The Kamra tal-Periti on Tuesday rejected the assertion that it and its legal advisers have not understood the new legal notice on excavation and demolition works.
Their statement came after architects and the authorities met on Monday to hash out differences on the new regulations.
Planning Minister Ian Borg has suggested that many of the rumblings of discontent concerning the new regulations are due to misunderstandings about them.
Stakeholders have held several meetings over the past days to hash out differences and resolve issues which have seen the vast majority of construction projects across Malta and Gozo grind to a halt.
Construction exemptions?
During Monday's meeting, organised by the Malta Development Association, stakeholders agreed that the Building Regulations Office (BRO) would issue binding guidance to industry stakeholders on which types of works could be eligible for exemptions from the new regulations.
In its statement, the Chamber said that while it was now clear that no demolition and excavation works would be exempted from the new regulations, the same could not be said for the construction of additional floors over existing buildings.
“It appears that the only way that construction works may proceed is by the BRO agreeing that the regulations can be circumvented altogether. This begs the questions whether public safety is being safeguarded with the coming into force of the new regulations, how further collapses of buildings will be prevented, and whether the whole confusion created was worth the effort.”
The new regulations follow a spate of building collapses in recent weeks.
The chamber said it reiterated its advice to architects to follow the requirements of the Legal Notice in its current form, until such time as the BRO issued binding guidance on the interpretation of the notice as agreed with the government on Monday.
When such guidance was issued, it would verify whether this reflected what was verbally agreed upon, and would advise members of the profession accordingly.
The chamber said it was given assurances that it would receive the fourth version of the relative BRO forms for its review before their republication but the BRO did not follow through such assurances. It said it was still not in agreement with the forms as published on Monday evening.
The chamber said it was very concerned that only a few hundred building sites were currently operational and could not understand why all this chaos had been created, when it was now being told that most sites, except for excavation and demolition works, could qualify for exemption from the rules. “Will this Legal Notice make our building sites any safer,” it asked.
It said that its demand for a proper registration of contractors, which was forcefully echoed by the MDA’s members at Monday’s information session, had so far not been implemented by government.
In its view, this was the most critical step in safeguarding public safety and preventing a repeat of the accidents of the last two months.