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Houses of Parliament Are Crumbling, Report Finds, and There Is No Quick Fix

Scaffolding surrounding part of the Houses of Parliament in London. A new report says that repairs could take as long as 30 years and cost more than $11 billion.

Credit...Kirsty Wigglesworth/Associated Press

LONDON — The Palace of Westminster, Britain’s gorgeous seat of Parliament, is crumbling, with leaky pipes, hazardous, antiquated wiring and roofs that threaten to collapse. It is slowly sinking into the banks of the River Thames. And then there is the asbestos, and the rats.

But to efficiently fix the buildings that make up the complex would mean moving about 2,000 legislators and staff members elsewhere for up to six years at a cost of about 3.9 billion pounds, or $6.2 billion, according to an independent report commissioned by Parliament and published Thursday.

If legislators remain, repairs could take more than 30 years and cost up to £7.1 billion, the report said, though it would be cheaper if at least one chamber moved out at a time. The palace has 1,100 rooms, 100 staircases and three miles of passageways over four floors.

The mechanical and electrical infrastructure is “no longer fit for purpose,” the report said, and the risk of a “catastrophic failure” is increasing. The heating is bad, and even the clock tower that houses Big Ben leans 18 inches from vertical.

Part of the ceiling in the chamber used by the House of Lords recently fell onto the benches below, apparently empty at the time, and a burst pipe flooded the Committee Room Corridor, according to the report.

Lovely as it is, the working environment is difficult, with a scarcity of offices and meeting rooms and difficulties with modern necessities like computers and Internet connections. And there is a significant rodent infestation.

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A gargoyle on the Houses of Parliament. More lively inhabitants include infestations of mice and rats.Credit...Kirsty Wigglesworth/Associated Press

There are 650 members of the House of Commons and nearly 800 members of the House of Lords, not all of whom can fit easily into either chamber. But efforts to reduce their numbers have been politically contentious, not least among the lawmakers themselves.

The palace, also known as the Houses of Parliament (for its occupants), was designed by Charles Barry and Augustus Pugin and finished in 1870, but it has not had a major restoration since 1950. Most of it was built after its predecessor was destroyed by fire in 1834, although one part of the palace, Westminster Hall, is itself is 900 years old, 100 years older than Magna Carta.

The last time lawmakers were displaced was during World War II, when bombs caused a fire in the House of Commons chamber.

The report foresees improvements as well, including an elevator up the clock tower, a media center for those indispensable television interviews and more informal meeting areas. Another variant proposes a new visitor center, with facilities for exhibitions and conferences.

Nearby buildings on the other side of Parliament Square could provide a temporary home for lawmakers and staff members, including the Queen Elizabeth II Center and the Methodist Central Hall.

But with continuing pressure from Scotland for more autonomy, there is an element of federalism in the air, and some suggest that Parliament find another home away from London and wealthy southeastern England.

A Labour member of Parliament, Frank Field, has suggested temporarily relocating the seat of Parliament to the north, while another Labour legislator, Graham Stringer, said Parliament should move permanently to another part of Britain.

A parliamentary committee has been set up to decide what to do about renovation, especially when further budget cuts are in the offing, lawmakers are unpopular and taxpayers are complaining about their proposed salary increase. In any event, work would not begin for five years.

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A version of this article appears in print on  , Section A, Page 10 of the New York edition with the headline: Parliament Said to Need Costly Fixes. Order Reprints | Today’s Paper | Subscribe

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