Updated at 4.50pm with FAA statement

The Prime Minister’s decision to suspend all excavation and demolition permits may expose the government to potential claims for damages, according to a lawyer specialising in construction.

“Government has put its head on the line … by resorting to this extreme action. The collapse of a number of buildings is an indictment against government for failing to act, while exposing the administration to potential claims for damages.

"Construction companies who may incur penalties owing to this delay will have a right of recourse against government if they can prove that there was no justification for this extreme action in their regard,” the lawyer said.

The lawyer, who preferred not to be named, was reacting to government’s decision to suspend all excavation and demolition permits pending new regulations aimed at addressing safety in the construction industry.

Prime Minister Joseph Muscat made the announcement on Thursday, hours after an apartment wall collapsed into a building site in Ħamrun, the second such incident in a week and the third in two months.

Last Saturday a three-story apartment block collapsed in Mellieha. Another apartment block, adjacent to a building site, collapsed in Guardamangia in April.

The lawyer said the blanket ban decision confirmed that responsible authorities had abdicated their responsibilities "to harness and rein in third-world practices in construction with scant regard for the safety and well-being of residents".

Institutions have sadly failed residents in Malta

"These institutions have sadly failed residents in Malta and have exposed individuals, including construction workers, to dangerous situations,” the lawyer said.

Can the Prime Minister do that?

Since Thursday’s announcement, many questioned whether the Prime Minister had the authority to order a blanket nation-wide ban on excavation and demotion. Technically this is the role of the Building Regulations Office.

So, what happened? Following consultation with stakeholders, the Prime Minister instructed the BRO to set in motion a legal provision that allows permit-holding construction activity to be halted.

Article 18 (2) of Legal Notice 72 of 2013 states that, if the director of the BRO “deems that the cessation of construction activity is to be immediate because of imminent severe damage to contiguous properties of danger the public…”, the enforcement notice and the required preventive measures may be issued on site in a verbal manner and later confirmed in writing.

So, while the Prime Minister was announcing the measure to the public, police were visiting sites where there is ongoing demolition and excavation and halting works on the back of the legal notice.

'Too little, too late' - FAA

Dr Muscat's decision to freeze all excavation and demolition works did not impress NGO Flimkien Għal Ambjent Aħjar, which in a statement said the measure was "too little, too late". 

"The Prime Minister's words do not address the plight of residents who have lost their homes and suffered trauma through developers’ callous abuse," the NGO said. 

"How are residents compensated speedily for losing their homes suddenly and for the shock and inconvenience of being uprooted and left in limbo...for how long?" 

The NGO said that along with making geological surveys obligatory, authorities should enforce existing laws and ensure all cranes, concrete mixers and trucks were periodically certified.

Politicians were the ones responsible for the sorry state of affairs, FAA added, saying that they had encouraged over-development, allowed developers to do as they please and even given the developers' lobby NGO funds.