# Building Safety (Wales) Act 2026, Section 9: Meaning of “principal accountable person”

Extent: E+W

(1) This section sets out the meaning of “principal accountable person” for a regulated building for the purposes of this Act.
(2) The “principal accountable person” for a building with one accountable person is that accountable person.
(3) The “principal accountable person” for a building with more than one accountable person is the accountable person who—
(a) holds a legal estate in possession in the external structure of the building, or
(b) is within section 8(2)(b) because of a relevant repairing obligation in relation to the external structure of the building.
(4) In subsection (3) (and section 10(1)(b)), “the external structure” of a building means its foundations, external walls and roof except—
(a) any part of the foundations, external walls or roof included in a demise of a residential unit (including a part of the building that would be a residential unit but for regulations made under section 5(6)(a));
(b) the foundations, external walls or roof of any part of the building to be occupied for the purposes of a business or undertaking (whether for profit or not).
(5) Subsection (3) is subject to sections 10 and 11 (determination by building safety authority or residential property tribunal).

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Source: https://www.legislation.gov.uk/asc/2026/5/section/9 (the official version)
Page: https://openlegislation.uk/building-safety-wales-act-2026/section-9
Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Source: legislation.gov.uk, The National Archives.