It said “the lowest risk, most cost-effective and quickest option” was for members of the House of Commons and House of Lords to move to temporary premises for six years starting in the early 2020s.
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The report by the Joint Committee on the Palace of Westminster said the 19th-century landmark beside the River Thames is at risk of a “catastrophic event” such as flood or fire that could leave it uninhabitable.
Major work to save the crumbling grade I listed Palace of Westminster is scheduled to start in 2022.
MPs would relocate to the Department of Health while the House of Lords would decamp to the Queen Elizabeth II conference centre in Westminster.
A study into the condition of the Palace of Westminster past year uncovered potentially fatal fire hazards, large quantities of asbestos and leaking pipes.
The committee rejected the prospect of carrying out the repairs without politicians leaving the building, or completing the renovations in stages with each chamber moving out in turn.
The committee of MPs and peers is set to back one of the options set out in the study – that there should be a full decant, estimated by Deloitte to cost between £3 billion to £4.3 billion – with the most likely figure £3.5 billion.
A 2012 report said the building could suffer “major, irreversible damage” without work.
“Many of these systems were replaced in the late 1940s and reached the end of their projected life in the 1970s and 1980s”. Intervention on a much larger scale is now required.
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A Downing Street spokeswoman said: “We’re awaiting a report and will respond in due course”.
