Contactors who did not apply for a licence with the Building and Construction Authority (BCA) by the end of October have been told to stop operations.

The BCA said in a statement that it had received more than 3,500 applications for contractors providing excavation, demolition and construction services by the October 31 deadline. Those who applied can continue with their work while their licence applications are processed.

In Parliament on Wednesday evening Planning Minister Stefan Zrinzo Azzopardi announced that a total of 3,793 people applied for a contractor’s license. Of these, 1,754 had applied for a construction license, 1,233 for a demolition license and 806 for an excavation license.

Contractors who did not apply for a licence but continue to work risk fines of up to €50,000 and a jail term of up to six months. Violators who ignore stop orders can be fined €5,000 a day. 

According to new rules published in July, contractors had until the end of October to apply for a licence. By January 2025, all contractors will need a licence to be able to build, demolish and excavate buildings.

Until then, they need “provisional approval” to continue working. Such approval has been given to all those who applied for the licence.

Contractors who failed to apply for a licence by October 31 can still do so until May 31. However, the evaluation committee can take up to 60 days to respond to these applications and it will only do so if all the required documents are submitted.

The BCA said that, in the coming weeks, it would be informing all who applied by October 31 that they can continue to upload the needed documents on its website, so that they can acquire their licence by January 1.