“Safety, accountability, and residents' voices.”
These are the three key principles of a landmark building safety
Bill that was laid before the Senedd today, according to Cabinet
Secretary for Housing and Local Government, .
The Building Safety (Wales) Bill forms part of a wider programme
of reforms aimed at improving safety in these buildings, and is
part of the Welsh Government's broader response to the Grenfell
Tower tragedy which seeks to prevent such a tragedy from ever
happening again, and includes:
- A programme of work aimed at addressing fire safety issues in
multi-occupied residential buildings of 11m and above;
- Significant reforms to the building control system;
- Introducing new regulations for high-risk buildings;
- Clearer responsibilities for duty holders;
- Mandatory registration and regulation of building control
professionals.
The Bill will require building safety risks to be assessed and
managed while buildings are in occupation, for the benefit of
residents and others, with a robust enforcement regime to back
that up. Fire safety duties will also apply to certain Houses in
Multiple Occupation.
The legislation will also create clear lines of accountability
for duty holders. These duty holders will have legal
responsibility for assessing and managing building safety, ending
confusion over who is responsible for the safety of residents and
others.
Additionally, the Bill will see residents in all regulated
buildings provided with greater reassurances about the safety of
their homes and clear routes for redress to raise building safety
complaints. While also placing responsibilities on residents to
play their part in keeping their building safe.
Cabinet Secretary said: “This landmark Bill
will fundamentally transform safety in multi-occupied residential
buildings across Wales.
“Its key principles are safety, accountability and residents'
voices, and it goes wider and further than existing legislation
in other parts of the UK.
“It creates clear legal responsibilities for owners and others,
gives residents new rights and pathways to raise complaints,
enables standards for professional assessments, and provides
robust enforcement powers when safety requirements aren't met.
“Because the safety and wellbeing of people in their homes must
always be our priority.
“This Bill is part of a wider programme to ensure that buildings
in Wales are safer, and that people are protected in their
homes.
“The legacy of Grenfell Tower must be meaningful change. We owe
it to those who lost their lives, their families, and the
survivors to ensure that such a tragedy can never happen
again.”
