An amendment to the Sanitary Regulations has been proposed by the Planning Authority (PA) to address situations where the dimensions of a development deviate by not more than 2 centimetres less than the minimum requirements.
It explained that currently there is strict adherence to specific dimensions in accordance with the Development Planning (Health and Sanitary) Regulations to ensure health, safety, and usability standards. However, rigid enforcement of these dimensions has occasionally resulted in practical challenges during and after the construction phase.
This ‘de minimis’ rule of 2cm is also being suggested in view of the fact that in practice the structure normally adheres to the minimum dimensions required by the present legal notice, whilst the finishing (e.g. plastering and so forth) tends to deviate therefrom by about 1cm from each face of the structure.
The Authority said that one also must bear in mind the multiple cases where home buyers purchased a shell form apartment (which adhered to the present legal notice), only to find out that finishing works have rendered that very same apartment in breach of the present legal notice by a matter of millimetres.
The PA deemed that the slight deviation from the minimum dimensions is acceptable and is justifiable especially when considering that the development is already built, and such slight deviation does not undermine the integrity of sanitary laws. “This margin of 2 centimetres is within acceptable limits to ensure that the primary objectives of SL. 552.22 are met, such that the health and safety of occupants are not adversely affected,” it said.
The proposed amendments to the Development Planning (Health and Sanitary) Regulations may be viewed from the PA’s website: www.pa.org.mt/consultation [1].
The Planning Authority invites the public to submit representations to the proposed amendments. Submissions are to be sent by email to: sanita.amendment@pa.org.mt [2]
Submissions must be sent to the Authority not later than the 9th of October.