Three Contractors Fined €10,000 Each for Working Without License During BCA Crackdown

The Building and Construction Authority (BCA) has fined three contractors €10,000 each after they were found operating without the required licenses, according to the agency’s chief executive. The penalties were issued as part of a broader enforcement campaign in the first five months of 2025, during which nearly 5,000 inspections were conducted on active construction sites across the country.

In an appearance on the program TVAM, BCA Chief Executive Architect Roderick Bonnici revealed that the inspections—averaging almost 1,000 per month—were both scheduled and spontaneous, triggered by public complaints or observed site activities.

“Random inspections are when our inspector or enforcement officer is touring the sites, seeing other sites where construction is taking place and carrying out unannounced inspections, checking all the documentation, making sure that they are following the law; including dust, times, all the measures that are being taken to reduce the inconvenience as much as possible and to get it close to zero,” said Bonnici.

Between January and May, the BCA issued 218 fines, including three major penalties of €10,000 for unlicensed contracting work. In total, 792 enforcement orders were served, leading to the immediate halting of work in many instances.

“In many of the cases, the documentation was not updated, usually the insurance was not updated, there were also cases where contractors were operating without applying with us for a contractor’s license,” Bonnici said. “Those stopped work completely until another contractor came in and the other person who was working took all the necessary measures to re-apply from the beginning, and we even eventually issued fines related to that violation.”

The inspections and penalties reflect a broader effort by the BCA to raise standards and ensure safety and compliance across the construction sector. This comes in the wake of several high-profile incidents, including the collapse of a building in St Julian’s.

Referring to the St Julian’s case, Bonnici said that the authority had received warnings regarding excessive dust and non-compliance with permitted working hours. On June 10, the BCA halted work at the site. “After a meeting a danger was identified and this led to a total of 100 people being evacuated,” he said.

Bonnici emphasized the need for proactive safety measures, particularly in older buildings: “A study is needed on buildings that have been built for a long time to avoid similar incidents like the one in Paceville.”

The BCA has also engaged in dialogue with the Chamber of Architects to improve safety and licensing processes. “There was agreement on all the proposals that were put forward and they are being discussed. He said that while there are others that will be implemented immediately, there are some which are still being studied,” said Bonnici.

The BCA's inspection strategy is designed to identify violations such as unlicensed operations, outdated insurance, and environmental infractions like excessive dust. The agency’s increased enforcement activity in 2025 is part of a national effort to modernize the construction industry and prevent unsafe practices before they result in accidents. As part of that initiative, future regulatory changes are expected, especially concerning aging buildings and urban safety planning.

Originally reported by TVM News.