--- description: A committee will say Thursday whether British lawmakers will need to leave the Parliament complex temporarily during repairs title: British Parliament: Lawmakers May Need to Leave Complex image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt67147a23a9d0963c/6988a536cd1bba37f17023c5/london-big-ben-parliament-renovations.jpeg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  * [World](/section/world/) ## World Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # British Lawmakers May Need to Leave Parliament Complex  by [Justin Worland](/author/justin-worland/)  ## Justin Worland Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Senior Correspondent Sep 8, 2016 12:24 PM CUT  London skyline with Big Ben and Houses of parliament at twilight in UK. London skyline with Big Ben and Houses of parliament at twilight in UK.Getty Images/iStockphoto  by [Justin Worland](/author/justin-worland/)  ## Justin Worland Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Senior Correspondent Sep 8, 2016 12:24 PM CUT A committee studying how to preserve and renovate British Parliament buildings will say Thursday whether lawmakers will need to leave the complex temporarily during repairs. The announcement, [reported](http://abcnews.go.com/International/wireStory/lawmakers-move-crumbling-uk-parliament-41943063 "undefined") by the Associated Press, follows a study by the Joint Committee on the Palace of Westminster on how best to renovate the complex. Roofs and pipes need to be replaced and asbestos removed, according to the report. The options are said to take between six and 32 years with the shortest option requiring lawmakers to relocate during renovations. Several [outlets](http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/mps-to-move-out-of-asbestos-riddled-parliament-in-4bn-restoration-plan-a7231381.html "undefined") including the BBC [reported](http://www.bbc.com/news/uk-politics-37303682 "undefined") that the committee is most likely to endorse the shortest option at a cost of 3.5 billion pounds ($4.7 billion). Prime Minister Theresa May is [said to support](http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/mps-to-move-out-of-asbestos-riddled-parliament-in-4bn-restoration-plan-a7231381.html "undefined") that option. ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/4483648/british-parliament-rennovations/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/4483648/british-parliament-rennovations/"},"headline":"British Lawmakers May Need to Leave Parliament Complex","datePublished":"2016-09-08T12:24:38.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-23T00:28:00.440Z","description":"The complex is in desperate need of renovations","url":"https://time.com/4483648/british-parliament-rennovations/","keywords":["United Kingdom"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt67147a23a9d0963c/6988a536cd1bba37f17023c5/london-big-ben-parliament-renovations.jpeg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Justin Worland","jobTitle":"Senior Correspondent","url":"https://time.com/author/justin-worland/"}],"articleSection":"World","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt67147a23a9d0963c/6988a536cd1bba37f17023c5/london-big-ben-parliament-renovations.jpeg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"london big ben parliament renovations","caption":"london big ben parliament renovations","creditText":"Getty Images/iStockphoto","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/world/","name":"World"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/4483648/british-parliament-rennovations/","name":"British Lawmakers May Need to Leave Parliament Complex"}}]}] ```