            AGRICULTURAL LEASES (RELETTING)  [ CAP. 199.        1
CHAPTER 199 
AGRICULTURAL LEASES (RELETTING) ACT 
To regulate the reletting of agricultural land and to provide for matters
connected therewith and ancillary thereto.
20th June, 1967
ACT XVI of 1967 as amended by Acts: XXVIII of 1969, IX of 1972, V of
1973, LVIII of 1974, V of 1975; Legal Notice 148 of 1975; and Acts: XIX of
1979, XIII of 1983, VIII of 1990, XIX of 1993, XXIV of 1995, VI of 2001
and XXXI of 2002.
Short title.
Act.
Interpretation.
"agricultural land" means any land which is mainly let for the
growing of crops, flowers, fruit-trees or vines and for cognate
agricultural purposes, including the erection of glasshouses,
cloches or cold frames, but does not include grazing grounds;
"assignee of the lease" includes a sub-tenant and, where there is
neither a person to whom the lease has been assigned nor a sub-
tenant, the person who is in the actual enjoyment of the lease by the
tenant’s express or tacit consent, and "assignment" shall be
construed accordingly;
"Board" means the Rural Leases Control Board established under
article 5;
"conditions" includes the rent payable in respect of a lease; 
"date of termination" means the last day on which the period of
the lease whose conditions the lessor proposes to change or which
the lessor does not intend to renew expires;
"lease" means a lease for an agreed total period not exceeding
sixteen years for a rent in money or other consideration payable
yearly in one or more instalments and includes a lease tacitly
renewed from year to year or renewed by a decision of the Board
under this Act, but does not include either an emphyteusis or an
agreement of lease in virtue of which the produce is to be
apportioned between the lessor and the tenant; it also includes
"sub-lease" in relation to sub-lessor and sub-tenant;
"lessor" includes a sub-lessor in relation to a sub-tenant; 
"Malta" means the Island of Malta and the Islands of Gozo and
Comino;
"member of the family" means a lineal ascendant, a lineal
descendant, a widow or a widower, a son-in-law, and a widowed
daughter-in-law while not remarried, of the tenant;
"tenant" includes any member of the family who is an assignee of
the lease and, after the tenant’s death, where there is no such
member, it includes in order of preference any member of the
  2       CAP. 199. ]          AGRICULTURAL LEASES (RELETTING) 
family who is a legatee of the lease or who, during the last year
immediately preceding the tenant’s death, was living with the
tenant or has been working the agricultural land with him or for
him or is the tenant’s heir; it includes also, in relation to a sub-
lessor, a sub-tenant, which expression shall be deemed in such
relation to have the same meaning as tenant in its full extent.
Change of 
conditions of lease.
Amended by: 
IX. 1972.2.
3. (1) Subject to the provisions of this Act, where a lessor
desires to make any change in the conditions of a lease on the
expiration of its term, unless an agreement in writing is reached
with the tenant, he shall apply to the Board by means of an
application containing in detail the proposed changes, filed not
later than three months before the date on which the term expires.
(2) The Board shall not approve any new conditions contained
in any application if it is proved that -
( a ) such new conditions would be justified only in view of
improvements of a permanent character carried out in
the agricultural land, during the period of eight years
immediately preceding the date of termination, by the
tenant himself or by a member of the family, without
their having been under any obligation to effect those
improvements; or
( b ) such new conditions would be justified only in view of
improvements of a permanent character carried out in
the agricultural land by the use of funds provided by
the Government or on behalf of the Government in the
form of a grant or in any other form which, subject to
compliance with the conditions governing the
provision of such funds, does not involve repayment;
or
( c ) such new conditions would not be equitable by
comparison with conditions of lease prevailing in
comparable fields in the same part of the Island,
having regard principally to the average quality and
depth of the soil, the nature of the subsoil, the
direction in which sloping agricultural land is facing,
the accessibility to the road and its distance from the
closest village.
(3) The Board may, instead of rejecting the new conditions
proposed by the lessor, modify and approve them to the extent
justified by the application of the provisions contained in
paragraphs   ( a ), ( b )   and   ( c ) of the last preceding subarticle:
Provided that in no case shall such conditions be less
favourable to the lessor than those of the last preceding lease.
Non-renewal of 
lease.  
Amended by:
XXVIII. 1969.2;
IX. 1972.3.
4. (1) Subject to the provisions of this Act, where a lessor
desires to resume possession of any agricultural land, unless the
tenant has agreed in writing both as regards the termination and as
regards the compensation due, he shall apply to the Board by means
of an application containing -
( a ) detailed grounds for such termination, and
            AGRICULTURAL LEASES (RELETTING)  [ CAP. 199.        3
( b ) a demand for the liquidation of any compensation
payable under the provisions of this article,
and filed not later than three months before the date on which the
current lease terminates:
Provided that, where any such lease does not terminate on
the 15th day of August of any year, no decision approving such
resumption of possession shall be carried into effect before the 15th
day of August following the date of the termination of the lease
then current.
(2) The Board shall allow the lessor’s application if the lessor
proves that - 
( a ) he requires the agricultural land to be used for
agricultural purposes by himself personally or by any
member of the family personally for a period of not
less than four consecutive years starting immediately
following the date of termination; or
( b ) he requires the agricultural land, provided it is not
irrigable land, for the construction thereon of buildings
for dwelling, business or industrial purposes; or
( c ) the agricultural land was sublet or the lease thereof
transferred without the consent of the lessor to any
person other than a co-tenant thereof or a member of
the family; or
( d ) during the two years immediately preceding the date of
termination, the field was allowed to lie fallow for at
least twelve consecutive calendar months; or
( e ) during the two years immediately preceding the date of
termination, the tenant has failed, in respect of two or
more terms, to pay the rent, on each occasion, within
fifteen days from the day on which the lessor has
called upon him in writing for payment; or
( f ) during the two years immediately preceding the date of
termination, the tenant, being bound to repair and
maintain the walls of the agricultural land, failed to
fulfil such obligation or habitually disregarded any
other conditions of the lease or deliberately or through
negligence caused or allowed to be caused damage,
other than damage of small importance, to any fruit-
trees in the agricultural land:
Provided that the circumstance mentioned under paragraph
( a ) shall not be a sufficient reason to allow the lessor’s application,
if the tenant proves that the agricultural land in question is an
important source of his and his family’s livelihood and if the Board
is satisfied that the tenant would suffer a greater hardship than the
lessor were the application to be allowed:
Provided further that, where the agricultural land includes a
farmhouse which is used by the tenant as his and his family’s sole
place of residence, the circumstance mentioned under paragraph ( b )
shall not be a sufficient reason to allow the lessor’s application
  4       CAP. 199. ]          AGRICULTURAL LEASES (RELETTING) 
unless the tenant is allowed to retain possession of such farmhouse
at the rent and under conditions to be established by the Board or is
provided by the lessor alternative accommodation reasonably
suitable to his means and the means of his family and to their needs
as regards extent.
(3) Where only part of the agricultural land is required for any
of the purposes mentioned in subarticle (2)( a )   or ( b ) and the area of
the remaining part of such land exceeds 1124 square metres, the
tenant may ask the Board and the Board shall order that the lease be
renewed in respect of such remaining part of the agricultural land,
under such conditions as the Board, having regard to the conditions
of the last preceding lease, may deem fair to establish.
(4) Where the lessor resumes possession of agricultural land or
a part thereof by virtue of a decision of the Board based on
subarticle (2( a )), he shall pay to the tenant a fair compensation in
respect of any agricultural improvement carried out by the tenant or
by a member of the family in the said agricultural land or part
thereof during the period of eight consecutive years immediately
preceding the date of termination.
(5) Where the lessor resumes possession of the agricultural
land or a part thereof by virtue of a decision of the Board based on
subarticle (2)( b ), he shall pay to the tenant a fair compensation as
provided in the last preceding subarticle and, in addition, an
amount equal to the value of the products gathered by the tenant or
by a member of the family from the said agricultural land or part
thereof, after deduction of the expenses incurred towards its
cultivation, in the last four years immediately preceding the date of
termination:
Provided that there shall not be deducted as part of such
expenses the cost of the tenant’s own labour or of the labour of any
member of the family in the agricultural land or part thereof.
(6) The amount payable under the provision of subarticle (4) or
(5) shall be determined by the Board, subject to an appeal as is
provided under article 10. Such amount shall be paid to the tenant
within one month from the date on which the decision awarding
resumption of possession becomes final in all its parts. In default of
such payment within such time the said decision shall be of no
effect whatsoever.
(7) If the tenant retakes possession of any agricultural land or a
part thereof by virtue of a decision of the Board under article 13, he
shall pay back to the lessor any amount received in respect of the
agricultural land or part thereof in terms of subarticle (4) or (5).
Constitution of the 
Board and 
appointment of two 
Panels. 
Amended by:
IX. 1972.4;
V. 1973.2;
LVIII. 1974.68.
Substituted by:
XIX. 1993.2.
5. (1) There shall be a Board to be known as the Rural Leases
Control Board.
(2) The Board shall consist of a chairman who shall be a
magistrate or a person who has practised as an advocate in Malta
for a period of, or periods amounting in the aggregate to, not less
than seven years, appointed by the Prime Minister.
(3) The Prime Minister may appoint several magistrates or
            AGRICULTURAL LEASES (RELETTING)  [ CAP. 199.        5
persons qualified as in subarticle (2) hereof to sit on the Board, but
only one magistrate or other person qualified as aforesaid shall sit
as chairman in any one case.
Cap. 44.
(4) The Prime Minister shall also appoint two panels as
follows:
 ( a ) a panel of Architects and Civil Engineers from among
persons who hold the warrant to practise as Architect
and Civil Engineer according to the provisions of the
Architects Ordinance and who have practised that
profession in Malta for not less than seven years; and
( b ) a panel of persons (in the public service or otherwise)
who are competent and knowledgeable in agricultural
matters.
Cap. 12.
(5) The chairman or any member of the panels may abstain or
may be challenged by any of the contending parties for any of the
causes mentioned in article 739 of the Code of Organisation and
Civil Procedure and any question arising in regard to or in
connection with any cause of challenge or abstention shall be
decided by the chairman.
(6) ( a )  Where the chairman is not a magistrate he shall not
enter upon the duties of his office unless he has taken and
subscribed before the Attorney General an oath to exercise his
functions and to examine and decide any matter referred to him
with equity and impartiality.
( b ) The members of the panels shall not enter upon the
duties of their office unless they have taken and subscribed an oath
before the chairman to exercise their functions under this Act with
impartiality and in accordance with the law.
(7) The members of the panels shall be appointed for a period
of two years and may be re-appointed.
(8) Whenever a question arises before the Board requiring the
valuation of any agricultural land or any other technical opinion in
connection with any case before the Board, the chairman shall
assign one member from each panel to examine the agricultural
land in question or to take cognizance of the record of the case
relative to the matter in which the technical opinion is requested,
and such two members shall present their report to the chairman
during the sitting or file the said report in the Registry of the Board
as the chairman may direct.
(9) The chairman may also require the said two members to
attend the sitting of the Board when that case is being considered
by the Board if any of the said two members require additional
information from the parties or need to hear any particular
witnesses.
Power of the 
Board. 
Amended by: 
L.N. 148 of 1975. 
Cap. 12.
6. (1) The Board shall have all such powers as are by the
Code of Organization and Civil Procedure vested in the Civil
Court, First Hall.
(2) Any warrant or order issued by the Board shall be signed by
  6       CAP. 199. ]          AGRICULTURAL LEASES (RELETTING) 
the chairman and certified by the registrar.
(3) The enforcement of the decisions of the Board, in the
manner prescribed in the Code of Organization and Civil
Procedure, shall vest in the Board itself.
Registry of the 
Board and place 
where sittings are 
to be held.
Amended by: 
VIII. 1990.3.
7. (1) In regard to any proceedings which concern land
situated in the Island of Malta, the Board shall hold its sittings in
the Superior Courts of Malta and the registry of those courts shall
be the Registry of the Board.
(2) In regard to any proceedings which concern land situated in
the Island of Gozo or Comino, the Board shall hold its sittings in
the Court of Magistrates (Gozo) and the registry of that court shall
be the Registry of the Board.
Appearance before 
Board.
8. The parties may appear before the Board in person or
through an advocate or legal procurator and may be assisted by an
advocate or legal procurator.
Decisions of the 
Board. 
Amended by: 
XIX. 1993.2.
9. (1) The decisions of the Board shall be delivered in open
court.
(2) Repealed by article 2 of Act XIX of 1993.
(3) The chairman shall only be bound by the reports of the two
members of the two panels assigned to a particular case in
accordance with article 5(8) whenever their reports are unanimous;
where unanimity is not reached by the said two members, the
chairman shall on the basis of the reports submitted by the said two
members, decide the matter himself.
Right of appeal. 
Amended by: 
IX. 1972.5; 
L.N. 148 of 1975;
XIX. 1993.2;
XXXI. 2002.259.
10. (1) There shall only lie appeal from a decision of the
Board -
( a ) in all cases where the decision is given on an
application made under article 4 or under article 25;
( b ) in all other cases, on a point of law only.
Cap. 12.
(2) The appeal shall be brought before the Court of Appeal as
constituted in terms of article 41(6) of the Code of Organization
and Civil Procedure by means of an application filed in the registry
of that court within twenty days from the day on which the decision
of the Board is delivered.
(3) The Board established under article 29 of the Code of
Organization and Civil Procedure may make rules concerning
appeals to the Court of Appeal under this article.
Service of judicial 
letter and 
proceedings before 
the Board. 
Amended by: 
IX. 1972.6.
11. (1) Any application as is referred to under articles 3 and 4
shall be filed against and served on the tenant from whom the lessor
has last received the rent before the application was filed in the
Registry of the Board or, in the case of an assignment which has
been notified in writing by the tenant to the lessor before the filing
of the application, shall be filed against and served on the assignee.
(2) The Board may at any time allow any amendment to be
made in the application which is intended to make it clearer.
(3) If the applicant personally or through an advocate or legal
            AGRICULTURAL LEASES (RELETTING)  [ CAP. 199.        7
procurator fails to appear at the hearing of the application, the
Board, unless it is satisfied that there is a good reason for such
default, shall dismiss the application and order the costs to be borne
by the applicant:
Provided that the applicant may, within ten days of such
decision, apply to the Board for a re-hearing of his application and
the Board shall grant such application if he justifies his default to
the satisfaction of the Board.
Costs of 
proceedings before 
the Board.
12. The costs of the proceedings before the Board shall be
borne by the parties or by any of the parties as the Board may
direct.
New trial.  
Amended by: 
L.N. 148 of 1975;
XIII. 1983.5.
13. (1) Any party to proceedings held under the provisions of
this Act may, by application, ask the Board for, and the Board shall
grant, a new trial if - 
( a ) the applicant proves to the satisfaction of the Board
that its decision in the proceedings has been
determined by a misrepresentation of facts or a false
statement made by the other party to the proceedings;
or
( b ) the applicant proves to the satisfaction of the Board
that the lessor, having resumed possession of the
agricultural land or part thereof by virtue of a decision
of the Board based on paragraph of article 4(2)( a ) or
( b ), has failed to apply it to the purpose which had
determined the Board’s decision.
(2) If the Board reverses the decision which has formed the
object of a new trial, the party in whose favour such decision has
been reversed shall have an action before the Civil Court, First
Hall, for the recovery of damages from the other party and for the
payment by such other party of a penalty to be fixed by the court in
a sum not exceeding five hundred liri:
Provided that where the lessor, by disposing of the
agricultural land or otherwise, has placed himself in a position
which makes him unable to conform with the Board’s decision in
the new trial, the said penalty shall not be less than two hundred
liri.
Cap. 12.
(3) The Board shall also grant a new trial in any of the cases
referred to in article 811 of the Code of Organization and Civil
Procedure, but the provision of the last preceding subarticle shall
not apply except in regard to a case falling under the provision of
article 811( a ).
(4) A new trial may not be demanded in respect of a case in
which the decision is subject to appeal in accordance with article
10 and where the facts constituting the ground for such new trial
have come to the knowledge of the party alleging them before the
expiration of the time prescribed for appeal.
  8       CAP. 199. ]          AGRICULTURAL LEASES (RELETTING) 
Clause or condition 
depriving the 
tenant of any 
benefit conferred 
by the Act.
14. Any clause or condition depriving the tenant of any benefit
conferred by this Act, whether such clause or condition has been
stipulated prior to the commencement of this Act or after such
commencement, shall be null and void.
Provisions as to 
language. 
Cap. 189.
15. The provisions of articles 2, 4, 5, 6 and 7 of the Judicial
Proceedings (Use of English Language) Act shall apply in regard to
any judicial act filed for the purposes of this Act and to any
proceedings of the Board, and any reference in any of those
provisions to the court shall be construed as a reference to the
Board.
Benefit of legal 
aid. 
Substituted by: 
IX. 1972.7.
Amended by:
XXIV. 1995.360.
Cap. 12.
16. The provisions of the Code of Organization and Civil
Procedure relating to the benefit of legal aid shall apply to parties
to proceedings before the Board, being persons entitled to such
benefit within the meaning of those provisions.
Fees due to the 
members of the 
panels. 
Added by:
V. 1975.2. 
Amended by:
XIX. 1979.2; 
XIII. 1983.5.
Substituted by:
XIX. 1993.2.
Amended by:
VI. 2001.11.
17. The Minister responsible for justice may by notice
prescribe the fees payable to the chairman and the members of the
two panels.
Expenditure in 
connection with 
the administration 
of the Board.
Substituted by:
XIX. 1993.2.
18. The expenses in connection with the administration of the
Board, including the fees payable in accordance with regulations
made under article 17, shall be paid out of the Consolidated Fund
without the necessity of any further appropriation.
Regulations.
Amended by:
VI. 2001.11.
19. (1) The Minister responsible for justice may make
regulations governing the proceedings of the Board and, without
prejudice to the generality of the foregoing, may make regulations-
( a ) prescribing the contents of an application to the Board
and the procedure for the service thereof on the party
having an interest to oppose the application;
( b ) prescribing the procedure for the fixing by the Board
of the date of hearing of an application and for the
giving notice of such date to the parties concerned;
( c ) prescribing the payments, including the payment of a
registry fee to be fixed by the said Minister, which are
to be made with the filing of an application to the
Board;
( d ) prescribing what part of the registry fee is to be
refunded if an application is abandoned and the
procedure of refund;
( e ) prescribing the fee payable to an advocate or legal
procurator for an application to the Board and enabling
the Board to fix, within limits established by the said
Minister, the fee payable to an advocate or legal
procurator in respect of proceedings before the Board;
            AGRICULTURAL LEASES (RELETTING)  [ CAP. 199.        9
( f ) prescribing any other matter that may be necessary for
the better carrying out of the functions of the Board:
Cap. 12.
Provided that until fees are prescribed in terms of
paragraphs ( c ), ( d ) or ( e ), the fees established in Schedule A to the
Code of Organization and Civil Procedure shall apply.
(2) Any regulations made under this article shall be laid before
the House of Representatives as soon as may be after they are
made, and if, within the next twenty days beginning with the day on
which such regulations are so laid before it, the House of
Representatives resolves that the regulations be annulled, they shall
henceforth be void, but without prejudice to anything previously
done thereunder or the making of any new regulations:
Provided that there shall not be included in the computation
of the said twenty days any period of four or more consecutive days
intervening between any two consecutive sittings of the House of
Representatives.
Non-renewal of 
lease of 
agricultural land 
belonging to or 
administered by 
the Government.
Added by: 
XXVIII. 1969.4.
Amended by:
LVIII. 1974.68.
20. Notwithstanding the provisions of article 4 and the
provisions of any other law, the Government may on the expiration
of a lease resume possession of agricultural land belonging to or
administered by the Government in respect of which a declaration
has been made by the President of Malta that it is required for a
public purpose.
Declaration by 
President of Malta.
Added by: 
XXVIII. 1969.4.
Amended by:
LVIII. 1974.68.
21. (1) The President of Malta may by declaration signed by
him declare any agricultural land belonging to or administered by
the Government to be required for a public purpose.
(2) No person shall require any proof of the public purpose
referred to in subarticle (1) other than the declaration of the
President of Malta.
(3) The Commissioner of Land may deal with and dispose of
land in respect of which a declaration has been made under
subarticle (1) in such manner and subject to such conditions as he
considers expedient having regard to the public interest or utility.
Manner in which 
the Commissioner 
of Land may 
prevent renewal of 
a lease. 
Added by: 
XXVIII. 1969.4.
Amended by:
LVIII. 1974.68;
L.N. 148 of 1975. 
22. (1) Whenever the President of Malta makes a declaration
in accordance with the last preceding article, the Commissioner of
Land may prevent the renewal of the lease of the land in respect of
which such declaration has been made by causing a copy of the
declaration, together with the particulars sufficient for the purpose
of identifying the land and with an indication of the lease which the
Government is not allowing to be renewed, to be published in the
Gazette and on the notice board of the Police Station, or, as the case
may be, of each Police Station of the town or village where or
within the limits of which the land is situated.
(2) The Commissioner of Land shall also, as soon as may be
after the said publication, cause a copy of the declaration,
particulars and indication referred to in subarticle (1) to be served
by means of an official letter filed in the Civil Court, First Hall, on
the tenant of the land to which the declaration refers:
  10       CAP. 199. ]          AGRICULTURAL LEASES (RELETTING) 
Provided that full compliance with subarticle (1) shall be
sufficient to prevent the renewal of a current lease.
Taking possession 
of the land. 
Added by: 
XXVIII. 1969.4. 
23. (1) Subject to the provisions of subarticle (1) of the last
preceding article having been fully complied with, in regard to a
declaration made under article 21, not less than one month before
the date of expiry of the lease in force at the time of the declaration,
the tenant or any other occupier of the land in respect of which the
declaration was made shall on such date of expiry yield possession
of that land to the Commissioner of Land and as from the day next
following such date the Commissioner of Land may without any
further formality enter upon and take possession of the land or
authorize any person to enter upon and take possession of the land
and to carry out or cause to be carried out thereon any works.
(2) Before any works on the land are started under subarticle
(1), a representative of the Commissioner of Land shall draw up,
where practicable in the presence of the tenant, a description in
writing of the condition of the land and of any improvements
thereon and, if the tenant is present and willing to sign such
description, he shall sign it.
Compensation for 
non-renewal of 
lease. 
Added by: 
XXVIII. 1969.4. 
24. Where the Commissioner of Land resumes possession of
agricultural land on non-renewal of a lease under the provisions of
this Act, the tenant shall be entitled in respect of such land to the
payment of the same fair compensation and of the same amount as
is payable to the tenant under article 4(5).
Determination of 
compensation. 
Added by: 
XXVIII. 1969.4.
Amended by: 
IX. 1972.8.
25. If the Commissioner of Land and the tenant fail to agree on
any amount payable under article 24, such amount shall be
determined by the Board, on the application of either the
Commissioner of Land or of the tenant, subject to appeal in
accordance with the provisions of article 10.
Where declaration 
is made in respect 
of only a part of 
agricultural land 
leased.
Added by: 
XXVIII. 1969.4.
26. (1) Where a declaration under article 21(1) is made in
respect of only a part of the agricultural land forming the object of
a lease, the tenant of the land shall have the right, exercisable
within one year of the entry by the Government on such part of the
land in accordance with article 23(1), to terminate the lease also
with regard to the remaining part of the agricultural land:
Provided that compensation in respect of such termination
of the lease for the remaining part of the agricultural land shall be
payable to the tenant in accordance with the provisions of this Act
only if he proves that it would not be economically convenient for
him to continue in the lease of that part.
(2) Where, in the case of a declaration as is referred to in the
last preceding subarticle, the tenant does not exercise the right
therein mentioned, the lease of the remaining part of the
agricultural land shall be renewed under such conditions as the
Board, on the application of the Commissioner of Land, may deem
fair to establish having regard to the conditions of the lease of the
whole agricultural land which has been dismembered.
            AGRICULTURAL LEASES (RELETTING)  [ CAP. 199.        11
Non-applicability 
of article 1591 of 
the Civil Code.
Amended by:
XXVIII. 1969.3. 
Cap. 16.
27. The provision of article 1591 of the Civil Code shall not
apply in respect of the renewal of a lease of agricultural land.
