Recently, Legal Notice 370 of 2020 had been published, entitled “Modification to, or Removal of, a Condition or Conditions imposed in a Contract of a Property Transferred by the Government, the Lands Authority or Ecclesiastical Entities through a Sale or Emphyteusis Regulations, 2020”.
This Legal Notice should apply to any person who has a title of purchase by virtue of a public deed, or emphyteusis on property that would have been passed to the applicant by the Government or the Authority, or by an Ecclesiastical Entity (that subsequently passed the title to the Government), who may, save as provided in the other provisions of this Legal Notice, ask the Authority to modify or remove a condition/s, imposed in the original contract.
This Legal Notice should apply only in case where the condition/s imposed in the original contract limited the amount of residences and, or garages, that could be built and where the applicant is requesting an increase in the amount of residences/garages that could have been built under the original contract.
There are three eligibility criteria:
- That the applicant is an EU citizen;
- That the applicant is recognised by the Lands Authority as an owner or emphyteuta of the land or building, as the case may be;
- In the case of an emphyteusis, prove that there were no arrears payments of ground rent due to the Authority on the property in respect of which the application in being submitted pursuant to this Legal Notice.
The value of the modification/removal of condition in the original contract of sale or emphyteusis should be established by a perit/i appointed by the Lands Authority, which estimate shall be in line with article 79 of the Government Lands Act. Any modification to, or removal of, a condition/s, in the original contract should be made by a public contract, following the approval of the Board of Governors of the Lands Authority and in accordance with the conditions imposed by the Board.
