Updated | Authorities issue stop works notice months after roof collapse in adjacent house

The construction watchdog has just issued a stop works notice for a Qormi construction site that suffered serious damage to an adjacent house. 

On Sunday, MaltaToday reported that the Building and Construction Authority asked the victim, Charlotte Falzon, to submit an architect’s report of the damage before it could issue a stop notice.

Talking to MaltaToday, Falzon recounts how last December her daughter called her up to inform her that part of the roof at her Qormi home had collapsed. 

It was a shocking scene for Charlotte to find that part of the roof of a room at the back side of her property had caved in. 

The backside of Charlotte’s house abuts onto a plot of land where construction work was taking place. 

Charlotte says she asked the architect in charge of the construction works to ensure that her side of the building is also insured since it transpired that the insurance cover taken out by the developer only covered two sides of the site and not hers. 

“Obviously the insurance never arrived,” Charlotte says as she shows us the room full of building debris from the ceiling. She warns us that it is unsafe to go in. 

Charlotte adds that when she contacted the BCA, the authority asked her to submit an architect’s report so that a stop works notice could be issued. Unfortunately, due to health problems, she could not commit herself at the time, and instead tried to settle the issue with the developer since she only asked for her roof to be fixed. 

The room abuts onto a construction site (Photo: James Bianchi/MaltaToday)

“I’m not asking for anything out of the ordinary,” she says. “Thank God, no one died, because if they did, we would definitely be speaking differently right now.” Charlotte mentions the tragedies Malta has recently seen because of the construction sector. “No one ever learns,” she says with frustration in her voice. 

She took to Facebook to express her anger at the situation in the same week as the publication of the public inquiry into the death of Jean Paul Sofia, who died in a construction site in 2022. 

The report had found serious failings in several government entities tasked with regulating the construction sector, including the BCA. The public inquiry board had noted that third parties are not directly informed of construction works next to their homes. The inquiry said the only way one could know about adjacent construction works is by checking the BCA website. 

The BCA’s vetting of method statements was also criticised, with the board noting that, “the current procedure does not guarantee serious scrutiny and is not transparent.” 

Asked for its reaction, the BCA insists it had investigated the damages in December 2023, and the developer’s architect had handed the authority a report. But when MaltaToday shows Charlotte the BCA’s reply, she exclaims that this is news to her. "I am lost for words because despite being the only one to suffer damages, the BCA has not even informed me of the developer’s report,” she says. 

MaltaToday also contacted the site manager in charge of the construction site, who confirmed that the works are ongoing and will not stop, as no authority had told them to cease the works. 

Later on Sunday, the BCA stated that it had "taken action and issued a stop work notice." The authority stated that it had been in contact with Charlotte and offered all the necessary assistance. The BCA stated that it is also in continuous contact with the OHSA.

In a separate statement on Sunday, the OHSA said that it took "immediate action" after following the latest developments on the site in question.