EXPIRED OR EXPIRING EMPHYTEUTICAL CONCESSIONS REGULATIONS

CONCESSIONS

SUBSIDIARY LEGISLATION 573.15

EXPIRED OR EXPIRING EMPHYTEUTICAL

CONCESSIONS REGULATIONS

14th July, 2023

LEGAL NOTICE 161 of 2023, as amended by Legal Notice 78 of

2025.

The title of these regulations is the Expired or Expiring

Emphyteutical Concessions Regulations.

In these regulations, unless the context otherwise

requires

"Act" means the Government Lands Act;

"agricultural land" means any land which is mainly

leased for the cultivation of agricultural produce, flowers, fruit-

trees or vines, and for purposes related to agriculture, including

the erection of glasshouses, cloches, cold frames or tunnels, but

shall not include land intended for grazing animals;

"agricultural purposes" means farms or other buildings

intended primarily for the keeping of cattle for breeding and

fattening, storage of farm machinery and equipment, storage of

agricultural products as well as storage of tools and vehicles

used for the purposes of cultivation or irrigation of agricultural

land, and shall specifically provide, inter alia, that the garaging

of vehicles, other than those specifically used in the agricultural

sector for agricultural purposes, such as tractors and associated

agricultural machinery, shall not be permitted;

"Authority" or "competent authority" means the Lands

Authority established in accordance with article 5 of the Lands

Authority Act;

"emphyteutical concession" means a temporary

emphyteutical concession or sub-emphyteutical concession of

land which was granted by the Government or its predecessors

in title and which has expired before the entry into force of

these regulations and which land the Government has not taken

back possession of, and shall also include any other

emphyteutical concession which shall expire by 31 st December

2030 or any earlier date;

"kiosk" shall have the same meaning as that assigned to it

in the Catering Establishments Regulations and shall also

include land occupied by a ticket booth and land occupied and

used for the commercial activity of street vendors or mobile

hawkers;

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"land" shall have the same meaning as assigned to it in

the Government Lands Act;

"recognised use" means the use to which the land has

been granted including such land use recognised by the

Authority or which the Authority considers to recognise.

"recognised person" means a person who was recognised

as the emphyteuta or sub-emphyteuta by the Authority upon

expiry of the emphyteutical concession, and any other person

who may have the right to be recognised in place of the same, if

the necessary documentary evidence is provided.

(1)

These regulations shall apply to any

emphyteutical concession except for those emphyteutical concessions

referred to in sub-regulation (2)

Provided that in the case of a site exceeding the overall

footprint of one thousand and five hundred square metres (1,500m 2 ), the

concession shall be subject to the provisions of article 31(c) of the Act,

save for those concessions of agricultural land.

(2)

These regulations shall not apply in respect of

(a)

any emphyteutical concession approved by a

special resolution of the House of Representatives;

(b)

any emphyteutical concession granted for a kiosk;

(c)

any emphyteutical concession granted following a

call for tenders, or an auction, and this is with the exception of

those concessions which were granted before the coming into

force of the Act;

(d)

an application made by any other person who is not

the recognised person;

(e)

any emphyteutical concession granted on

agricultural land where the land to which the concession relates is

included in its entirety within the development zone boundary in

accordance with the local plans approved under the Development

Planning Act

Provided that in case the concession includes agricultural

land located both within and outside the development zone boundary,

these regulations shall only be applicable to that part of the concession

located outside the development zone boundary.

(1)

An agricultural lease may be granted in cases

where the recognised person makes a request on agricultural land on

which there was an emphyteutic concession and which may include

CONCESSIONS

rooms mainly used for the storage of agricultural products or tools and

vehicles used for cultivation or irrigation.

(2)

A temporary emphyteutical concession may be granted in

cases where the recognised person makes a request on land or a part of

land on which there was an emphyteutic concession for agricultural

purposes and where farms or other buildings intended primarily for the

keeping of cattle for breeding and fattening are built.

(3)

A temporary emphyteutical concession may be granted

following a request made by the recognised person on any other land not

mentioned in sub-regulations (1) and (2).

(1)

Any request regarding an emphyteutical

concession as defined in these regulations shall be made by means of

an application, in the form prescribed by the Authority, and shall be

submitted by the recognised person

(a)

by not later than five (5) years from the date of the

coming into force of these regulations in the cases

where the concession is expired; or

(b)

before the end of the term of the concession for

those concessions which shall expire by the 31st of

December 2030.

(2)

Any application which is not made within the time-

frames indicated in sub-regulation (1) shall not be considered as valid.

Deleted by Legal Notice 78 of 2025.

(1)

Where there is more than one (1) recognised

person on any emphyteutical concession, any one or more recognised

persons may renounce and cede any rights that they may have on the

land and transfer such rights to the other recognised persons subject to

an application made in accordance with these regulations.

(2) Any renunciation of rights as described in sub-regulation

(1) shall be made by means of a public deed in cases where the

emphyteutical concession is still running

Provided that in case the emphyteutical concession has

expired, any renunciation of rights shall be made by means of a sworn

declaration.

(1)

The term of the emphyteutical concession granted

by the Authority in accordance with these regulations shall be fifty

(50) years commencing from the date of publication of the

emphyteutical concession.

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(2)

The term of the agricultural lease shall be for one (1) year

which may be tacitly renewed on a yearly basis on the fifteenth (15)

August of every year, subject that the Authority shall have the discretion

to exercise any right according to law or in terms of the agricultural

lease conditions.

(1)

In the case of an expired emphyteutical

concession, the recognised emphyteuta shall pay one (1) lump sum

payment for occupancy of the land from the date on which the

emphyteutical concession expired until the date on which the new

emphyteutical concession is published or the new agricultural lease is

signed, as the case may be.

(2)

The payment that has to be paid under this regulation

shall be calculated on the amount of the ground-rent due on the date of

the expiration of the original emphyteutical concession shall be paid in

full at the time of the publication of the emphyteutical concession or

on the signing of the agricultural lease contract, as the case may be.

(1)

In the case of an agricultural lease granted on

agricultural land in accordance with regulation 4(1), the amount of the

annual rent shall be in accordance with the rates for agricultural leases

as established by the Authority.

(2)

In the case of an emphyteutical concession granted on

land for agricultural purposes in terms of regulation 4(2), the amount

of the annual ground rent due shall be in accordance with the rates for

agricultural purposes as established by the Authority.

(3)

In the case of an emphyteutical concession granted on

any other land in accordance with regulation 4(3), the annual amount

of ground rent shall be equivalent to two per cent (2%) of the open

market value of the land free and unencumbered according to its

recognised use and this annual ground rent amount shall be revised

upwards every ten (10) years at the rate of ten percent (10%).

(4)

The free and unencumbered value of land on the open

market granted by emphyteutical concession in accordance with the

preceding sub-regulation shall be determined by means of an expert

valuation in accordance with article 79 of the Act

Provided that any enhancements or improvements made

on the land during its occupation by the recognised emphyteuta shall

not be taken into account in determining the free and unencumbered

value of the land on the open market.

(1)

Any application submitted to the Authority in

accordance with these regulations shall be considered valid only after

all the necessary requirements listed in the application form have been

satisfied.

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(2)

The Authority shall have the right to request any other

information or documentation which it deems necessary to process the

application.

(3)

The Authority shall have the right to suspend, and where

it deems necessary deny, any application submitted pursuant to these

regulations where it finds that there is a legal challenge in respect of

the land to which the application relates.

(1)

In addition to the application submitted to the

Authority in accordance with these regulations, the recognised

emphyteuta shall provide a declaration signed by him confirming that

all the content of the application submitted by him is correct and that

no other relevant facts, information or documentation that would they

have been known by the Authority would have led to the rejection of

the application.

(2)

No applicant may justify its failure to omit facts,

information or other documentation relevant to the application on the

grounds that the Authority already had knowledge of those facts,

information or documentation.

All costs, including the expert valuation required in

accordance with these regulations and those relating to the execution

of the emphyteutical concession or the agricultural lease, as the case

may be, shall be paid by the applicant by no later than the date of

signing of the emphyteutical concession or agricultural lease, as the

case may be and no emphyteutical or agricultural lease contracts may

be signed before such expenses are paid.

(1)

The Authority shall have the right to reject in its

sole discretion any application submitted to it in accordance with these

regulations.

(2)

The decision by which the Authority denies an

application submitted to it pursuant to these regulations shall be in

writing, even if by electronic means, and shall include the reason

which led to the refusal of the application.

(3)

The Authority shall have the right to bring an action

before the Civil Court, First Hall requesting the cancellation of the

agricultural lease, or the rescission of the emphyteutical concession,

carried out in accordance with these regulations, if the approval of the

application for the execution of the emphyteutical concession or

agricultural lease, as the case may be, was based on incorrect

information or resulted from an error and where, in the absence of such

incorrect information or error, the Authority would have rejected the

application.

(4)

The Authority shall not be liable for any form of damage

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or compensation in the exercise of its functions under these

regulations.

An applicant shall have a right of appeal from a decision

of the Authority taken pursuant to these regulations under the terms of

article 57 of the Lands Authority Act.