📄 Legal text
[CAP. 158.
H O U S I N G ( DE C O N T R O L )
1
CHAPTER 158
HOUSING (DECONTROL) ORDINANCE
To provide for the decontrol and registration of certain dwelling houses,
and for matters connected therewith, and to permit an adjustment in the
rent payable in respect of a controlled dwelling-house where improvements
have been carried out with the consent of the tenant.
10th April, 1959
ORDINANCE XIXA of 1959, as amended by Legal Notice 4 of 1963;
Acts: XXIX of 1965, XXXI of 1966, XLVIII of 1972, XXXVII of 1973; Legal
Notice 148 of 1975; Act XXIII of 1979; Legal Notices: 10 of 1980, 14 of
1981,15 of 1982, 16 of 1983; Act XIII of 1983; Legal Notices: 18 of 1984, 2
of 1985, 4 of 1986; Act XXXVII of 1986; Legal Notices 10 of 1987, 20 of
1988; Act XXVIII of 1988; Legal Notices 26 of 1989, 31 of 1990, 31 of
1991, 29 of 1992, 46 of 1993, 36 of 1994 and 29 of 1995; Act XXXI of
1995; Legal Notices 25 of 1996, 29 of 1997, 76 of 1998, 64 of 1999 and 31
of 2000; Act IX of 2000; Legal Notices 30 of 2001, 46 of 2002, 73 of 2003,
and 90 of 2004; Act XVIII of 2004; Legal Notices 32 of 2005, 30 of 2006
and 36 of 2007; Act XVIII of 2007; Legal Notices 410 of 2007, 83 of 2008,
50 of 2009 and 184 of 2010; Act V of 2010; and Legal Notices 188 of 2011,
70 of 2012, 55 of 2013, 88 of 2014 and 76 of 2015, 129 of 2016, 79 of 2017
54 of 2018 and Acts XXVII of 2018 and XXIV of 2021 and Legal Notices 29
of 2019, 30 of 2020, 67 of 2021, 63 of 2022, 38 of 2023, 29 of 2024 , 35 of
2025 and 36 of 2026.
1.
The short title of this Ordinance is Housing (Decontrol)
Ordinance.
Short title.
Amended by:
XXIX. 1965.2.
2.
In this Ordinance and any regulations made hereunder,
except in so far as the context otherwise requires -
Interpretation.
Amended by:
L.N. 4 of 1963;
XXIX. 1965.2;
XXXVII.1973.2;
XXIII.1979.2;
XXVIII.1986.2.
XXVII. 2018.2;
XXIV.2021.20.
Cap. 69.
"appointed day" means the day on which this Ordinance comes
into force;
"the Board" means the Rent Regulation Board constituted under
article 16 of the R ele tt in g of Urba n Pro pert y (R eg ul ati on )
Ordinance;
"decontrolled dwelling-house" means a dwelling-house
registered by the Land Valuation Officer in accordance with the
provisions of article 3;
" d w e l l i ng - h o u s e " m e a n s a b u il d i n g o r p a r t o f a b ui l d i ng
constructed or structurally adapted for occupation as a separate
dwelling;
"fair rent" means the rent that has been or may be established by
the Board in respect of a dwelling-house in accordance with the
provisions of the Rent Restriction (Dwelling Houses) Ordinance;
"improvements" includes structural alterations, additions or
extensions and the provision of additional fixtures or fittings, but
does not include anything done by way of decoration or repair;
"increase in inflation" means the increase in inflation established
in the manner provided in article 13;
Cap.116.
2
Cap. 110.
CAP. 158.]
H O US I N G ( D E C O N T R O L )
"Land Valuation Officer" means the officer appointed by the
Prime Minister as Land Valuation Officer for the purpose of the
Developed Land (Valuation) Ordinance;
"lessor" includes any person deriving title under the original
lessor;
"letting" or "lease" includes (a) any emphyteutical or sub-emphyteutical grant for a
period not exceeding sixteen years;
(b) notwithstanding any stipulation to the contrary, any
agreement in pursuance of which any person has been
accommodated
in
consideration
of
payment
periodically recurrent in any dwelling-house; and
(c) any other agreement whereby any real or personal
right on any dwelling-house, which right includes that
of occupation of that dwelling-house, is granted under
an onerous or commutative title for a period of time,
whether such time is established by fixing a certain
specified day or whether it can be established by
reference to a certain or to an uncertain future event;
"owner" used with reference to a dwelling-house means the
person or any of the persons entitled to that dwelling-house in
absolute ownership, emphyteusis, sub-emphyteusis, or usufruct:
*
Provided that in article 3(d) and, for the purpose of and in
relation to that paragraph, in any other provision of this Ordinance,
"owner" used with reference to a dwelling-house means the person
or any of the persons entitled to that dwelling-house in absolute
ownership or in perpetual emphyteusis or sub-emphyteusis or in
usufruct, but, in the last mentioned case, only if on the termination
of the usufruct the bare owner becomes entitled to that dwellinghouse in absolute ownership or in perpetual emphyteusis or subemphyteusis;
"prescribed" means prescribed by regulations under article 15;
"rental period" means a period in respect of which a payment for
rent falls to be made;
*This proviso was added by Act XXXVII of 1973 which contained the following
provisions:
"4. (1) Subject to the provisions of sub-article (2) of this article nothing in this Act
shall affect any registration validly made by the Land Valuation Officer under article 3
of the principal law before the coming into force of this Act.
(2) Notwithstanding any provision of the principal law, any registration as a
decontrolled dwelling house made by the Land Valuation Officer under the principal
law before the coming into force of this Act shall be without effect, and any house so
registered shall be deemed not to be and never to have been a decontrolled dwelling
house, if such registration was made after the issue of a requisition order under the
Housing Act in respect of such house and if (a) the house is one specified in paragraph (d) of article 3 of the principal law;
or
(b) in the case of any other house, a person has been accommodated therein or
has otherwise remained in occupation thereof before the coming into
force of this Act,
and in any such case any such house shall be deemed to have always remained a
requisitioned house."
H O U S I N G ( DE C O N T R O L )
[CAP. 158.
"the Rent Ordinances" means the Reletting of Urban Property
(Regulation) Ordinance and the Rent Restriction (Dwelling
Houses) Ordinance;
3
Cap. 69.
Cap. 116.
"repairs" means those repairs which the lessor is bound to carry
out at his expense;
"tenant" means also:
(a)
in the case of a dwelling-house:
(i)
that person who has been recognised as a
tenant in accordance with any law validly applicable
before the 1st June 2021;
(ii)
the widow or widower of a tenant:
Provided that the widow or the widower
shall not have the right to be considered a tenant if he did
not inhabit the dwelling-house for four (4) out of the last
five (5) years prior to the 1st June, 2008 and, in the case
of this sub-paragraph did not continue living with the
tenant until the date of his death;
(iii) the siblings of the tenant who have
continued the lease in solidum together with him:
Provided that the siblings shall not have
the right to be considered as tenants if they did not
inhabit the dwelling-house for four (4) out of the last
five (5) years prior to the 1st June, 2008, and, in the case
of this sub-paragraph did not continue living with the
tenant until the date of his death:
Provided that following the coming into force of
the Controlled Residential Leases Reform Act, 2021, no
person who has not yet been recognised as the tenant of a
dwelling-house up to that date shall qualify as a tenant of a
dwelling-house in terms of this definition, except for those who
qualify in accordance with sub-paragraphs (ii) and (iii):
Provided further that persons who do not qualify
under sub-paragraphs (i), (ii) and (iii) and have lived in the
dwelling-house for four (4) out of the last five (5) years before
the 1st June, 2008, and have continued to live with the tenant
until the date of the demise of the tenant shall continue
occupying the dwelling-house for a period of five (5) years
from the date of death of the tenant, and at the end of which
period they shall vacate said dwelling-house. The compensation
for the occupation of the dwelling-house that shall be payable
to the lessor during the aforementioned period shall be equal to
the highest rent amount that may have been payable by the
Act No. XXIV of
2021
4
CAP. 158.]
H O US I N G ( D E C O N T R O L )
tenant:
Provided further that following the death of the
tenant the lessor may file an application in accordance with the
provisions of article 12B and if these persons who do not
qualify under sub-paragraphs (i), (ii) and (iii) do not satisfy the
income and capital assets criteria of the means-test, the Board
shall make a decision in terms of sub-article (4) of article 12B;
(b)
any sub-tenant in relation to the tenant;.
"war damage payment" means a cost of works payment as
defined in the War Damage Ordinance. *
Registration of
decontrolled
dwelling-houses.
Amended by:
XXIX. 1965.2;
XXVIII. 1988.8.
3.
Subject to the provisions of article 6, the Land Valuation
Officer, on the application of an owner made in such manner as
may be prescribed, shall register as a decontrolled dwelling-house
any dwelling-house which (a) is not completed or ready for use as a dwelling-house
on the appointed day; or
(b) although completed or ready for use as a dwellinghouse on the appointed day, has not been occupied as a
dwelling-house on or before that day; or
(c) is completed or ready for use after the appointed day
by the making of the structural alterations converting
one or more dwelling-houses into a larger number of
dwelling-houses; or
(d) was on the first day of March, 1959, occupied by an
owner as his ordinary residence and has continued to
be so occupied up to and including the appointed day;
or
(e) was acquired under a scheme as is referred to in the
Home Ownership (Encouragement) Act, and in respect
of which the right to register as a decontrolled
dwelling-house has been granted as an incentive in
accordance with that Act; or
Cap. 328.
(f)
Appeals from
decisions of Land
Valuation Officer.
Amended by:
L.N. 148 of 1975.
is on the date of the application, occupied by the
owner as his ordinary residence and has been so
occupied by him, under any title, throughout the
period of ten years immediately preceding the date of
the application. For the purpose of this paragraph the
expression "ordinary residence" does not include a
summer residence.
4. (1) Any person aggrieved by an order of the Land
Valuation Officer refusing to register a dwelling-house as a
decontrolled dwelling-house may appeal to the Board.
(2)
The Land Valuation Officer shall in every case be made a
*The War Damage Ordinance (Ordinance No.III of 1943) was repealed by the War
Damage (Repeal) Act (Cap. 289).
H O U S I N G ( DE C O N T R O L )
[CAP. 158.
5
respondent in the appeal.
(3) No appeal shall lie from the decision of the Board except on
a point of law determined by the Board.
(4) An appeal under sub-article (3) shall be brought before the
Court of Appeal.
(5) Appeals under sub-article (1) or under sub-article (3) shall
be made in such manner and within such time and subject to such
other rules of procedure as may be prescribed.
5. (1) Subject to the following provisions of this article and
of article 6, the provisions of the Rent Ordinances shall not apply to
any decontrolled dwelling-house from the day on which the house
is registered in accordance with the provisions of article 3.
(2) Where on the expiration of the lease of a decontrolled
dwelling-house (whether such period be conventional, legal,
customary or otherwise) the tenant is a citizen of Malta and
occupies the house as his ordinary residence, the provisions of subarticle (3) shall have effect and the provisions of the Reletting of
Urban Property (Regulation) Ordinance shall also apply but only in
so far as they are not inconsistent with the said provisions of this
article.
(3)
The provisions referred to in sub-article (2) are:
(a) It shall not be lawful for the lessor of the dwellinghouse to refuse to renew the lease except in any of the
circumstances set out in paragraph (b), nor shall it be
lawful for him to raise the rent, or to impose new
conditions for the renewal of the lease, except as
provided in paragraphs (c) and (d).
(b) The lessor may only refuse to renew the lease, and
may only resume possession of the house, at the
termination of the lease, if he shows to the satisfaction
of the Board, on an application to resume possession,
that in the course of the lease, the tenant has failed to
pay the rent due by him in respect of two or more
terms within fifteen days from the day on which the
lessor called upon him for payment, or has caused
considerable damage to the house, or otherwise failed
to comply with the conditions of the lease or his
obligations thereunder, or has used the premises for a
purpose other than mainly as his ordinary residence.
(c) The rent payable under the same lease after the date of
the first renewal of the lease made by virtue of this
sub-article may be increased by the lessor, upon such
renewal and after the lapse of every fifteenth year
thereafter during the continuance of the lease in favour
of the same tenant, by so much of the rent payable
immediately before such renewal or before the
commencement of each subsequent fifteen year period,
being an amount not exceeding the said rent, as
represents in proportion to such rent the increase in
Decontrolled
premises and the
Rent Ordinances.
Amended by:
XXIX. 1965.2.
Substituted by:
XXIII. 1979.3.
Amended by:
XVIII. 2004.115.
Cap. 69.
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CAP. 158.]
H O US I N G ( D E C O N T R O L )
inflation since the year the rent to be increased was
last established.
(d) Where, on or before the date of any renewal of the
lease of the dwelling-house, the lessor files in the
Registry of the Board, a certificate, signed by a
qualified architect and civil engineer and which is
either accepted as correct by the tenant or has been so
declared by the Board on an application by the lessor
requesting such a declaration, showing that the house
is in good state of maintenance and repair, all repairs
and all maintenance of the dwelling-house shall
thereafter, and throughout the continuance of the lease
in favour of the same tenant, be at the charge of the
tenant.
(4) The following provisions of this sub-article shall also have
effect with respect to all leases of decontrolled dwelling-houses
where the tenant is a citizen of Malta. The said provisions are:
(a) Where the lease of a decontrolled dwelling-house has
been renewed as provided in sub-article (3) or under
article 12(3), or has been established under sub-article
(2) of the said article, it shall not be lawful for the
lessor of any such house to require from any citizen of
Malta, under a lease made thereafter, a rent higher than
the amount which would have been payable by way of
rent if the tenant in whose favour the lease was first so
renewed or established had remained the tenant of that
house; and any amount paid in excess shall be
recoverable from the lessor.
(b) It shall not be lawful for the lessor to require the
payment of a rent which is subject to variation at any
time prior to the expiration of the lease, whether the
variation is due to an increase or a decrease of such
rent; and where the lease of a decontrolled dwellinghouse is made subject to such a variation the rent
payable in respect thereof shall notwithstanding the
agreement to the contrary, be the lowest rate payable
for any part of the duration of the lease, and any
amount paid in excess shall be recoverable from the
lessor.
(c) It shall not be lawful for the lessor to impose a
condition requiring the repairs of the dwelling-house
to be at the charge of the tenant unless the lease is in
writing and a certificate as is mentioned in sub-article
(3)(d) is attached to the instrument of lease.
(d) Where the dwelling-house is leased furnished (i)
if the lease is made before the 2lst June, 1979,
the tenant shall be entitled, at any time not
earlier than one year after the said date, to
demand that, with effect from the expiration of
six months after the date of such demand, the
H O U S I N G ( DE C O N T R O L )
[CAP. 158.
7
lease shall remain only in respect of the building
and that he shall pay only such part of the rent as
relates to the building as may be agreed between
himself and the lessor, or, failing such
agreement, as the Board may on application by
either of them establish;
(ii) if the lease is made after the date aforesaid, the
lease shall distinguish between the part of the
rent agreed in respect of the house and the part
of the rent agreed in respect of the furniture and
other household articles; and the tenant shall be
entitled, at any time not earlier than one year
from the date he first occupies the house under
the lease, to demand the dissolution of the lease
of the furniture and other household articles, and
with effect from the expiration of six months
after the date of the demand to have such lease
dissolved and to pay only the rent agreed in
respect of the house;
(iii) (deleted by: XVIII. 2004.115.);
(iv)
the rights given by the foregoing provisions of
this paragraph shall also be competent, mutatis
mutandis, in respect of a transaction relating to
furniture or other household articles where such
transaction is so connected with the lease of a
decontrolled dwelling-house to which this subarticle applies that the said lease would not have
been contracted unless the said transaction had
also taken place.
(5) Subject to any agreement entered into prior to 21st June,
1979, and without prejudice to the rights to which a tenant may
become entitled under this article after that date, the provisions of
sub-articles (2) and (3) shall apply even though the expiration of
the lease has taken place before that date if the tenant still occupies
the house as his ordinary residence on that date.
6. (1) The Land Valuation Officer shall not register as a
decontrolled dwelling-house under this Ordinance any dwelling
house specified in article 3(a), (b) or (c) if funds are or have been
provided by a war damage payment or by a Government grant
towards its construction or towards the structural alterations
referred to in article 3(c) or if the land on which it is constructed
was given on its emphyteusis or sub-emphyteusis by the
Government after the 6th December, 1972, unless in the deed of
emphyteusis or sub-emphyteusis it is declared that this provision
shall not apply to buildings to be constructed on the land granted by
that deed.
Exceptions.
Amended by:
XXIX. 1965.2;
XLVIII. 1972.2;
XXXVII. 1973.3.
*
(2) Where a house specified in article 3(d) is requisitioned
under the provisions of the Housing Act and is not, at the time of
*sub-articles (2) and (3) were added by Act XXXVII of 1973 which contained the
provisions as shown in the foot-note to article 2 of this Ordinance.
Cap. 125.
8
CAP. 158.]
H O US I N G ( D E C O N T R O L )
the issue of the requisition order, registered as a decontrolled
dwelling-house under this Ordinance, the Land Valuation Officer
shall not register that house as a decontrolled dwelling-house if the
appropriate application for the registration of such house as a
decontrolled dwelling-house is not made within fifteen days from
the service of a notice, given by the Housing Secretary to any of the
owners entitled to apply for the registration aforesaid, informing
such owner of the issue of the requisition order and reproducing the
provisions of this sub-article, or if such application, although made
within the period aforesaid, is not pursued with due diligence.
*(3) Any registration made by the Land Valuation Officer in any
case to which article 3 does not apply, or in any case in which he is
by this article directed not to make, shall be without effect and such
house shall, notwithstanding any other provision of this Ordinance,
be deemed not to be and never to have been a decontrolled
dwelling-house.
(4) Where a dwelling-house specified in article 3 is subject to a
letting on the appointed day, the registration thereof under that
article shall have effect, for the purposes of article 5, only from the
day on which the owner becomes entitled to the vacant possession
of such dwelling-house upon the determination of that letting.
Prohibition of
premiums to
continue as
respects dwellinghouses otherwise
decontrolled.
Amended by:
XXIX. 1965.2;
XXIII. 1979.4.
Cap. 69.
Cap. 116.
7.
As respects grant, renewal or continuance at any time
during the period of three years beginning with the appointed day
or at any time after 20th June, 1979, a letting of a dwelling-house to
which any of the provisions of the Rent Ordinances do not apply by
reason only of the preceding provisions of this Ordinance shall be
treated as one to which article 8 of the Rent Restriction (Dwelling
Houses) Ordinance (which article prohibits the requiring of
premiums on the grant, renewal or continuance of a letting of any
dwelling-house) applies.
Penalty for
misrepresentation.
Amended by:
XXIX. 1965.2;
XIII. 1983.5;
L.N. 410 of 2007.
8. (1) Any person who, in connection with an application
u n d e r th i s Or d i n a n c e f o r r e g i s t r a t i o n o f a n y p r e m i s e s as a
decontrolled dwelling-house, knowingly or recklessly makes any
statement or gives any information which is false in any material
particular, shall be liable on conviction to a fine (multa) not
exceeding one hundred and sixteen euro and forty-seven cents
(116.47) or to imprisonment for a term not exceeding three months.
(2) Where a person is convicted of an offence under sub-article
(1) any registration of a decontrolled dwelling-house obtained by
means of a false statement or false information shall be null and
void, and the court pronouncing the conviction shall order its
cancellation.
Exclusion of
decontrolled
dwelling-house
from the operation
of the Housing
Act.
Amended by:
XXIX. 1965.2.
Cap. 125.
9.
The Housing Act shall not apply to any house which is
registered as a decontrolled dwelling-house in accordance with the
provisions of this Ordinance.
H O U S I N G ( DE C O N T R O L )
[CAP. 158.
10. (1) Notwithstanding anything to the contrary in articles 3,
4, 5 and 7 of the Reletting of Urban Property (Regulation)
Ordinance and in articles 2, 4, 5 and 6 of the Rent Restriction
(Dwelling Houses) Ordinance, if any improvements are carried out
by the lessor, after the appointed day, to a dwelling-house which
has not been registered as a decontrolled dwelling-house, the fair
rent of such dwelling-house shall be increased by the Board, on the
application of the lessor to that effect, by an amount, hereinafter in
this article referred to as "the appropriate increase", corresponding
to six per cent, per annum of any amount up to one thousand and
one hundred and sixty-four euroeuro and sixty-nine cents
(1,164.69) expended by the lessor on the improvements, as proven
to the satisfaction of the Board, or, in default, as assessed, if
necessary after an inspection of the dwelling-house, by the Board.
Increase of the fair
rent of controlled
dwelling-houses in
respect of
improvements.
Amended by:
XIII. 1983.5;
L.N. 410 of 2007.
Cap. 69.
Cap. 116.
(2) An application for the appropriate increase under subarticle (1) shall not be allowed by the Board unless the tenant and
any sub-tenant have agreed in writing, prior to the application, to
the carrying out of the improvements and to the payment of the
appropriate increase.
(3) An application under sub-article (1) shall, on pain of
nullity (a) be accompanied by (i)
the written agreement or agreements referred to
in sub-article (2); and
(ii) a certified copy of the determination of the fair
rent of the dwelling-house by the Board, if any,
and, where more than one determination of such
fair rent has been made, a certified copy of the
latest of such determinations, and
(b) contain a demand for the appropriate increase stating
the grounds therefor:
Provided that the Board may, at any time, allow the application
to be amended for the purpose of making it clearer.
(4) Where the fair rent of the dwelling-house has not been
determined by the Board, an application for the appropriate
increase under sub-article (1) shall be allowed by the Board only if
the lessor, in the same application, demands also the determination
of the fair rent.
(5) In computing the amount expended by the lessor on the
improvements, the Board shall not take into account any idle
capital, any interest on loans, and any amount which has been paid
or may at any time become payable to the lessor, in respect of such
improvements by way of grant by the Government.
(6) Any increase of the fair rent approved by the Board under
sub-article (1) shall take effect from the first rental period
beginning after the completion of the improvements.
(7) The provisions of articles 19 to 24, 28, 29, 32 to 37 and 39
to 43 of the Reletting of Urban Property (Regulation) Ordinance
9
Cap. 69.
10
CAP. 158.]
HOUSING (DECONTROL)
shall apply to any proceedings under sub-article (1).
Repairs in
dwelling-houses
not decontrolled.
Added by:
XXIII. 1979.5.
Temporary
emphyteusis of
dwelling-houses.
Added by:
XXIII. 1979.5.
Amended by:
XXXVII. 1986.3;
XVIII. 2007.2;
V. 2010.16;
XXVII.2018.3.
Cap. 16.
11.
(Repealed by Act V. 2010.15.).
12. (1) Notwithstanding anything contained in the Civil Code
or in any other enactment the following provisions of this article
and of articles 12A and 12B shall have effect with respect to all
contracts of temporary emphyteusis made at any time.
(2) Where a dwelling-house has been granted on temporary
emphyteusis (a) for a period not exceeding thirty years, if the contract
was made before 2lst June, 1979, or
(b) for any period, if the contract is made on or after the
date aforesaid,
and on the expiration of any such emphyteusis the emphyteuta is a
citizen of Malta and occupies the house as his ordinary residence,
the emphyteuta shall be entitled to continue in occupation of the
house under a lease from the directus dominus (i)
at a rent equal to the ground-rent payable
immediately before the expiration of the
emphyteusis increased, at the beginning of the
lease of the house by virtue of this article, and
after the lapse of every fifteenth year thereafter
during the continuance of the lease in favour of
the same tenant, by so much of the ground-rent
payable immediately before such commencement or the commencement of each subsequent
fifteen year period, being an amount not
exceeding such ground-rent, as represents in
proportion to such ground-rent the increase in
inflation since the time the ground-rent to be
increased was last established; and
(ia) subject to the conditions laid down in subarticle
5(3)(b); and
(ii) under such other conditions as may be agreed
between them, or failing agreement, as the
Board may deem appropriate.
Cap. 69.
(3) Where on the expiration of an emphyteusis as is mentioned
in sub-article (2)(a) or (b) the dwelling-house is subject to a lease,
the provisions of the Reletting of Urban Property (Regulation)
Ordinance, shall not apply in respect of such lease:
Provided that where the tenant under the said lease is a
citizen of Malta and occupies the house as his ordinary residence he
shall, on the termination of the lease, be entitled to continue in
occupation of the house under a new lease from the directus
dominus at the same rent and under the same conditions as are
mentioned in sub-article (2)(i) and (ii) in respect of the emphyteuta.
H O U S I N G ( DE C O N T R O L )
[CAP. 158.
(4) On the expiration of a temporary emphyteusis of a dwelling
house occupied by a citizen of Malta as his ordinary residence at
the time of such expiration, not being an emphyteusis mentioned in
sub-article (2)(a) or (b), the emphyteuta shall be entitled to convert
the emphyteusis into a perpetual one under the same conditions of
the temporary emphyteusis with the exception of those relating to
the duration and the ground-rent. The ground-rent payable with
effect from the conversion of the emphyteusis into a perpetual one
and until fifteen years from that date shall be equal to six times the
ground-rent payable immediately before such conversion, and shall
thereafter be increased every fifteen years by so much of the then
current ground-rent, being an amount not exceeding such rent, as
represents in proportion thereto the increase in inflation since the
time the said ground-rent was last established.
(5) If the emphyteuta does not exercise the right granted to him
by sub-article (4) within six months from the date such right is
exercisable, such right shall, with the necessary modifications, pass
to the occupier of the house who shall be entitled to demand, to the
exclusion of the emphyteuta, that the dwelling-house be granted to
him by the owner in perpetual emphyteusis under the same
conditions as could have applied if the emphyteuta had converted
the emphyteusis into a perpetual one.
(6) Where the emphyteuta or the occupier is entitled to convert
a temporary emphyteusis into a perpetual one under sub-article (4)
or (5), he may require that a notarial deed be entered into to this
effect, and the dominus or the owner shall comply with such
request.
(7) Where the date of expiration of the emphyteusis is a date
prior to 21st June, 1979, the foregoing provisions of this article
shall apply only if the emphyteuta or the tenant, as the case may be,
still occupies the house as his ordinary residence on that date and
shall not apply if he so occupies the house under an agreement
entered into by him after the expiration of the emphyteusis.
(8) Where, in the case of an emphyteusis mentioned in subarticle (2)(a) and expiring after the 21st June, 1979, the emphyteuta
or the tenant occupying the house as his ordinary residence on the
expiration of the emphyteusis is a person different from the person
occupying the house as his ordinary residence on 21st June, 1979,
the provisions of sub-article (2) or (3), as the case may be, shall
apply only (a) if (i)
the person occupying the house on the date
aforesaid continued in occupation of the house
as his ordinary residence until his death; and
(ii) the person occupying the house as his ordinary
residence on the expiration of the emphyteusis
resided with the emphyteuta at the time of his
death and had then all the other qualifications to
be treated as a tenant for the purposes of this
article; or
11
12
CAP. 158.]
HOUSING (DECONTROL)
(b) if (i)
the person occupying the house as his ordinary
residence on the date aforesaid derived the title
under which he so occupied the house from the
emphyteuta occupying the house as his ordinary
residence on the expiration of the emphyteusis
or, if the emphyteuta from whom the said title
was derived dies before the expiration of the
emphyteusis, from the emphyteuta whose heir
occupies the house as his ordinary residence on
the expiration of the emphyteusis; and
(ii) until the expiration of the emphyteusis, no
person other than the person aforesaid and the
said emphyteuta, or his heir, and members of
their family living with them, occupied the
house in any manner whatsoever; and
(iii) not later than 30th September, 1979, notice is
given in writing to the Housing Authority of the
title under which the house is occupied on 21st
June, 1979, stating the nature of that title, the
expected duration thereof and the name of the
person occupying the house under that title.
(9)
For the purposes of this article (a) in respect of an emphyteusis mentioned in sub-article
(2)(a) or (b), emphyteusis includes a sub-emphyteusis;
(b) in respect of any other emphyteusis, emphyteusis
means the original emphyteusis, but where, on the
expiration of such emphyteusis, the dwelling house is
held on sub-emphyteusis (i)
the rights given by this article to the emphyteuta
shall be exercisable by the last sub-emphyteuta
and, without prejudice to the rights given to the
occupier by sub-article (5), only by him;
(ii) the directus dominus means only the person
entitled to receive the original ground-rent;
(iii) the ground-rent means only the original ground
rent:
Provided that where the ground-rent payable by the last
sub-emphyteuta exceeds six times the original ground-rent, subarticle (4) shall have effect as if for the words "shall be equal to six
times the ground-rent" there were substituted the words "shall be
equal to the sub-ground-rent".
(10) Where on the expiration of a temporary emphyteusis to
which sub-article (2) or (3) applies, the dwelling-house is occupied
by a person by title of usufruct or habitation, the right to continue
in occupation of such dwelling-house conferred by those subarticles or by sub-article (7) shall, notwithstanding those
provisions, be competent to such occupier as if he were the
H O U S I N G ( DE C O N T R O L )
[CAP. 158.
13
emphyteuta or the tenant of the dwelling-house, as the case may
require.
(11) Where a temporary emphyteusis is converted into a
perpetual one under sub-article (4), the dwelling-house shall
remain subject to the rights enjoyed by third parties over such
house immediately before such conversion.
(12) Where any of the rights conferred by this article is
exercisable by more than one person such right may be exercised
notwithstanding any disagreement among them but only if not less
than half the number of such persons agree to exercise such right;
and in any such case it shall operate only in favour of those
exercising it.
12A. (1) This article shall apply:
(a) on the expiration of a temporary emphyteusis of subemphyteusis (hereinafter in this article referred to as
"the most recent emphyteusis or sub-emphyteusis")
which is not one the effects of the termination of
which are regulated by article 12(2)(a) or (b) or by
article 12(4) or 12(5);
(b) of a dwelling house which at the time of the expiration
of the most recent emphyteusis or sub-emphyteusis:
(i)
is occupied by a citizen of Malta as his ordinary
residence; and
(ii) is subject to another emphyteusis or subemphyteusis (hereinafter in this article referred
to as "the preceding emphyteusis or
subemphyteusis")
whether
perpetual
or
temporary.
(2) On the expiration of the most recent emphyteusis or subemphyteusis the emphyteuta or the sub-emphyteuta who satisfies
the requirements of subarticle (1)(b)(i) shall be entitled to continue
in occupation of the dwelling house under a lease from the person
holding the preceding emphyteusis or sub-emphyteusis at the same
rent and under the same conditions applicable according to article
12(2)(i), (ia) and (ii) which shall apply mutatis mutandis.
(3) On the expiration of the preceding emphyteusis or subemphyteusis the lease mentioned in subarticle (2) shall remain in
force for the same rent and under the same conditions as mentioned
in subarticle (2) between the tenant and the person who from time
to time would, were it not for the tenancy, be entitled to the vacant
possession of the house.
(4) The provisions of this article shall also apply in all cases
where although the most recent emphyteusis or sub-emphyteusis
shall have expired before the 1st July 2007 the person who was the
emphyteuta or the sub-emphyteuta in the most recent emphyteusis
or sub-emphyteusis still occupies the house as his ordinary
residence on the said date.
(5)
When on the expiration of the most recent emphyteusis or
Dwelling-houses
subject to more
than one emphyteusis.
Added by:
XVIII. 2007.3.
Amended by:
V. 2010.17.
14
CAP. 158.]
HOUSING (DECONTROL)
sub-emphyteusis the dwelling house is subject to a lease the
provisions of article 12(3) shall apply mutatis mutandis.
(6) The rights given by this article to the emphyteuta and to the
sub-emphyteuta of the most recent emphyteusis or sub-emphyteusis
shall, where the said emphyteuta or sub-emphyteuta shall have died
before the 1st July 2007, be exercisable by the person who resided
with the said emphyteuta or sub-emphyteuta at the time of his death
and had at that time all the other qualifications to be treated as a
tenant for the purposes of article 12.
(7) Where in the case of a most recent emphyteusis or subemphyteusis which expires after the 1st July 2007 the emphyteuta,
the sub-emphyteuta or the tenant occupying the house as his
ordinary residence on the expiration of the most recent emphyteusis
or sub-emphyteusis is a person different from the person occupying
the house as his ordinary residence on the 1st July 2007 the
provisions of this article shall apply only in the cases mentioned in
article 12(8)(a) and (b) which paragraphs shall apply mutatis
mutandis to the emphyteusis and the sub-emphyteusis regulated by
this article, provided however that references to the "21st June
1979" are to be read and construed as references to the "1st July
2007", references to "the emphyteusis" are to be read and construed
as references to "the most recent emphyteusis or sub-emphyteusis"
and references to "the emphyteuta" shall be read and construed
accordingly, and the reference to the "30th September 1979" shall
be read and construed as a reference to the "31st December 2007".
Continuation of a
lease of a
dwelling-house.
Added by:
XXVII.2018.4.
Substituted by:
XXIV.2021.21
12B. (1)
When a person is in occupation of a dwelling-house
on the basis of a title of lease, which may have also been established on
the basis of a preceding title of emphytheusis or sub-emphyteusis, which
commenced before 1 st June 1995 through the application of the
provisions of this Ordinance, the following conditions shall, provided
they are inconsistent with the provisions of the said articles of this
Ordinance, apply in respect of such lease from 1 st June 2021
notwithstanding the provisions of the said articles of this Ordinance or
of any other law.
(2)
The lessor shall be entitled to file an application before the
Board requesting that the rent be reviewed to an amount not exceeding
two percent (2%) per annum of the free and open market value of the
dwelling-house on 1st January of the year in which the application is
filed and in order to establish new conditions regarding the lease.
(3)
(a)
When the request is made by the lessor in accordance
with sub-article (2) and the leased tenement is a dwelling-house, the
Housing Authority shall be notified with the application and shall have
the right to participate fully as intervenor in the proceedings;
(b)
the tenant shall in any case be entitled to the
benefit of legal aid provided by the Housing Authority in
proceedings filed in terms of this article:
Provided that this shall not prejudice the rights of
H O U S I N G ( DE C O N T R O L )
[CAP. 158.
the lessor who shall be entitled to the benefit of legal aid
provided by the Legal Aid Agency in proceedings filed in terms
of this article if he is not in full-time gainful employment;
(c)
at the initial stages of the proceedings the Board
shall conduct a means test of the tenant, which shall be based on
the means test provided for in the Continuation of Tenancies
(Means Testing Criteria) Regulations issued under article
1622A of the Civil Code and any regulations that may from time
to time replace them. The means test shall be based on the
income of the tenant between the 1st January and the 31st
December of the year preceding the year in which the
proceedings are commenced and the capital of the tenant on the
31st December of the said year. The means test shall be
conducted with particular reference, inter alia, to regulations 4 to
8 of the Continuation of Tenancies (Means Testing Criteria)
Regulations which shall apply mutatis mutandis:
Provided that when the lessor has the suspicion
that the tenant may have transferred his property, both movable
or immovable, with the intention of hiding these assets, he shall
have the right to request that the means test on the capital assets
shall go back to the 1st January 2021 and when it is established
that the tenant has disposed of these assets for malicious
purposes, the Board shall nonetheless take them into
consideration in its means test.
(4)
Where the tenant does not meet the income and capital
criteria of the means test the Board shall, after hearing any evidence and
submissions produced by the parties, give judgement allowing the tenant
a period of two (2) years to vacate the dwelling-house. The
compensation for occupation of the dwelling-house payable to the lessor
during the said period shall be determined by the Board as the case may
be.
(5)
Where the tenant meets the income and capital criteria of the
means test the Board shall proceed according to the following subarticles.
(6)
The Board, in any case, after summarily hearing the parties
and examining any evidence which it considers relevant, may also order
that an increased amount of rent be paid during the hearing of a pending
application filed in terms of sub-article (1).
(7)
When the rent amount is established in accordance with subarticle (2), that rent may increase according to the regulations published
by the Minister responsible for housing from time to time:
Provided that the demand for this increase shall be without
prejudice to the lessor’s right to request the revision of the rent in
accordance with sub-article (2), after a period of six (6) years from when
S.L. 16.11.
Cap. 16.
S.L. 16.11.
15
16
CAP. 158.]
HOUSING (DECONTROL)
the new rent would have been fixed in accordance with the same subarticle (2), unless an agreement is reached between the parties.
(8)
The lessor may, whenever it transpires that the economic
circumstances of the tenant have changed, file a new application before
the Board wherein he requests that a new means test of the tenant is
conducted according to paragraph (c) of sub-article (3) and if the tenant
does not satisfy the income and capital assets criteria of the means test,
the Board shall decide the case in terms of sub-article (4).
(9)
The provisions of this article shall also apply to cases wherein
a community of property on the dwelling-house exists and the tenant is a
co-owner of the same dwelling-house. When this is the case the Board
shall consider the tenant’s share in the leased dwelling-house and
subtract any part of the new rental amount payable by him to the other
co-owners proportionally.
(10) The provisions of this article shall also apply in every case
when the lessor has commenced proceedings with the aim of requesting
an increase in the rent under this law, as was applicable before the 1st
June 2021.
Cases in which
application for
resuming
possession of the
dwelling-house
may be granted.
Added by:
XXIV.2021.22
12C. The Board shall allow the lessor to resume possession of the
dwelling house if the lessor requires the dwelling-house for his own
residence or for that of any of his ascendants or descendants, whether
by consanguinity or affinity, and the Board is satisfied that the tenant
has alternative accommodation, holding it in title of ownership which
is reasonably suitable to the means of the tenant and his family as
regards size and state of repair and proximity to his place of work (if
he is employed):
Provided that the Board shall also consider properties of the
tenant which despite being in the possession or detention of third
parties, may be recovered by the tenant within a short period of time:
Provided further that the Board shall also consider
properties, the use of which would have been granted to third parties
under any other title including lease for the malicious purpose of
evading the effects of this article:
Provided further that this article shall not be applicable
where the tenant is sixty-five (65) years of age or older:
Provided further that this article shall be without prejudice
to the lessor’s right to obtain the termination of the lease in the case
that the tenant does not meet the income and capital criteria of the
means test mentioned under article 12B.
Penalty in case of
simulation or
fraud.
Added by:
XXIV.2021.23.
12D. Where the lessor has resumed possession of the dwellinghouse under the provisions of article 12C and it is proved that there has
been simulation or fraud, the lessor shall be bound to pay, in lieu of
damages, to the tenant who has quitted the dwelling-house a penalty
H O U S I N G ( DE C O N T R O L )
[CAP. 158.
17
not exceeding ten thousand euro (€10,000) to be fixed by the Board.
13. (1) The index of inflation for each of the years from 1947
until 1978 shall be that shown in the Schedule to this Ordinance,
taking 1946 as a basis at 100 points.
Index of inflation.
Added by:
XXIII. 1979.5.
(2) The index of inflation for each year after 1978 shall be
established by the Principal Government Statistician as percentage
points for each of such years in continuation of the Schedule
aforesaid and on the basis of the all items retail price index, or a
similar index replacing it, and shall be published by him in the
Gazette not later than the end of March immediately following the
year to which the index refers.
(3) An increase in inflation shall be established by taking the
difference between the percentage points for the two relevant years,
as shown in the Schedule or as published in the Gazette, as a
proportion of the first of such years.
14. Clauses that bind the tenant to conditions which are
significantly less advantageous than those provided in this Ordinance,
whether such clauses have been stipulated prior to the 1st June 2021 or
afterwards, shall be considered null and void.
Clauses which are
significantly less
advantageous to
the tenant.
Added by:
XXIII. 1979.5.
Substituted by:
XXIV.2021.24.
15. The Minister responsible for the Public Registry may make
regulations with respect to -
Regulations for
compilation and
inspection of
register of
decontrolled
dwelling-houses.
Amended by:
L.N. 4 of 1963;
XXXI.1966.2;
L.N. 148 of 1975;
IX.2000.6.
(a) the duties, powers and functions of the Land Valuation
Officer in connection with the compilation of a
register of decontrolled dwelling-houses, which may,
without prejudice to the generality of the foregoing,
include the power to demand the production of any
books or other documents relating to the premises in
respect of which an application for registration is made
and to enter and inspect the premises;
(b) the delegation by the Land Valuation Officer of any
such duties, powers and functions;
(c) the procedure and fees payable for registration;
(d) the particulars required to be noted in the register;
(e) the procedure relating to appeals from decisions of the
Land Valuation Officer to the Board and from
decisions of the Board on such appeals to the Court of
Appeal;
(f)
registry fees and fees payable to any advocate or legal
procurator in connection with such appeals as are
referred to in the last preceding paragraph;
(g) the inspection of the register, the taking of notes
therefrom, the issue of certificates of registration and
the fees payable therefor;
(h) generally for carrying the purposes of this Ordinance
into effect.
18
CAP. 158.]
Operativeness of
this Ordinance.
Added by:
XXXI.1995.4.
HOUSING (DECONTROL)
*
16. (1) The provisions of article 5(2) to (5), article 7, article
10 and article 11, shall not apply to the lease of any dwelling house
entered into on or after the 1st June, 1995.
(2)
For the purposes of sub-article (1) (a) the renewal of a lease on or after the 1st June, 1995
(whether such renewal be conventional, legal,
customary or otherwise) shall not be deemed to be a
lease entered into on or after the 1st June, 1995;
(b) the continued occupation of a dwelling house under a
lease from the directus dominus at the expiration of a
temporary emphyteutical concession expiring on or
after the 1st June, 1995 in terms of article 12 shall not
be deemed to be a lease entered into on or after the 1st
June, 1995.
(3) The provisions of article 12 shall not apply to any contract
of temporary emphyteusis entered into on or after the 1st June,
1995.
Transfer of
documents from
the Board to the
Housing Authority.
Added by:
XXIV.2021.25.
Cap. 586.
Registration of
agreements
between the party
and decisions of
the Board before
the 1st June 2021.
Added by:
XXIV.2021.26.
17.
For the purposes of the provision of the benefit applicable to
tenants who satisfy the means test criteria contemplated in article 12B,
the Board shall send a copy of all the documentation gathered by it for
the purposes of said means test and the Housing Authority shall have
the right to retain this information for the purpose of research:
Provided that the Board and the Housing Authority shall in any
case effect such transfers of information in full conformity with the
provisions of the Data Protection Act and any regulations issued under
the auspices of that Act from time to time.
18.
(1)
All parties to a lease agreement, which is on the basis
of a title of lease, which may have also been established on the basis of
a preceding title of emphytheusis or sub-emphyteusis, which was
entered into after 1st June 1995, although originating from a controlled
private residential lease relationship, may register an agreement by
providing evidence of a contract:
Provided that the registration of a lease agreement according
to this sub-article shall not prejudice the right of the lessor to file an
application in terms of article 12B whenever the rights emanating from
this Ordinance exceed those stipulated by the agreement.
(2) Any party to a decision of the Board, even if such decision is
appealed, wherein the lessor was given the permission to increase the
*Article 5 of Act XXXI of 1995 inter alia provides:
5. Nothing in article 16 of the Housing (Decontrol) Ordinance shall be deemed to
restrict any of the powers of the Director of Social Housing under the Housing Act,
(Cap. 125) and the provisions of the Ordinance as in force immediately before the
coming into force of this Act (1st June 1995) shall, in as far as applicable, continue to
apply with regard to the relationship between the said Director and any owner of
premises in possession of the said Director on that date, or between the said Director
and any person legally in occupation of such premises. The provisions of the said
Ordinance as aforesaid shall also continue to regulate the relationship between any
person in occupation of such premises and the owner thereof.
[CAP. 158.
H O U S I N G ( DE C O N T R O L )
19
rent amount of the controlled residential lease by virtue of the law as
applicable between April of 2018 and May of 2021, may register the
agreement in terms of the provisions of sub-article (1).
SCHEDULE
ARTICLE 13(1)
Index of inflation for the years from 1947 until 2010
1946
100.0
1979
316.21
1947
104.9
1980
366.06
1948
113.9
1981
408.16
1949
109.7
1981
408.16
1950
116.9
1982
431.83
1951
130.1
1983
428.06
1952
140.3
1984
426.18
1953
139.1
1985
425.17
1954
141.2
1986
433.67
1955
138.8
1987
435.47
1956
142.0
1988
439.62
1957
145.7
1989
433.39
1958
148.3
1990
456.61
1959
151.1
1991
468.21
1960
158.8
1992
475.89
1961
164.84
1993
495.60
1962
165.16
1994
516.06
1963
168.18
1995
536.61
1964
172.00
1996
549.95
1965
174.70
1997
567.95*
1966
175.65
1998
580.61
1967
176.76
1999
593.00
1968
180.42
2000
607.07
1969
184.71
2001
624.85
1970
191.55
2002
638.54
1971
196.00
2003
646.84
1972
202.52
2004
664.88
Added by:
XXIII.1979.6.
Amended by:
L.N. 18 of 1984;
L.N. 2 of 1985;
L.N. 4 of 1986;
L.N. 10 of 1987;
L.N. 20 of 1988;
L.N. 26 of 1989:
L.N. 31 of 1990;
L.N.31 of 1991;
L.N. 29 of 1992;
L.N. 46 of 1993;
L.N. 36 of 1994;
L.N. 29 of 1995;
L.N. 25 of 1996;
L.N. 29 of 1997;
L.N. 76 of 1998;
L.N. 64 of 1999;
L.N. 31 of 2000;
L.N. 30 of 2001;
L.N. 46 of 2002;
L.N. 73 of 2003;
L.N. 90 of 2004;
L.N. 32 of 2005;
L.N. 30 of 2006;
L.N. 36 of 2007;
L.N. 83 of 2008;
L.N. 50 of 2009;
L.N. 184 of 2010;
L.N. 188 of 2011;
L.N. 70 of 2012;
L.N. 55 of 2012;
L.N. 76 of 2015;
L.N. 129 of 2016.
20
CAP. 158.]
HOUSING (DECONTROL)
1973
218.26
2005
684.88
1974
234.16
2006
703.88
1975
254.77
2007
712.68
1976
256.20
2008
743.05
1977
281.84
2009
758.58
1978
295.14
2010
770.07
*Note: In November 1998 the index of inflation for the year 1997 was revised to 567.08
following a revision of the water and electricity rates.
ARTICLE 13(2)
Increase of inflation for the years after 1978
1979
316.21
(L.N. 10 of 1980)
1980
366.06
(L.N. 14 of 1981)
1981
408.16
(L.N. 15 of 1982)
1982
431.83
(L.N. 16 of 1983)
1983
428.06
(L.N. 18 of 1984)
1984
426.18
(L.N. 2 of 1985)
1985
425.17
(L.N. 4 of 1986)
1986
433.67
(L.N. 10 of 1987)
1987
435.47
(L.N. 20 of 1988)
1988
439.62
(L.N. 26 of 1989)
1989
443.39
(L.N. 31 of 1990)
1990
456.61
(L.N. 31 of 1991)
1991
468.21
(L.N. 29 of 1992)
1992
475.89
(L.N. 46 of 1993)
1993
495.60
(L.N. 36 of 1994)
1994
516.06
(L.N. 29 of 1995)
1995
536.61
(L.N. 25 of 1996)
1996
549.95
(L.N. 29 of 1997)
1997
567.95
(L.N. 76 of 1998)
1998
580.61
(L.N. 64 of 1999)
1999
593.00
(L.N. 31 of 2000)
2000
607.07
(L.N. 30 of 2001)
H O U S I N G ( DE C O N T R O L )
2001
624.85
(L.N. 46 of 2002)
2002
638.54
(L.N. 73 of 2003)
2003
646.84
(L.N. 90 of 2004)
2004
664.88
(L.N. 32 of 2005)
2005
684.88
(L.N. 30 of 2006)
2006
703.88
(L.N. 36 of 2007)
2007
712.68
(L.N. 83 of 2008)
2008
743.05
(L.N. 50 of 2009)
2009
758.58
(L.N. 184 of 2010)
2010
770.07
(L.N. 188 of 2011)
2011
791.02
(L.N. 70 of 2012)
2012
810.16
(L.N. 55 of 2013)
2013
821.34
(L.N. 88 of 2014)
2014
823.89
(L.N. 76 of 2015)
2015
832.95
(L.N. 129 of 2016)
2016
838.29
(L.N. 79 of 2017)
2017
849.77
(L.N. 54 of 2018)
2018
859.63
(L.N. 29 of 2019)
2019
873.73
(L.N. 30 of 2020)
2020
879.32
(L.N. 67 of 2021)
2021
892.51
(L.N. 63 of 2022)
2022
947.40
(L.N. 38 of 2023)
2023
995.62
(L.N. 29 of 2024)
2024
1012.05
(L.N. 35 of 2025)
2025
1035.93
(L.N. 36 of 2026)
[CAP. 158.
21
AI explanation based on the official legal text. Indicative, not a substitute for legal advice.