Two families whose maisonettes neighboured the Ħamrun house collapse that killed Miriam Pace two years ago, have not been able to move back into their homes ever since.

After waiting for two years for their properties to be made safe again by those responsible for the collapse, the families have gone to court to ask the developer, the contractor and the architects to pay for the damages they suffered.

The collapse occurred on March 2, 2020, following excavation works in a construction site designated to be turned into apartments. Miriam Pace, 54, was killed when her house, next door to the construction site, collapsed while she was in it. It took rescue crews hours to find her body, which was buried beneath the rubble of her own home.

The late Miriam and her husband Carmelo Pace.

Now, two years on, the ripple effect of the incident emerges clearer.

David and Rosette Zerafa owned a maisonette and underlying garage located back-to-back to the Pace residence. John and Grace Sammut lived in a maisonette right next door to the Pace residence. John Sammut, Joseph Sammut, Rita Rapa and Carmelina Portelli Hale own a garage in the road.

Since the incident, the Zerafas and the Sammuts have not been able to return home, living in alternative housing, while the garage in question has been condemned and cannot be used.

The Zerafas and Sammuts have now taken legal action, filing two separate judicial protests in the First Hall of the Civil Court.

The parties filed the protests against MCZMC Developers Limited as well as company directors Elton Joseph Caruana, Malcolm Mallia, Matthias Mallia, Amanda Muscat, Christopher Zarb and Simon Zarb, contractor company LK Limited, its director Ludwig Dimech and employee  Nicholas Spiteri and architects Roderick Camilleri and Anthony Mangion.

They noted that the developer had applied to develop a garden - located in  Antonio Miruzzi Street Santa Venera and Abela Scolaro Street in Ħamrun  - into a block of apartments and underlying garages. During excavation works on one side of the garden, where there were residences and garages, a party wall collapsed, bringing down the Paces house and extensively damaging neighbouring buildings.

The families concerned noted that, since then, no works have been carried out to make their property safe and they were given no choice but to resort to legal action. Lawyers Marycien Vassallo and Matthew Bondin signed the protests.    

In May 2021 the Pace family reached an out-of-court settlement with MCZMC Developers Limited. The settlement had no impact on a criminal case that the police started against four other individuals involved in the construction works next door to the Pace family home - architects Roderick Camilleri and Anthony Mangion, contractor Ludwig Dimech and labourer Nicholas Spiteri. All four men faced criminal charges of involuntary homicide in relation to the collapse and Pace’s death.

In July 2021 the two architects were found guilty of involuntary homicide and ordered to perform a total of 880 hours of community work and to pay €18,000 in fines.