Wales has set 1 July 2026 as the switch‑on date for a tougher building control enforcement regime. The Welsh Government has made the Building Safety Act 2022 (Commencement No. 6) (Wales) Regulations 2025, signed on 12 December by Cabinet Secretary Rebecca Evans. For Northern firms working regularly across the border, get that date in the diary.

In plain terms this activates the enforcement toolkit in Part 3 of the Act and Schedule 5’s changes to the Building Act 1984. From July, local authorities will be able to issue compliance and stop notices where works breach building regulations, offences for breaches are strengthened, and idle building control approvals can lapse. Ministers will also be able to determine certain applications and step in with default powers where needed. England moved to this footing in 2023 and offences there carry unlimited fines and, in some cases, up to two years in prison.

Contractors and housing associations in North Wales, Cheshire and Merseyside should plan on the Welsh regime mirroring the English experience on site management: tighter documentation, clearer dutyholder lines, and the real prospect of a stop notice halting a phase until remedial steps are taken. For teams used to English projects since October 2023, the approach will feel familiar once Wales goes live.

These enforcement changes sit alongside a broader overhaul of building control. Wales brought in Registered Building Control Approvers from 1 January 2025 with updated forms, rejection grounds and public registers. Appointing the right class of inspector and keeping paperwork tight will be crucial under the new regime.

The Welsh definition of a ‘higher‑risk building’ is already in place and, since 6 April 2024, higher‑risk work has been overseen by local authorities with competence rules for inspectors. Many North West firms have worked to these rules for the past year on Welsh towers, so July’s shift should be an operational step rather than a shock.

“Safety, accountability, and residents’ voices.” That is how ministers have framed the wider programme, with a Building Safety (Wales) Bill introduced in July 2025 to tackle risks in occupation. The new commencement regulations line up construction‑phase enforcement with that incoming framework.

The scale explains the urgency. The Government’s latest update counted 407 buildings in the Welsh Building Safety Programme, with 43% either finished, underway or needing no works, plans in place for 37%, and the remainder still being assessed. North Wales and the North West have more than their share of these blocks and supply chains run both ways across the A55 and M56.

For building control professionals, 2025 consultations flagged dutyholder roles, gateways, a ‘golden thread’ of information and the introduction of compliance and stop notices. If your teams operate either side of the border, use the next two quarters to align training and templates so that July is a non‑event operationally.

Previous commencement steps in Wales brought dutyholder and competence provisions into scope during 2023 and extended the regime during 2024. This sixth commencement closes the enforcement loop by bringing the remaining powers into force for Wales from 1 July 2026.

The instrument bears the signature of Rebecca Evans, the Cabinet Secretary whose brief includes building regulations and planning. It underlines a devolved timetable: aligned with England where it helps, but paced to suit Welsh legislation and delivery across councils and the supply chain.