DIR 09/20 | COVID-19 Pandemic: Third parties considered as vulnerable Individuals & social distancing

 

The Kamra tal-Periti is hereby giving notice to all members of the profession of a Directive that has been approved by the Council with regard to third parties considered as vulnerable individuals, as well as recommendations regarding social distancing on construction sites.

 

Third parties considered as vulnerable Individuals

Reference is made to Legal Notice 111 of 2020, which prohibits vulnerable individuals, as defined therein, from leaving their place of residence. In view of such restrictions, which are intended to safeguard the health of the persons concerned, the Kamra tal-Periti is hereby issuing the following Directives:

 

1. Prior to carrying out any inspections for the purposes of preparing condition reports before the commencent of works or property valuations or any other reason which requires access to any property, periti are to ask their client to obtain a declaration from the owner of the property to be inspected as to whether or not the property is occupied by any person in the categories stated in the Legal Notice.

 

2. No inspections for the purposes outlined above are to be undertaken under any circumstances if the property in question is occupied by persons in the categories listed in the Legal Notice.

 

3. In the case of inspections that are required for the purposes of assessing potentially dangerous structures, either as a result of lack of maintenance or as a result of works underway on adjacent sites or any other reason whereby damage to the structure has been reported to the perit by the affected party, the perit is to request dispensation from the Superintendent of Public Health to carry out such inspection using the template Request for dispensation COVID-19 KTP 04_(Vulnerable persons)_inspections of property. The request is to be submitted to the Superintendent of Public Health, the Commissioner of Police, the Kamra tal-Periti, your Client and your Professional Indemnity Insurance provider, as well as others as you may deem appropriate. Contact details are inside template.

 

No inspections are to be carried out until the relevant clearance is issued by the Superintendent of Public Health.

 

Social distancing

Once clearance is received from the Superintendent of Public Health in terms of point 3 above,  it is recommended that periti follow these recommendations, which are also applicable for any inspections to be carried out in third party property:

 

• Request that not more than one person is present in the property during the inspection, whenever possible
• Request that all windows and doors (internal and external) are kept open to avoid having to touch surfaces
• Request that you are allowed to inspect the damaged area without interruptions to limit your presence within the property, and that a distance of 2m is maintained between you and the person showing you around
• Carry your own sanitiser spray or gel, and use it before entering and after leaving the property

 

The COVID-19 Bulletin 15 states that the Police “have the right to intervene on groups of more than 5 people, and disperse them in such a way as to leave 2 metres between each one of them.” It is recommended that this measure is implemented on construction sites, and that you forward the link to all concerned so as to be observed at all times.

 

Perit Simone Vella Lenicker

President