S.L. 623.5 Art. 3Requirements for newly constructed buildings or major renovation works.

(1) All newly constructed buildings at the location of an end-user, including elements thereof under joint ownership, or major renovation works concerning multi-dwelling buildings for which in either case applications for building permits have been submitted after 31 December 2016, must be equipped with the following:

(a) a high-speed-ready in-building physical infrastructure, up to the network termination points; and

(b) an access point.

(2) Buildings equipped in accordance with this regulation, shall be eligible to receive the voluntary ‘broadband-ready’ label as may be issued by the Building and Construction Authority. An architect or any other qualified person as established under these regulations shall be responsible to certify the installation in accordance with the obligations provided for in sub-regulation (1) and any technical guidance document that may be issued in connection with these regulations. The Building and Construction Authority may devise schemes that serve to publicly acknowledge the broadband-readiness of buildings in accordance with these regulations.

(3) The Building and Construction Authority may, after having consulted with the competent utility regulator or regulators as the case may be and with any other public sector body or bodies as it may consider necessary, provide for exemptions from the obligations provided for in sub-regulation (1) for categories of buildings such as, and in particular, single dwellings, or major renovation works in cases in which the fulfilment of those obligations is disproportionate, such as in terms of costs for individual or joint owners, or in terms of type of building, such as specific categories of monuments, historic buildings, holiday homes, military buildings or other buildings used for national security purposes: Provided that in doing so the Building and Construction Authority shall give its reasons in writing and shall before taking a final decision, give any interested parties the opportunity to make written submissions within such reasonable time as it may establish: Provided further that any such exemption shall be notified to the Commission.