify if, on 20 February 2026, you owned no more than two other homes in the UK besides it.
The Act became law in April 2026, but that part is not in force yet. The limits on what you can be charged are still proposals. The Welsh Government aims to bring them in during 2027.
Building Safety (Wales) Act 2026, section 117; Welsh Government, 22 September 2026. Checked 23 September 2026.Law, not yet in force All of these have to be true:
At least 11 metres or five storeys high.
A long lease (over 21 years) of a single flat, granted before 20 February 2026. You pay a service charge under it.
One of these applied to you: the flat was your only or main home, or you owned no other UK home, or you owned no more than two other UK homes besides it. That last one is the test that lets smaller landlords in.
Holding the freehold or a long lease of a home in Wales, England or Northern Ireland.
Proposal From the Welsh Government consultation that closed on 7 September 2026. The responses are being reviewed, so the detail can still change.
| Situation | Proposed charge to you |
|---|---|
| The landlord, or someone linked to it, is responsible for the defect (any lease) | Nothing |
| Removing or replacing unsafe cladding | Nothing |
| Your flat’s value on 20 February 2026 was under £175,000* | Nothing |
| The landlord group was worth over £2m per building on 20 February 2026 | Nothing |
| Legal or professional fees about who is liable | Nothing |
| Other safety remediation, most flats | Capped at £10,000 |
| Flats valued* at £1m to £2m / over £2m | £50,000 / £100,000 |
Policy The Welsh Government says every residential building of 11 metres or more has a funded route to fix fire safety defects from its construction. Leaseholders "will not bear the costs". Developers that have signed its contract fix their own buildings. These include Barratt Redrow, Persimmon, Taylor Wimpey, Bellway and others. Buildings with no developer to pay go through the Welsh Building Safety Fund. Defects caused by later maintenance are not covered.
You cannot enrol a block yourself. The Welsh Building Safety Fund takes applications only from the building's responsible person, usually through its managing agent. By March 2026, 470 buildings were in the programme and 219 had works complete or underway.
From 1 October 2026 a new Welsh Government grant pays for alarm systems that can replace waking watches, and refunds some past alarm costs. The Leaseholder Support Scheme for hardship closed to new applications on 27 June 2025.
Most of the Act waits on commencement orders, and the charging rules wait on regulations that have not been laid. We will update this page when they are. It explains the published position with a source for each fact. It is not legal advice on your lease, and a solicitor should read your lease if a remediation bill arrives.
Tell us the building and we will tell you what is published about it, and what to ask the managing agent. No charge for asking.
No charge, no obligation, and no one will chase you afterwards.