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Maltese Laws |
RENT RESTRICTION
(DWELLING HOUSES) ORDINANCE
To restrict the rent of dwelling houses, and to make certain provisions in respect of the letting thereof.
(2nd October, 1944)*
ORDINANCE XVI of 1944, as amended by Ordinance XXIX of 1947; Acts: V of 1947, I of 1957; Emergency Ordinance XIV of 1958; Ordinances: VI of 1959 and XXV of 1962; Legal Notices: 4 of 1963 and 46 of 1965; Acts: XXII of 1976, XI of 1977, XIII of 1983, VIII of 1990 and XXXI of 1995; and Legal Notice 409 of 2007.
(Dwelling Houses) Ordinance.
"agricultu ral land" does not in clude the garden of a house or building, or land within the precincts of a house or building;
"Board " means t he Board consti tuted under the Reletting of Urban Property (Regulation) Or dinance. For the purposes of this Ordinance the Board shall have the same powers and shall proceed in accordance with the same ru les of
procedure, so far as applicable, as are provided in the said Ordinance;
"dwe lli ng ho use" mea n s a bu ild in g, a part of a bui ld ing separately let, or a room separately let, which is let
mainly as a dwelling or place of residence, and includes land occupied with the premises under the tenancy, but does not include
a building, part of a building or room when let with agricultural land;
"fair rent" means -
(i) in respect of an old house, the rent which might reasonably be expected in respect of an old house regard being
had to the average rents prevalent on the 31st March, 1939, as shown on the registers of the Land Valuation Office in
respect of comparable dwelling houses in the same or in comparable localities:
Provided that where, after the 31st March, 1939, structural alterations or additions in a house, whether old or new, have
been carried out which, in the opinion of the Board, have enhanced the rental value of the house and in respect
of which or, as the case may be, of a part of which, no compensation has been paid or is payable under the provisions of the War
Damage
Short title. Amended by: V. 1947.5.
Interpretation. Amended by: XXIX.1947.3; V.1947.2; I.1957.2; XXV. 1962.5;
L.N. 4 of 1963.
Cap. 69.
* See section 1 of the Ordinance, as originally enacted, part of which has been omitted u nder the Statute Law Revision Act , 1 980 , and Proclamation No. VII of 29th September, 1944.
Cap. 110.
Ordinance, 1943*, and no amount has been paid or is payable by way of a grant by the Government of Malta, the rent shall be increased
by an amount which, in the opinion of the Board, corresponds to the enhancement of the rental value and which shall in
no case exceed a return of three and one quarter per centum a year on the capital outlay on the alterations or additions (excluding any interest on loans or in respect of idle capital)
or, as the case may be, on the part thereof in respect of which compensation has not been paid and is
not payable under the provisions of the War Damage Ordinance, 1943*, and no amount has been paid or is payable by way of grant
by the Government of Malta, in every case as proven by the landlord to the satisfaction of the Board or, in default, as assessed
by the Board; and
(ii) in respect of a new house, a sum equivalent to a return of three per centum a year on the freehold value of the site and of three and one quarter per centum on the capital outlay on construction (excluding any sum which has been paid or is payable by way of a grant by the Government
of Malta and any interest on loans or in respect of idle capital) as proven by the landlord to the satisfaction of the
Board or, in default, as assessed by the Board:
Provided that where a payment under the War Damage Ordinance, 1943*, is made by or is due from the war damage account in respect
of a former building out of which or on the site of which a new house is erected in whole or in part, for the purpose of computing
the fair rent of that new house the return on that part of the capital outlay thus contributed by or due from the war damage account
shall in no case exceed one year ’s fair rent of the former building as on 31st March, 1939, or three and one quarter per centum for one year on that part of the capital outlay, whichever is the less;
(iii) in respect of a scheme house, an annual sum to be determined by agreement as provided in subsection (4) of section
5;
"landlord" includes any person deriving title under the original landlord;
"Land Valuation Officer" means the officer appointed as such by the Prime Minister fo r the purposes of the Developed Land
(Valuation) Ordinance;
"let" includes sub-let;
*Repealed by Act XXIX of 1980 (Chapter 289).
"new house" mean s any dwelling h ouse which, apart from fitting s, decor at i on and alterations, even if st ructural,
was not complete or ready for use on the 31st March, 1939;
"old house" means any dwelling house which, apart from fittings, decor atio n an d al ter ati ons, even if structural, was
complete or ready for use on the 31st March, 1939;
"scheme house" means a privately owned new dwelling house designed to be separately let towards the construction of which
the Government has made a grant under a house building scheme;
"te n ant" includes sub-te nant , and "te n ancy" inc l udes sub- tenancy.
the War Damage Ordinance, 1943*, or any addition to or alteration o f the st ructu r e o f a d w ell i ng h ouse shall not operate so as t o
change the old or new nature of the house, notwithstanding that the plan of the structure but not the nature and general dim ensions
thereof may have been materially altered.
(2) The fair rent of an old house is established definitely -
(a) by the Board under subsection (1) of section 5 or under section 6;
(b) by the effluxion of time as provided in subsection (1) (i) of section 5.
(3) The fair rent of an old house is established provisionally in the appropriate cases -
(a) by the Land Valuation Officer; or
(b) by the Accountant General or by one of the officers specified in subsection (5) of this section.
(4) On application accompanied by a fee of twelve cents (0.12), the Land Va luation Officer shall issue, in respect of any one
particular old house, a certificate stating what is the rent of that particular old house, finally accepted as such in the books
of the Land Valuation Office, and the rent so stated shall be deemed the provisional fair rent of that house.
(5) In the case of old dwelling houses the whole legal interest in which, other than any letting, is vested in the Government
of Malta, the fair rent shall be established provisionally at the rent of the particular dwelling house on the 31st March, 1939,
or at the rent of that particular dwelling house at any time within one month of that day, in each case as declared in writing by
the Accountant General. If that particular old dwelling house was not let on the
31st March, 1939, or within one month of that day then the fair rent shall be established only definitely by the Board.
Repair, rebuilding and alteration of a house or additions thereto, paid for under War Damage Ordinance, do not change its nature. Added by:
XXIX. 1947.4.
Fair rent. Amended by: I. 1957.3;
VI. 1959.3; XXII. 1976.4;
XIII. 1983.4,5; L.N. 409 of 2007.
*Repealed by Act XXIX of 1980 (Chapter 289).
(6) The fair rent of a new house may be established only definitely, only by the Board under subsection (2) of section
5.
(7) The fair rent of a scheme house may be established only definitely and only by agreement as provided in subsection (4) of section
5.
Renewals of tenancy and new tenancies. Amended by:
I. 1957.4; XIV. 1958.2;
XXV. 1962.5; XI. 1977.2;
XIII. 1983.5;
L.N. 409 of 2007.
(a) a dwelling house at a rent higher than or on conditions different to the rent and conditions at which that dwelling house
was let on the 31st March, 1939; or
(b) an old house which was not let on the 31st March,
1939 -
(i) the landlord and the tenant may come to an agreement concerning the rent and the conditions but they
may not agree that the rent shall exceed the provisionally established fair rent nor that the letting shall be on more onerous
conditions than those at which that dwelling house was let on the 31st March, 1939, or, in default of any such conditions,
on conditions more onerous than the ordinary conditions. During the twenty-eight working days following the day of the
agreement either the landlord or the tenant may apply to the Board for an adjustment of the rent or of the conditions
so agreed to and any adjustment thereupon made by the Board shall be retrospective to the initial day of the agreement, or, alternatively,
(ii) the landlord, before the commencement or renewal of the tenancy, may apply to the Board to fix the fair rent definitely.
(2) When the landlord intends to let a new house -
(i) the landlord and the tenant may come to a provisional agreement concerning the rent and the conditions, but so that
that agreement shall be made definite only by a decision of the Board on the application of either the landlord or the tenant,
which decision shall in every case have retrospective effect to the initial date of the agreement. It shall be an offence
for the landlord not to make such application within two months from the initial day of the agreement, unless the tenant will
have previously made the application. Alternatively,
(ii) the landlord, before the commencement of the tenancy, may apply to the Board to fix the fair rent definitely.
(3) In every case the applicant to the Board shall disclose the t e rm s and con d i tio ns o f t h e pro posed let tin g
and all the
circumstances which to his knowledge affect the fair rent of the dwelling house.
(4) Before a grant is made towards the construction of a schem e hou se o r sim u ltaneou sl y wit h th e makin g th
er eof an a g reement shall be entered into by means of a nota r ial dee d b e t w een th e Min i ster fo r th e time bein g i
n charge of th e Wa r Damag e Co mmissi on or some o t her person fro m t ime t o t ime delegated by him in that behalf and the
grantee, determining the fair rent of the proposed scheme house.
(5) In respect of a house whether old or new, repaired or rebuilt under or in view of a value payment as defined in the War Damage
Ordinance, 1943*, or repaired under a temporary works payment or
under a cost of works payment, each as defined in the War Damage Ordinance, 1943*, of which the landlord does not want to retain possessio
n for o ccupati on b y hi mself, t he last former tenant as defined in the Reletting of Urban Property (Regulation) Ordinance who held the last preceding letting of the house, shall be preferred in the new letting to any other tenant who is not any ascendant
or descendant related to the landlord by consanguinity or affinity or adoption or a brother or a sister of the landlord:
Provided that such house was not already let on the date of the enactment of this Ordinance, and provided further that, on notice
being given by the landlord to the last former tenant in accordance with the provisions of section 1597 or 1598 of the Civil Code, the last former tenant signifies his intention of availing himself of the right of preference granted by this subsection within
the time and in the manner set forth in section 1596 of the Civil Code.
(6) If any person infringes or fails to comply with the provisions of subsection (1) or (3) of this section, or
if a landlord commits the offence specified in subsection (2) (i), the offender shall be guilty of an offence against this Ordinance,
punishable as laid down in section 14 of this Ordinance, except that the minimum fine awardable shall be of ninety-three euro and
seventeen cents (93.17).
Cap. 69.
Cap. 16.
(i) the fair rent of the dwelling house has already been established by the Board; or
(ii) the provisional fair rent of an old house has been acquiesced in by the landlord and the tenant in accordance with subsection
(1) (i) of section 5 and the period agreed upon in the tenancy agreement is still current; or
(iii) proviso (i) of subsection (1) of section 7 is applicable.
Applications to the
Board.
Amended by:
I. 1957.5.
*Repealed by Act Act XXIX of 1980. (Chapter 289).
Excessive rents.
Amended by:
I. 1957.6.
Tenancy agreements with effect from 31st March, 1939, or from prior date.
Tenancy agreements with effect from 1st April, 1939, or from later date, made before enactment of this Ordinance.
Provided that:
(i) in the case of a dwelling house let at the commencement of this Ordinance under a tenancy agreement made
on or before the 31st March, 1939, or made bona fide after that date but with effect retrospective to that date or to a prior date, this subsection shall not operate to render irrecoverable
from the tenant or recoverable by the tenant or any person claiming through him, or deductible, any rent payable
under the tenancy agreement during the period of tenancy established by that agreement;
(ii) in the case of a dwelling house let at the commencement of this Ordinance under a tenancy agreement
made on or after the 1st April, 1939, but not so that it should bona fide have effect retrospective to a prior date, this subsection shall not operate to render irrecoverable from
the tenant or recoverable by the tenant or any person claiming through him, or deductible, any rent payable or paid under the tenancy
agreement up to the date of filing of the requisite application in the registry of the Board, but this limitation shall not in any
case apply to rent payable or paid in advance in respect of any period in excess of three months. The further payment of
rent shall be governed by the following subsection (2).
(2) When proviso (ii) of subsection (1) of section 7 applies, the rent which next falls due after an application has been filed
in the registry of the Board shall be the fair rent provisionally established under section 4; but if the Board makes any adjustment
thereof, such adjustment shall be retrospective to the day as from which that provisional fair rent became payable.
(3) If any landlord knowingly receives any rent which is by this Ordinance made irrecoverable by the landlord, he shall be guilty
of an offence against this Ordinance, and if a landlord is convicted of any such offence the court in which the conviction is obtained
may, without prejudice to any other right which the tenant may have to recover the rent overpaid, order the landlord to repay the
same with
interest from the day of the order.
(2) Any person after the commencement of this Ordinance requiring any payment or th e givi ng of any consideration in contravention of this section, shall be guilty of an offence against this Ordinance, and, if a person convicted of requiring or accepting any payment or any consideration as aforesaid has received such pa yment or consideration, the court in which the conviction is obtained may order him to repay to the person from whom it was received or to the heirs of that person, the amount or value of the same with interest from the day on which it was received.
Restriction on demand of premiums.
(2) Any tenant of a furnished dwelling house at his option may at any time apply to the Board to est a bl ish t h e fair rent
of th e furniture, provided that any adjustment of rent that may be decided upon by the Board shall not be effective except as from
the first due day of rent falling after the tenant’s application has been filed; and provided that the option so granted may not
be availed of more than once by the same tenant in respect of the same tenancy, whether as originally agreed upon or as renewed from
time to time.
(3) On such an application being made, the Board shall, in every c ase , appoint an appra is er to value the net proceeds
th at would probably accrue from a free sale at auction of the furniture. The appraiser ’s fee and outgoings shall be borne provisionally
by the tenant, over and above any fee that he may be required to pay under section 10.
(4) The Board shall fix the fair rent of the furniture at fifteen
per centum a year of the appraised value thereof:
Provided that in no case shall such fair rent of the furniture exceed -
Dwelling houses let furnished. Amended by: XXIX.1947.5; V.1947.3.
(i) in the case of an old house in which no structural alterations or additions not chargeable to the war damage account have
been effected after 31st March, 1939, the fair rent of the house as unfurnished, assessed in accordance with the
provisions of this Ordinance;
(ii) in the case of an old house in which structural alterations or additions not chargeable to the war
Cap. 69.
damage account have been effected after 31st March, 1939, the fair rent of the house as unfurnished increased by seven
per centum of the increase of rent, if any, which the Board under the provisions of this Ordinance may assess or have assessed in view
of those structural alterations or additions;
(iii) in the case of a new house the fair rent of the house as unfurnished assessed in accordance with the provisions of this
Ordinance increased by seven per centum:
Provided further that in assessing the rent of a furnished house the Boa r d, at the request of th e tenant and after hearing the
landlor d, may at its d i scretio n ord e r t h at for purpo ses of computation of the rent of the furniture no consideration shall
be taken of any one or more articles of furniture specified by it which are neither reasonably necessary to the furnishing of the
house nor in keeping, with regard to quality and to commercial value, with the greater part of the other articles of furniture in
the same house; and on such an order being made by the Board, the landlord shall have the option to remove from the house in question
at his own expense and at any reasonable hour of which he shall give not less than twenty-four hours’ notice in writing t o the
tenant the article or articles not taken into consider at ion in connect ion with the computation of the rent.
(5) Bearing in mind the extent to which the rent fixed under the provisions of this section approximates or otherwise to the rent
previously paid or agreed upon, the Board shall determine whether the fee and outgoings of the appraiser shall be borne finally by
the tenant or by the landlord or in specified proportions by both.
(6) The provisions of sections 3, 8, 9, 10, 11, 13, 15 and 27 and of subsection (2) of section 25 of the Reletting of Urban Property (Regulation) Ordinance shall appl y to dwelling houses let furnished.
Fees on filing. Amended by: XXIX. 1947.6; XIII. 1983.4,5; L.N. 409 of 2007. Cap. 69.
Cap.12. Brokerage.
Added by:
XXIX. 1947.7.
10. The provisions contained in section 29 of the Reletting of U r ba n Pro p e r ty (R eg u l a t i o n) Ord i na nc e shall appl y t o an application filed either by the land lo rd or by th e tenant, but in every case of a dwelling house let furnished
the registry fee on filing the application shall be of three euro and forty-nine cents (3.49) where the rent of the dwelling house
let furnished does not exceed eleven euro and sixty-five cents (11.65) a month or of four euro and sixty-six cents (4.66) where the
rent of the dwelling house
let furnished exceeds eleven euro and sixty-five cents (11.65) a month, and in eithe r cas e there shall be pa id in addition
the
transport fees for the service of the application, in accordance with the appropriate Tariffs annexed to the Code of Orga ni zation and
Civil Procedure.
(2) Any agreement whereby a person, under any title, directly or indirectly, agrees to pay by way of brokerage any sum of money
or other consideration in excess of the sum assessed under the provisions of the last preceding subsection shall be null and void
in respect of such excess.
(3) Any person who, whether knowingly or by mistake, pays any such excess shall be entitled to claim the refund of such excess
notwithstanding any agreement, any undertaking or any other law to the contrary.
(4) An action under subsection (3) of this section shall be barred by the lapse of five years from the date when the payment
was made.
14. (1) Any person who shall be guilty of an offence against this Ordinance shall be liable to a fine (multa) of from forty-six euro and fifty-nine cents (46.59) to four hundred and sixty-five euro and eighty-seven cents (465.87), or to
imprisonment for not
l ong er th an t h ree mon t hs, or t o bot h su ch fi ne and such imprisonment:
Provided that the courts shall not apply the penalty of imprisonment, otherwise than on failure to pay a fine, until after
the dat e of a resolut i on to that ef fect passed by t h e H ouse of Representatives in respect of offences committed thereafter.
(2) Where the offence is committed by a company, association of persons or any other corporate body, each person who, at the time
of the commission of the offence, was a director or officer of such company, association or corporate body, shall be deemed to be
g u il ty o f th at of fence unl ess he p r oves th at the o f fen c e was com mitt ed with out h i s k nowledg e or that he exercised
al l due diligence to prevent the commission of the offence.
Limitation of claims by tenant.
Registration of deed or grant. Added by: I.1957.7. Amended by: XIV. 1958.2; XXV. 1962.5.
General penalty. Amended by: L.N. 46 of 1965; XIII. 1983.5;
L.N. 409 of 2007.
Jurisdiction and limitation of prosecution. Amended by. XXII. 1976.4; XI. 1977.2;
VIII. 1990.3.
Cap. 9.
Effect of
Ordinance.
Cap. 69.
Operativeness of this Ordinance. Added by: XXXI.1995.3.
15. (1) Any offence against this Ordinance shall be triable by the Court of Magistrates in accordance with the provisions of the Criminal Code:
Provided that the prosecutor shall have a right of appeal to the Court of Criminal Appeal in each of the cases set out in section
413 of the Criminal Code and also whenever in his opinion the sentence containing a conviction is not adequate.
(2) Whenever the chairman of the Board sees reason to believe that an offence against this Ordinance has been committed by any
party to proceedings before the Board, he shall thereupon cause the suspected offence to be reported to the Commissioner of Police.
(3) Proceedings in respect of an offence against this Ordinance may be commenced at any time within two years from the day when
the offence was committed.
16. The provisions of this Ordinance shall be in addition to and, except where inconsistent therewith, not in derogation of the pr ov
is io ns o f th e Relet t i n g of U r b a n Pr op ert y ( R eg ul ati o n) Ordinance.
*17. (1) The foregoing provisions of this Ordinance shall not apply to the lease of any dwelling house entered into on or after the
1st June, 1995.
(2) For the purposes of this section - (a) lease includes a sublease; and
(b) 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.
*Section 5 of Act XXXI of 1995 inter alia provides:
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.
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