REDEMPTION OF LAND BELONGING TO THE GOVERNMENT OR TO THE LANDS AUTHORITY UNDER A TITLE OF REVISABLE PERPETUAL

GOVERNMENT OR TO THE LANDS AUTHORITY UNDER A

TITLE OF REVISABLE PERPETUAL EMPHYTEUSIS

SUBSIDIARY LEGISLATION 573.07

REDEMPTION OF LAND BELONGING TO THE

GOVERNMENT OR TO THE LANDS AUTHORITY

UNDER A TITLE OF REVISABLE PERPETUAL

EMPHYTEUSIS REGULATIONS

27th August, 2019

LEGAL NOTICE 216 of 2019, as amended by Legal Notices 249 of 2020

and 50 of 2025.

The title of these regulations is the Redemption of Land

belonging to the Government or to the Lands Authority under a Title

of Revisable Perpetual Emphyteusis Regulations.

In these regulations, unless the context otherwise

requires

"Authority" means the 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; and

"Board of Governors" means the Board of Governors of

the Lands Authority established by article 10 of the Lands

Authority Act.

Any person who holds a property of the Government or

of the Authority under a title of revisable perpetual emphyteusis may,

subject to what is stated in the other provisions of these regulations,

request the Authority to redeem the said property at any time

Provided that if the contract of concession establishes a

time for the redemption to take place, the conditions of the contract

shall prevail

Provided further that if the property is not yet registered

with the Land Registry and the property is not an Ecclesiastical

property, the applicant shall register the property with the Land

Registry

Provided further that any emphytuesis described as a

temporary emphyteusis ad infinitum shall be regulated in accordance

with these regulations.

The redemption of perpetual and revisable ground rent

does not terminate all other conditions imposed on the emphyteuta in

the original perpetual emphyteusis contract.

The applicant must

GOVERNMENT OR TO THE LANDS AUTHORITY UNDER A

TITLE OF REVISABLE PERPETUAL EMPHYTEUSIS

(a)

be a natural or a legal person

Provided that if the applicant is not listed in article

3 of the Immovable Property (Acquisition by Non-Residents)

Act, the provisions relating to the acquisition of the immovable

property permit shall be adhered to;

(b)

be recognised by the Authority as an emphyteuta

of the building or have submitted an application to be

recognised as such and is still awaiting such recognition. The

application process cannot start prior to recognition of the

applicant by the Authority; and

(c)

prove that there are no arrears due to the Authority

of ground rent payment on the property for which the

application is being submitted under these regulations.

(1)

When property belonging to the Government or to

the Authority has been granted under a title of perpetual and revisable

emphyteusis, the emphyteuta has the option to redeem the ground rent

as provided in the following regulations, unless the contract itself

provides differently as to how the redemption may be carried out.

(2)

The sum to be paid for the redemption of the perpetual

and revisable ground rent before the first revision, shall be equivalent

to the amount of the ground rent payable at the time of the

submission of the application, adjusted according to the index of

inflation taken from the year preceding the submission of the

application in accordance with these regulations and the index of

inflation taken from the year prior to the commencement of the

contract of perpetual emphyteusis capitalised at the rate of five per

cent (5%)

Provided that in cases where the application for

redemption has been submitted in the year preceding the date of the

first revision of the ground rent, the sum to be paid for the

redemption of the perpetual and revisable ground rent shall be

equivalent to the amount of the ground rent payable at the time of the

submission of the application adjusted according to the index of

inflation taken from the year preceding the last revision capitalised at

the rate of five per cent (5%)

Provided further that if the contract had already been

subject to revision, the redemption of the perpetual and revisable

ground rent shall be equivalent to the amount of the ground rent

payable at the time of the submission of the application adjusted

according to the index of inflation taken from the year preceding the

last revision capitalised at the rate of five per cent (5%)

GOVERNMENT OR TO THE LANDS AUTHORITY UNDER A

TITLE OF REVISABLE PERPETUAL EMPHYTEUSIS

Provided further that this sub-regulation shall apply

irrespective of the method used to revise the perpetual ground rent.

(3)

If the revisable perpetual emphyteusis was made before

1946, the index of inflation for 1946 as indicated in the Housing

(Decontrol) Ordinance, capitalised at the rate of five per cent (5%),

should be taken as a basis for determining the amount of ground rent

due.

Any redemption of perpetual and revisable ground rent

made by virtue of these regulations shall be made through a public

contract.

Any person who acquires a property on which there is a

pending redemption application under these regulations, shall request

the Authority to be recognised as the new empytheuta and

subsequently shall be able to continue with the redemption application

submitted by the original applicant, without prejudice to the payment

of laudemium

Provided that the name of the applicant shall also be

changed in case when the rights over the property for which there is a

pending redemption application have passed to the new person by

means of a causa mortis declaration.

(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 as

prescribed by the Authority have been satisfied.

(2)

The Authority shall have the right to request any other

information or documentation which it deems necessary to process the

application.

(3)

Without prejudice to regulation 15, the Authority shall

have the right to suspend, and where it deems necessary deny, any

application submitted in accordance with these regulations where it

results that there is a legal challenge in respect of the property to

which the application relates..

Before the processing of any application made pursuant

to these regulations can start, the applicant shall pay all arrears owed

by them according to regulation 5(c).

(1)

Each applicant submitting an application pursuant

to these regulations shall submit the requested information together

with their sworn statement declaring that the entire content of the

application is truthful and that they have not omitted any information

or other relevant facts whereby, had these been known to the

Authority, the application would have been rejected and dismissed.

GOVERNMENT OR TO THE LANDS AUTHORITY UNDER A

TITLE OF REVISABLE PERPETUAL EMPHYTEUSIS

(2)

No applicant may justify such omission based on the fact

that the Authority already had knowledge of that information or those

facts.

Any contract made by virtue of these regulations shall be

subject to the approval of the Board of Governors and to such

conditions imposed by the said Board. These conditions shall be

published in the said contract.

The amount of five hundred euro (€500) or any other

amount that the Authority may declare is payable to it by each

applicant pursuant to these regulations, by notice published in the

Gazette not later than two (2) months prior to the submission of the

application pursuant to these regulations, shall be paid with each

application made by virtue of these regulations.

The Authority shall ensure that all costs involved in

effecting the redemption of the perpetual and revisable ground rent are

paid by the applicant and that no redemption contract may be

concluded before those costs are paid in their entirety.

(1)

The Authority has the right to refuse and reject

any application submitted pursuant to these regulations at its absolute

discretion only. That refusal or rejection shall be in writing and shall

include detailed reasons for its decision.

(2)

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.

In that case, the applicant shall only be entitled to receive the costs

they 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.

The Authority has the right to bring an action before the

Honourable First Hall, Civil Court 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. 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.

Any request for redemption of perpetual and revisable

ground rent of property belonging to the Government or to the

Authority before the coming into force of these regulations, shall be

GOVERNMENT OR TO THE LANDS AUTHORITY UNDER A

TITLE OF REVISABLE PERPETUAL EMPHYTEUSIS

examined and decided in accordance with the laws in force at the time

the application was submitted

Provided that any request for redemption of perpetual

and revisable ground rent of property belonging to the Government or

to the Authority after the coming into force of these regulations shall

be examined and decided in accordance with these regulations

Provided further that any rights acquired by any

applicant by virtue of these regulations shall not be detracted from.

Any contract concluded before the entry into force of

these regulations whereby a property of the Government or of the

Authority held under a title of perpetual and revisable emphyteusis has

been redeemed is hereby being validated by virtue of these regulations.