Architects would have to report on the measures being taken to protect neighbouring buildings from demolition and excavation works, under proposed laws to be published on Monday.

The legal amendments were drafted by the authorities and sent to industry stakeholders last week following a series of consultative meetings. 

The recommendations come at the end of a week which saw a building collapse in Mellieħa and the wall of another fall apart in Guardamangia. In April, an apartment block next door to a building site had crumbled in the dead of night.

Stakeholders have been given a week to provide feedback on the proposals amid a temporary ban placed on all demolition and excavation works. 

The proposals, seen by The Sunday Times of Malta, call for the introduction of what is being called a “geotechnical design report”.

This would be drafted by an architect and would detail, among other things, what measures are to be taken to protect the structural integrity of neighbouring properties throughout the demolition and excavation works on a site.

 It would also detail the measures to be taken to ensure third party properties would not be impacted throughout the construction phase of a project.

Developers would be obliged to conduct a structural investigation of the area to be excavated, before digging can commence.

The proposals also seek to iron out loopholes when it comes to site managers, who must either be architects or appointed by an architect.

The events of the past weeks have thrown a spotlight on the industry

Site managers are currently appointed by the developer and, aside from architects, are responsible for ensuring that all which has been proposed by the architect, such as the method of demolition or excavation, is properly implemented. 

In the future, if a site manager were to note any irregularities they would be legally obliged to notify the Building Regulations Office and architect involved in the project. 

Currently, the law states that sites are to be covered by a minimum €500,000 insurance policy.  The proposals seek to increase this minimum to €750,000. The policy would have to remain valid until the completed works are certified by an architect. 

The proposals also call for the fines faced by those who do not adhere to the method statement to be increased from €500 to €10,000. 

Ignoring an enforcement order would carry a fine of up to €50,000 – it currently stands at €10,000.  

Meanwhile, architects and developers will be meeting this week to “iron out differences” and come up with a common position on the future of the construction sector. 

The Kamra tal-Periti and the Malta Developers’ Association were scheduled to hold a meeting at the end of this month but the sit-down was brought forward to this Tuesday in the wake of the latest building collapse. 

Architects and developers, the KTP said, have reached an understanding that in this critical juncture for the industry, it is important to converge towards a common position for the good of the country.

Sources said that while the MDA and KTP agreed on the main thrust of the architects’ proposed reform, sticking points on liability and sensitive wording of legislation re-mained. Architects have also called an extraordinary general meeting of the chamber for this Friday.

The KTP is also holding talks with various industry stakeholders about its reform proposals.

Further meetings are also scheduled to take place with the Chamber of Engineers, the Chamber of Commerce and the Building Industry Consultative Council.

“The events of the past weeks have thrown a spotlight on the industry as a whole, including on the profession, which most certainly has its own responsibilities to carry with regard to the current state of affairs, as do all the other operators involved,” the KTP said.

“The issues we are facing are complex, and the fast pace of the industry is stretching resources beyond capacity, yet none of this justifies relaxation of standards and lack of diligence.”

A historical note

This is not the first time that the authorities have been called upon to halt works on construction sites on the back of serious incidents. 

Turn the clock back more than 100 years to October 1914 and the then Instituto dei Periti Architetti (Institute of architects) had written to the Chief Secretary to Government, requesting legal intervention. 

Writing in Italian, the institute had said that “given the repeated disasters” that had occurred due to buildings being built without an architect’s guidance, the government should intervene.

A unanimous vote among architects at the time had called for no permit requests for buildings or other edifices to be considered unless underwritten by an architect.

They had also called for building works conducted without the direction of an architect to be considered illegal and for the authorities to intervene in such cases.

AD’s reaction

Building industry regulators are little more than “letterboxes” set up to receive reports, Alternattiva Demokratika said on Saturday.

“Building industry regulatory authorities do not have the resources to carry out their responsibilities, which they have abdicated,” AD chairman Carmel Cacopardo said at a press conference in Guardamangia.

The government, he said, would now be rushing through emergency regulations in the coming days. While these would only serve as a temporary fix, the long-term solution was to ensure that enough resources were made available to continuously monitor the construction sector.