Wales building safety and valuation update
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21 March 2023
Following the publication of the RICS valuation guidance for residential properties with cladding in December 2022 in England, we have been working with the Welsh Government to extend the approach to Wales.
The guidance, which has helped to give more confidence to valuers in undertaking valuations on properties within buildings with cladding and support those looking to buy/sell a property came into effect in England at the end of last year.
Since then, RICS and the Welsh Government have been in discussion to shape the governments building safety programme to enable the extension of the guidance to Welsh properties. This is part of our ongoing work on building safety remediation in Wales that goes beyond cladding remediation and is seeing us work closely with industry stakeholders to develop comprehensive fire safety assessments to identify future risks to the property and minimise unexpected financial risks to the property and leaseholder.
Julie James MS, the Welsh Government Minister for Climate Change said:
“I am pleased to confirm the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors have agreed to extend their guidance to valuers to apply to both England and Wales. We are working closely with them as this guidance is updated.
“This guidance will provide consistency in the valuation approach for properties in Wales that are included in the developer-led work, those buildings in our initial orphan cohort, or where we have been able to confirm buildings are either below 11 metres in height or deemed low risk. This will help support the removal of barriers and allow leaseholders to access mortgages and other financial products.
“I continue to work with UK Finance to ensure lenders recognise the situation in Wales so that lenders can provide mortgages for those living in buildings affected by fire safety issues.”
Luay Al-Khatib, RICS Director of Standards and Professional Development said:
“We are pleased to be able to extend our guidance to include Wales, following the establishment of the Welsh building safety fund. This brings much needed confidence to buyers, sellers, and the market, and ensures a consistent approach.
“We look forward to working with Welsh Government to implement an orderly and swift update with support of stakeholders, to help those impacted by the building safety crisis.”
