The Chamber of Architects and Civil Engineers has proposed changes to a controversial 2019 law introduced after a spate of building collapses, saying the proposals would bring the law in line with recommendations made in a report tabled to parliament last January.
In its re-draft of LN 136 of 2019 - Avoidance of Damage to Third Party Property Regulations – the Kamra tal-Periti distinguishes between work specifications and method statements, revises the role and qualifications needed by Site Technical Officers and distinguishes between tortious and contractual liability, with the aim of making it easier for third parties to receive compensation for damages.
Other changes proposed by the KTP include eliminating provisions that place architects and civil engineers in positions of conflict of interest by having more than one employer and introducing an equitable system for the reimbursement of third party expenses when reviewing project documentation.
The proposals would bring the 2019 legal notice in line with recommendations made by the Building Industry Technical Committee, it said.
The Committee was established after a house in Ħamrun collapsed in March 2020, killing Miriam Pace as she stood inside it. It was tasked with recommending changes to demolition and excavation laws, which had been revised by the 2019 legal notice, introduced after a series of other building collapses.
Work by the committee was concluded by April of 2020 but its report was only tabled in parliament in January of this year, nine months later. In the report, the committee found a series of “deep-rooted” problems in the sector and made a series of recommendations to bring the construction sector in line with its counterparts in other developed countries.
The KTP has now redrafted LN 136 to ensure it matches the recommendations made in that committee’s report while also complying with provisions in an act to establish a new construction regulator, the Building and Construction Authority.
Architects and members of the general public have until Friday, April 30 to send the KTP their feedback concerning the redrafted law. Feedback can be submitted on info@kamratalperiti.org. The KTP will then present its final proposal of the redrafted law to Planning Minister Aaron Farrugia and construction parliamentary secretary Chris Agius.
Read the KTP draft in the PDF below.