The findings from the surveys will help to create a Fire Safety Building Passport which will be developed by those responsible for buildings and will set out what defects have been identified, the remedial action required and when fire safety measures need to be implemented.
Minister for Climate Change Julie James, who is responsible for housing, said the surveys will be funded by the Welsh Building Safety Fund.
All building owners or management companies of blocks over 11m will be eligible to apply, however, high-rise buildings of 18 metres and over will be prioritised initially.
The surveys will go beyond cladding issues including assessing internal issues such as ineffective compartmentation.
James said: “What we do not yet know is exactly how many buildings are affected and to what extent.
“It is critically important that we are able to understand the true scale of the problem in order to properly address it.
“Every building is different and the fire safety surveys will identify what measures and actions are required to make a multi-residential building as safe as it can be and protect lives and property in the event of a fire.”
Steps already taken by the Welsh government include ensuring all identified buildings with ACM cladding have been remediated at no additional cost to leaseholders. The government also made £10.5m available last year to remediate affected buildings in the social sector which saw 12 buildings access this support.
The ‘passport’ will also outline how recommended works align with other construction required for the building, including planned maintenance and potential decarbonisation measures.
The scheme will be open for applications from responsible persons, building owners and/or management companies this autumn.
The Welsh Building Safety Fund is being developed in tandem with legislative plans to reform the existing building safety system to ensure residents of multi-occupied buildings in Wales do not encounter these problems in the future.
