Agricultural Purposes Regulations, 2022

L.N. 95 of 2022

GOVERNMENT LANDS ACT

(CAP. 573)

Regularisation of Titles of Ordinary Residences Built on

Government Land Granted by Temporary Emphyteusis for

Agricultural Purposes Regulations, 2022

IN EXERCISE of the powers conferred by article 31(g)(L) of the

Government Lands Act the Minister for the Economy and Industry has

made the following regulations:-

The title of these regulations is the Regularisation of Titles

of Ordinary Residences Built on Government Land Granted by

Temporary Emphyteusis for Agricultural Purposes Regulations, 2022.

In these regulations, unless the context otherwise requires

"applicant" means a person or persons submitting a request under

these regulations in order to convert a temporary emphyteusis on their

ordinary residence into a perpetual emphyteusis. The applicant shall be

the person occupying the premises as his or her ordinary residence.

"Authority" means the Lands Authority established in

accordance with article 5 of the Lands Authority Act or any person or

any other entity that has been entrusted by contract or by law to

administer Government land;

"commercial premises" shall have the same meaning assigned to

it in the Civil Code;

"garage" means a premises used to house only one or more

vehicles but does not include premises and, or garages used as a

warehouse or used for any commercial purpose;

"ordinary residence" means a tenement used by a person as the

place of his primary residence and also includes garages or spaces

adjacent to the premises and which are used as extensions of the

premises for the purpose of sanitary laws

Provided that guest houses or dormitories shall not be

considered as residences for the purpose of these regulations

Provided further that premises on the island of Malta are

occupied by residents from Gozo and Comino due to employment or

education in the island of Malta should also be regulated by these

regulations. The same shall apply to residents from Malta, who occupy

premises on the islands of Gozo and Comino due to employment or

education on the islands of Gozo and Comino

Provided further that any property or part of a property

used as a residence shall be suitable for habitation;

"premises" means any tenement utilised as the ordinary residence

of the applicant;"temporary emphyteusis for agricultural purposes"

means an emphyteusis with an expiry date which in the original

concession it is specified that the land is to be used for agricultural

purposes.

(1) Any person who is occupying a premises built on Eligibility.

Government land and which has been granted a temporary

emphyteusis for agricultural purposes and which premises is being

used as the ordinary residence of the occupant, saving other provisions

in these regulations, may request the Authority to convert such

temporary emphyteusis into a perpetual emphyteusis under the

conditions laid down in these regulations.

(2) In the event that the emphyteusis as aforementioned has

expired, such emphyteusis shall be deemed to be in force for the

purpose of these regulations both for the conversion and redemption as

provided.

(3) The applicant shall make a request for recognition together

with the application under these regulations.

(4) The applicant shall provide all documentation requested of

him by the Authority in order to prove that

(a) the premises occupied are currently utilised as the

ordinary residence of the applicant;

(b) the premises has all the necessary development

permits from the competent authorities

Provided that if the premises was built before 1968,

the applicant must submit a declaration provided by the Planning

Authority stating that said premises appear on the 1968 survey

sheets; and

(c) the premises is shown as built premises in the 2018

aerial photos.

The applicant shall provide the following documents with

every application made in accordance with these regulations

(a) a copy of the payment receipt of five hundred euro

(€500) to be made with each online application;

(b)

the contract of acquisition of the premises;

(c) proof that the premises were used as ordinary

residence before the coming into force of these regulations;

(d)

a copy of the applicant’s identity card;

(e) an affidavit signed by the applicant stating that the

premises is his ordinary residence;

(f) an affidavit signed by the applicant stating that the

entire content of the application is true and that it did not omit

any other relevant information or facts and that, if such were

known to the Authority, the application would have been

rejected

Provided that no applicant may justify such an omission on

the basis of the fact that the Authority was already informed of such

information or facts;

(g) photographs which shall indicate the date and time

they were taken, and showing the current state of the premises;

(h) a detailed plan on a scale of 1:100, made exclusively

according to the template available from the Authority that

strictly follows the guidelines for the use of that template. This

plan shall show the interior of the property at every level and the

distance from the nearest street corner;

(i)

a scanned plan, duly authenticated by an architect;

(j) a plan of the Land Registry, duly authenticated by an

architect;

(k)

a copy of the actual electricity and water bills.

(1) Under these regulations, the Authority shall convert

the temporary ground rent into a perpetual ground rent.

(2) The perpetual ground rent as converted by these regulations

shall be redeemed up to a period of fifteen (15) years from the date of

conversion and under such conditions as may be laid down by the

Authority.

(3) All the conditions of the original temporary emphyteusis

shall be renounced according to these regulations upon the conversion

to perpetual emphyteusis.

(1) The emphyteusis shall be calculated according to the Rates set per

rates set out in the schedules established by the Authority and square meter.

published in the Gazette.

(2) These rates may vary according to the type of premises as

well as the area on which the premises in question is built.

(3) The Authority reserves the right to receive and process

applications according to a schedule of localities and this after the

necessary studies have been carried out on the respective localities.

The Authority shall from time to time be inform the public Objections.

of applications on particular sites. Any person shall have the right to

submit his objections to the Authority in respect of a particular

application within thirty (30) days of the publication of the notice.

(1) Applications under these regulations shall be refused Exclusions.

if the premises

(a) does not have the necessary permits issued by the Planning

Authority or the declaration provided by the Planning Authority that

the said premises appear on the 1968 survey sheet; or

(b) has stop notices or enforcement notices or stop and

enforcement notices or warning notices issued by the competent

Authority

Provided that if it has these notices, these impediments

must be remedied before the application can be processed under these

regulations.

(2) The application does not confer any rights or entitlements

in favour of the applicant or any other person. The Authority, in its

sole discretion, reserves the right to refuse and reject any application

submitted pursuant to these regulations. That refusal or rejection shall

be in writing and shall include detailed reasons for its decision.

(3) The Authority has the right to terminate the process of an

application made by virtue of these regulations at any stage or to

refuse to accept any application made by virtue of these regulations if

in its opinion such property is located at a site of national importance

Provided that in that case, the applicant shall only be

entitled to receive the costs he paid to apply pursuant to these

regulations. The Authority is exempt from any damages or any request

for the payment of any kind of compensation made by the applicant in

this regard.

Any conversion and eventual redemption of the

emphyteusis made by virtue of these regulations shall be made through

a public contract.

The Authority has the right to bring an action before the

Civil Court, First Hall if it is of the opinion that there has been a

breach of any of the provisions of these regulations, even after the

corresponding contract has been signed, against any person involved

and to ask the court to declare the redemption null and void even if the

property has been transferred to third parties

Provided that no person against whom the Authority brings

an action shall have the right to request or to receive any damages of

any kind or any sort of compensation for all the improvements they

have made or could have made to that building.

€0.45