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Building Safety (Wales) Act 2026
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8Meaning of “accountable person”E+W
This section has no associated Explanatory Notes
(1)This section sets out the meaning of “accountable person” for a regulated building for the purposes of this Act.
(2)An accountable person for a building is—
(a)a person who holds a legal estate in possession in the common parts of the building or any part of them, unless subsection (3) applies, or
(b)a person who does not hold a legal estate in any part of the building but who is under a relevant repairing obligation in relation to the common parts of the building or any part of them.
This subsection is subject to subsection (6) (special rule for commonhold land).
(3)A person (“the estate owner”) who holds a legal estate in possession in the common parts of a building or any part of them (“the relevant common parts”) is not an accountable person for the building by virtue of subsection (2)(a) if—
(a)each long lease under which the estate owner is landlord provides that a particular person, who does not hold a legal estate in any part of the building, is under a relevant repairing obligation in relation to all of the relevant common parts, or
(b)all repairing obligations relating to the relevant common parts which would otherwise be obligations of the estate owner are functions of an RTM company.
(4)Subsection (5) applies if—
(a)a tenant under a lease holds a legal estate in possession in the common parts of a building or any part of them (“the relevant common parts”), and
(b)a landlord under the lease is under a relevant repairing obligation in relation to any of the relevant common parts.
(5)For the purposes of this section and section 9 (meaning of “principal accountable person”)—
(a)the legal estate in possession in so much of the relevant common parts as are within subsection (4)(b) is treated as held by the landlord (instead of the tenant), and
(b)if (and so far as) the landlord’s actual legal estate in those common parts is held under a lease, the legal estate in possession mentioned in paragraph (a) is treated as held under that lease (and, accordingly, subsection (4) and this subsection may apply in relation to it).
(6)If a building is on commonhold land, the commonhold association is the accountable person for the building.
Commencement Information
I1S. 8 in force at 28.4.2026, see s. 138(1)(a)
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