TITLES OF ORDINARY RESIDENCES BUILT ON GOVERNMENT LAND GRANTED BY TEMPORARY EMPHYTEUSIS FOR AGRICULTURAL PURPOSES REGULATIONS [ S.L. 573.12 1 SUBSIDIARY LEGISLATION 573.12 REGULARISATION OF TITLES OF ORDINARY RESIDENCES BUILT ON GOVERNMENT LAND GRANTED BY TEMPORARY EMPHYTEUSIS FOR AGRICULTURAL PURPOSES REGULATIONS 25th February, 2022 LEGAL NOTICE 95 of 2022, as amended by Legal Notice 161 of
- 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. Citation.
- requires: Interpretation. Amended by: L.N. 161 of
- In these regulations, unless the context otherwise "applicant" means a person submitting a request under these regulations to convert the title from temporary to perpetual emphyteusis over his sole and ordinary residence and which is built on Government land granted with a temporary emphyteusis for agricultural purposes. The applicant must be the person occupying the premises as his sole and 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; Cap.
- "commercial premises" shall have the same meaning assigned to it in the Civil Code; Cap.
- "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; "premises" means any building utilised as the sole and ordinary residence of the applicant; "sole and ordinary residence" means a premises used by a person as his sole and ordinary residence and includes garages or spaces adjacent to the premises, provided that these adjacent spaces are used as an extension of the property for the purposes of the Development Planning (Health and Sanitary) Regulations or further spaces adjacent to the premises, and that they form an integral part of the same premises: Provided that guest houses or dormitories shall not be considered as residences for the purpose of these regulations: S.L. 552.
- 2 [ S.L. 573.12 TITLES OF ORDINARY RESIDENCES BUILT ON GOVERNMENT LAND GRANTED BY TEMPORARY EMPHYTEUSIS FOR AGRICULTURAL PURPOSES REGULATIONS Provided further that premises in Malta occupied by residents from Gozo and Comino due to employment or education in Malta shall be regulated by these regulations: Provided further that premises in Gozo and Comino occupied by residents from Malta due to employment or education in Gozo and Comino shall be regulated by these regulations: Provided further that any premises or part of a premises used as a residence shall be suitable for habitation; "temporary emphyteusis for agricultural purposes" shall mean an emphyteutical concession with an expiry date, wherein there is specified that the land shall be used for agricultural purposes or that the land shall be used partly for agricultural purposes and partly for residential purposes. Conversion of temporary emphyteusis for agricultural purposes into a sole and ordinary residence. Substituted by: L.N. 161 of
- 3.
(1)Any person occupying premises built on Government land and which have been granted on temporary emphyteusis for agricultural purposes and which premises are being used as the sole and ordinary residence of the occupant, may request the Authority to convert that part of the premises occupied by him under temporary emphyteusis into perpetual emphyteusis, in accordance with the conditions established in these regulations.
(2)Any emphyteutical concession which was granted before the date of coming into force of these regulations and has expired shall be deemed to be tacitly renewed and the conditions established in such concession shall remain applicable.
(3)The applicant shall submit an application for recognition of his obligations as an emphyteuta with the application under these regulations.
(4)The applicant shall provide all documentation requested by the Authority in order to prove that: (
- a)the occupied premises are used as the sole and ordinary residence of the applicant; (
- b)the premises has all the necessary development permits from the competent authorities: Provided that if the premises were built before the year 1968, the applicant shall submit a declaration provided by the Planning Authority that the said premises appears on the survey sheet of the year 1968; (
- c)the premises are shown as premises built in the TITLES OF ORDINARY RESIDENCES BUILT ON GOVERNMENT LAND GRANTED BY TEMPORARY EMPHYTEUSIS FOR AGRICULTURAL PURPOSES REGULATIONS [ S.L. 573.12 3 aerial photos of 2018. 4.
(1)Any application submitted to the Authority in accordance with these regulations shall be deemed valid after all the requirements listed in the application form have been met, including the payment fee of five hundred euro (€500) upon submission of the same application. Required documentation. Substituted by: L.N. 161 of 2026.
(2)The Authority shall have the right to request any other information or documentation it deems necessary to process the application.
(3)The Authority shall have the right to suspend and where it deems necessary, refuse any application submitted in accordance with these regulations where it results that there is any legal challenge regarding the land to which the application relates. 5. The transfer of title granted by the Authority in accordance with these regulations may be effected by means of a perpetual emphyteutical concession, which shall be revisable every fifteen
(15)years from the date of publication of the deed at the rate of fifteen per cent (15%). The emphyteuta shall have the option to redeem the ground rent after fifteen
(15)years from the date of the emphyteutical grant and thereafter always in the year in which the ground rent is revised. Such redemption shall be effected by the payment of a sum equivalent to the amount of the groundrent, as revised and capitalised at the rate of five per cent (5%): Transfer and conversion into perpetual emphyteusis. Substituted by: L.N. 161 of 2026. Provided that if the emphyteuta decides to redeem the ground rent prior to the first revision specifically during the first fifteen
(15)years from the date of the emphyteutical grant, in such case the redemption shall be effected after the ground rent is revised in accordance with the rates indicated in Schedule II and upon payment of a sum equivalent to the amount of the ground rent, as revised and capitalised at the rates indicated in Schedule II: Provided further that all conditions of the original temporary emphyteusis which are not applicable to a perpetual emphyteusis shall cease to have effect. 6.
(1)The applicable rates for applications submitted in accordance with these regulations are those established in Schedule I and Schedule II.
(2)In order to determine the annual ground rent due to the Authority, the calculation shall first be made in accordance with the rates established in Schedule I and the resulting calculation shall be used for the computation in accordance with Schedule II.
(3)In cases where multi-level occupation already exists Established rates. Substituted by: L.N. 161 of 2026. 4 [ S.L. 573.12 TITLES OF ORDINARY RESIDENCES BUILT ON GOVERNMENT LAND GRANTED BY TEMPORARY EMPHYTEUSIS FOR AGRICULTURAL PURPOSES REGULATIONS which are pro diviso, the Authority shall transfer each level by means of a separate title after determining the overall value of the land occupied in accordance with Schedule I, and after carrying out an appropriate and proportionate apportionment exercise of the value in accordance with the titles claimed for each respective level.
(4)In case the occupation of the land is pro indiviso, as in the common parts of the condomium, the Authority shall transfer the land pro indiviso and the resulting costs shall be apportioned between the respective levels in accordance with the title claimed by the applicants for each level. Compulsory declaration of applicant. Substituted by: L.N. 161 of 2026. 7.
(1)In addition to the application submitted to the Authority in terms of these regulations, the applicant shall provide a declaration signed by him confirming that all the contents of the application submitted are correct and that no other relevant facts, information or documentation have been omitted which, had they been known to the Authority, would have led to the refusal of the application.
(2)No justification shall be made by the applicant for any failure to provide facts, information, or other documentation relevant to the application on the basis that the Authority already had knowledge of such facts, information or documentation. Exclusions. Substituted by: L.N. 161 of 2026. 8.
(1)Applications submitted in accordance with these regulations shall be refused 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 the premises has any one of these impediments, they shall be remedied before the application may be processed under these regulations.
(2)The part of the temporary emphyteusis for agricultural purposes which does not form part of the sole and ordinary residence as defined in these regulations shall be excluded from the transfer and shall retain the title of temporary emphyteusis under the original conditions.
(3)Any commercial premises or any land used for commercial or storage purposes, as well as any other land not forming TITLES OF ORDINARY RESIDENCES BUILT ON GOVERNMENT LAND GRANTED BY TEMPORARY EMPHYTEUSIS FOR AGRICULTURAL PURPOSES REGULATIONS [ S.L. 573.12 5 part of the sole and ordinary residence as defined in these regulations.
(4)The application does not confer any rights or entitlements in favour of the applicant or any other person and the Authority, in its sole discretion, reserves the right to refuse any application submitted pursuant to these regulations: Provided that every refusal shall be in writing and shall include detailed reasons on which such decision is based upon.
(5)The Authority shall have 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 shall be 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. 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: Violation of regulations. 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.
- An applicant shall have a right of appeal from a decision of the Authority taken under these regulations in terms of article 57 of the Lands Authority Act. Right to appeal against a decision of the Authority. Added by: L.N. 161 of 2026. Cap.
- Schedule I Added by: L.N. 161 of
- Applicable rates per square metre for each type of land 6 [ S.L. 573.12 TITLES OF ORDINARY RESIDENCES BUILT ON GOVERNMENT LAND GRANTED BY TEMPORARY EMPHYTEUSIS FOR AGRICULTURAL PURPOSES REGULATIONS according to these regulations: Rate payable per metre square of occupied land Type of land €/m2 All land occupied by a sole and ordinary residence, except for land occupied by detached or semidetached residences, including farmhouses. All land occupied by detached or semi-detached dwellings including farmhouses. Any space adjacent to the premises used as an extension of the premises for the purpose of sanitary laws. Any further space adjacent to the premises, provided it forms an integral part of the same premises according to the definition under these regulations. 120 360 360 500 Schedule II Added by: L.N. 161 of
- Computation of the ground rent applicable to perpetual emphyteutical concessions according to these regulations
- The amount resulting from the calculations according to Schedule I, shall be divided by 35 after taking into account the provisions of regulation 6, and the resulting amount shall be the annual groundrent due to the Lands Authority.
- The emphyteutical concession commences to run from the day that the contract is signed and the groundrent due has to be paid annually in advance.
- The redemption of ground rent and the purchase of the direct dominium shall be made at the rates established below: Amount of years of groundrent paid Revision Percentage Rate Percentage rate (%) capitalisation for redemption of ground rent TITLES OF ORDINARY RESIDENCES BUILT ON GOVERNMENT LAND GRANTED BY TEMPORARY EMPHYTEUSIS FOR AGRICULTURAL PURPOSES REGULATIONS 0 (immediate redemption) 0% 1 1% 2.941 (multiplied by 34) 2 2% 3.030 (multiplied by 33) 3 3% 3.125 (multiplied by 32) 4 4% 3.226 (multiplied by 31) 5 5% 3.333 (multiplied by 30) 6 6% 3.448 (multiplied by 29) 7 7% 3.571 (multiplied by 28) 8 8% 3.704 (multiplied by 27) 9 9% 3.846 (multiplied by 26) 10 10% 4.000 (multiplied by 25) 11 11% 4.167 (multiplied by 24) 12 12% 4.348 (multiplied by 23) 13 13% 4.545 (multiplied by 22) 14 14% 4.762 (multiplied by 21) 15 15% 5.000 (multiplied by 20) 2.857 (multiplied by 35) [ S.L. 573.12 7