Periti lobby welcomes extension on permit validity but flags anomalies

The Council of the Kamra tal-Periti welcomed the introduction of a legal notice extending the validity period of development permits, but has flagged several anomalies with the way in which the extensions were publicised.

In a statement, the Council said the extension of permit validity is a welcome step given certain measures being introduced to regulate the construction industry.

However, the Council pointed out an anomaly whereby all permits whose expiry fell between November 2020 and December 2021 will benefit from a total extension of six years, while permits that expired in 2023 did not benefit from any extension. All other permits were granted an extension of three years.

The six-year extension is due to a similar legal notice published shortly after the first few cases of COVID-19 in Malta, which extended the validity of all permits whose expiry fell between 27 March 2020 and 31 December 2022 by three years.

“It is pertinent to note that while the Kamra was consulted regarding the first set of regulations published in 2020, regrettably, no such consultation took place with the latest set of regulations.”

The Council called on the government to address this anomaly as soon asd possible.

The construction industry  is undergoing a restructuring process, with the government legislating new regulations overseeing the sector.

These include the licencing of contractors, a new builders’ licence, new building regulations, the implementation of new regulations on energy performance in buildings and construction and demolition waste, taxonomy, and ESG compliance.