                            INSANITARY AREAS                             ġ CAP. 103.           1
CHAPTER 103 
INSANITARY AREAS ORDINANCE
To make provision for the clearance of insanitary areas.
(7th July, 1939) *
Enacted by ORDINANCE XXXV of 1939, as amended by Ordinance VI
of 1959; Legal Notice 4 of 1963; and Acts: LVIII of 1974, XLIX of 1981,
XIII of 1983 and VIII of 1990.
Short title.
Ordinance.
Interpretation.
the expression "building" includes a house, hut, tent, or other
temporary or permanent form of shelter;
the expression "sanitary defects" includes lack of air, of space or
of ventilation, darkness, dampness, absence of adequate and readily
accessible water supply or sanitary accommodation or of other
conveniences;
the expression "street" includes any court, alley, passage, square
or other place of thoroughfare.
President may 
declare insanitary 
area to be 
clearance area. 
Amended by: 
LVIII.1974.68.
3. Where the President of Malta is satisfied as respects any
area in Malta or Gozo - 
( a ) that the houses in that area are by reason of disrepair
or sanitary defects unfit for human habitation, or are
by reason of their bad arrangement, or the narrowness
or bad arrangement of the streets, dangerous or
injurious to the health of the inhabitants of the area,
and that the other buildings, if any, in the area are for a
like reason dangerous or injurious to the health of the
said inhabitants; and
( b ) that the most satisfactory method of dealing with the
conditions in the area is the demolition of all the
buildings in the area,
the President of Malta shall cause that area to be defined on a map
in such manner as to exclude from the area every building which is
not by him considered, for any of the reasons aforesaid, to be unfit
for human habitation or dangerous or injurious to health, and shall,
by Proclamation, declare the area so defined to be a clearance area,
that is to say, an area to be cleared of all buildings in accordance
with the provisions of this Ordinance:
  Provided that before declaring any area to be a clearance area,
the President of Malta shall satisfy himself that suitable
accommodation is or will be available for the persons who will be
displaced by the clearance of the area in advance of the
displacements which will from time to time become necessary as
* See  Proclamation No. XXXIII of the 7th of July, 1939.
  2        CAP. 103. ħ                INSANITARY AREAS 
the demolition of buildings in that area, or in different parts
thereof, proceeds.
Competent 
authority to 
proceed to clear a 
clearance area 
Amended by:
VI. 1959.3.
4. (1) So soon as may be after an area has been declared to be
a clearance area, the competent authority shall, in accordance with
the appropriate provisions in this Ordinance contained, proceed to
clear the area in one or other of the following ways, or partly in one
of those ways and partly in the other of them, that is to say 
( a ) by ordering the demolition of any of the buildings in
the area; or
( b ) by purchasing any of the buildings comprised in the
area and undertaking, or otherwise securing, the total
or partial demolition of such buildings.
(2) The competent authority for the purpose of ordering the
demolition of buildings in a clearance area shall be the Director of
Public Works, and the competent authority for the purpose of
purchasing any building in the area shall be the Accountant
General. 
Demolition orders. 
Amended by: 
LVIII. 1974.68.
5. (1) Where as respects any area declared to be a clearance
area the Director of Public Works determines to order any building
or buildings in the area to be demolished, he shall make and submit
to the President of Malta for confirmation by him an order (in this
Ordinance referred to as a "demolition order") ordering the
demolition of such building or buildings.
(2) The demolition order shall be in the prescribed form and
shall describe the building to which it applies, and shall fix the
period within which the Director of Public Works requires the
building in the area to be vacated for the purpose of demolition and
for that purpose may fix different periods as respects different
buildings.
(3) Before submitting the order to the President of Malta, the
Director of Public Works shall -
( a ) publish in the Government Gazette a notice stating the
fact of such an order having been made; and
( b ) serve on the owner or owners, and on the lessee or
occupier, of any building referred to in the order a
notice stating the effect of the order and that it is about
to be submitted to the President of Malta for
confirmation, and specifying the time, not being less
than twenty-one days, within which objections thereto
can be made:
Cap. 12.
  Provided that where the owner, or any of the owners, is
unknown or uncertain or is absent or is a minor or an incapacitated
person not legally represented, the notice aforesaid shall be served
on curators to be appointed by the Civil Court, First Hall, to
represent that owner or owners in terms of the Code of
Organization and Civil Procedure.
(4) Any owner and any other person having hypothecary rights
or rights  in rem  over the building, may within twenty-one days of
                            INSANITARY AREAS                             ġ CAP. 103.           3
the publication of the demolition order make objections thereto to
the Board referred to in the following subsection on the ground that
the building is not unfit for human habitation for any of the reasons
mentioned in section 3 of this Ordinance, or is capable, at a
reasonable expense, of being rendered so fit for human habitation
as to remove any danger or injury to the health of the occupants of
such building.
(5) If no objection is made by any of the persons aforesaid, or
if all objections so made are withdrawn, the President of Malta may
confirm the order with or without modification; but in any other
case he shall, before confirming the order, cause an inquiry to be
held by a board (in this Ordinance referred to as "the Board") and
shall consider any objection not withdrawn and the report of the
Board, and may then confirm the order, with or without
modification, or reject such order.
Cap. 88.
(6) Where any demolition order is rejected as respects any
particular building, such order shall not be deemed to apply thereto:
provided that any such building may be compulsorily acquired
under the provisions of the Land Acquisition (Public Purposes)
Ordinance.
(7) Where, in the opinion of the Board, any building which is
not inherently insanitary, and which has been well maintained, has
been included in a clearance area by reason of the unhealthy
condition due to congestion of the area, or by reason only of its bad
arrangement in relation to other buildings, or of the narrowness or
bad arrangement of the streets, the Board may recommend that such
building be eligible for special compensation as provided in
subsection (3) of section 9 of this Ordinance; and, in confirming the
order, the President of Malta may for the purposes of the payment
of compensation declare such building to be eligible for special
compensation.
(8) The Board shall consist of not less than three persons
appointed by the President of Malta one of whom shall be a person
holding a diploma in public health, another shall be a person
practising the profession of advocate, and the third a person
practising the profession of architect and civil engineer. The
Chairman of the Board shall be appointed by the President of
Malta.
(9) So soon as may be after a demolition order has been
confirmed by the President of Malta, the Director of Public Works
shall publish in the Government Gazette a notice stating that the
order has been confirmed and shall serve a like notice on every
person who, having given notice of his objection to the order, shall
have appeared in support of his objection at the inquiry held by the
Board.
 (10)  The demolition order shall become operative from the
publication of its confirmation in the Government Gazette.
  4        CAP. 103. ħ                INSANITARY AREAS 
Execution of 
demolition order 
and penalties for 
contravention.  
Amended by: 
L.N. 4 of 1963; 
XIII. 1983.5; 
VIII. 1990.3.
6. (1) When a demolition order has become operative, the
tenants or occupiers of any building to which the order applies shall
vacate such building within six weeks of such order or within such
longer period as may be allowed by the Director of Public Works,
and the owner or owners thereof shall demolish that building before
the expiration of six weeks from the date on which the building is
vacated, or before the expiration of such longer period as in the
circumstances the Director of Public Works may deem reasonable
to allow, and, if the building is not demolished before the
expiration of that period, the Director of Public Works shall enter
and demolish the building and sell the materials thereof.
 (2) A building shall not be deemed to have been demolished by
the owner or owners thereof so long as the materials have not been
removed from the clearance area:
  Provided that the Director of Public Works may give permission
in writing for such materials or any part thereof to remain on the
site after the demolition or for any building to be only partly
demolished, if he is satisfied that such materials or the
undemolished part of such building do not obstruct the
development of the area in accordance with any scheme approved
by the Minister responsible for public works and under the express
condition that the eventual use by the Government of such
materials or of the undemolished part of any such building shall not
entitle the owner to compensation.
(3) Any expenses incurred by the Director of Public Works
under subsection (1) of this section shall be deducted from the
amount, if any, realized by the sale of the materials but no further
sum shall be recoverable from the owner or owners of the building
in respect of the expenses of demolition.
(4) Any surplus remaining in the hands of the Director of
Public Works from the proceeds of the sale of the materials after
deducting therefrom the expenses of demolition shall be paid to the
owner or owners of the building.
(5) Any person who, knowing that a demolition order has
become operative and applies to any building, uses such building in
contravention of the order, or permits it to be so used, shall, on
conviction by the Court of Magistrates, be liable to fine ( multa )
not exceeding ten liri, and to a further penalty of one lira for every
day, or part of a day, on which he so uses it, or permits it to be so
used, after conviction.
Building on 
clearance area. 
Amended by: 
L.N. 4 of 1963; 
XLIX. 1981.6. 
Cap. 10.
7. When a demolition order has become operative, no land to
which the order applies shall be used for building purposes or
otherwise developed except in accordance with a plan approved by
the Minister responsible for public works in accordance with the
provisions of the Code of Police Laws: 
 Provided that nothing herein contained shall be deemed to limit
or restrict the power of the Minister responsible for public works at
any time to declare any area to be a planning area under the
provisions of section 16 of the said Code.
                            INSANITARY AREAS                             ġ CAP. 103.           5
Compulsory 
purchase orders. 
Amended by: 
VI.1959.3; 
LVIII.1974.68.
Cap. 88 .
8. (1) Where the Director of Public Works considers it
inexpedient to order the demolition of any building included in a
clearance area, he shall notify the Accountant General accordingly
and thereupon the Accountant General shall submit to the President
of Malta for confirmation by him a compulsory purchase order
declaring that the building is required to be purchased for the
purposes of this Ordinance and any such order shall have the same
effect for the purpose of any expropriation proceedings as the
declaration referred to in section 3 of the Land Acquisition (Public
Purposes) Ordinance.
(2) Before submitting any compulsory purchase order to the
President of Malta, the Accountant General shall comply with the
provisions of subsections (2) to (10) inclusive of section 5 of this
Ordinance (relating to a demolition order) and the provisions of
those subsections shall apply to a compulsory purchase order, as if
for the word "demolition order" and "Director of Public Works",
wherever they occur in those subsections, there were substituted
the words "compulsory purchase order" and "Accountant General"
respectively.
Compensation. 
Amended by: 
LVIII.1974.68.
Cap. 88.
9. (1) The compensation to be paid for any building included
in a clearance area and in respect of which a compulsory purchase
order has become operative, shall be the value, at the time when the
valuation is made, of the land, as a site cleared of buildings and
available for development, and shall include the value of materials
less the cost of demolition; and, subject to this limitation, such
compensation shall be assessed by the Land Arbitration Board in
accordance with the provisions of the Land Acquisition (Public
Purposes) Ordinance.
(2) Where a building which has been compulsorily acquired
under the provisions of this Ordinance is only partially demolished
by the competent authority and where the undemolished part of the
building is used by the competent authority in the construction of a
new building, including the foundations thereof, then the
compensation aforesaid shall include the cost of the construction of
that part of the existing building which is not demolished.
(3) Where any building is eligible for special compensation in
accordance with a declaration of the President of Malta under
subsection (7) of section 5 of this Ordinance, the Land Arbitration
Board shall - 
( a ) in the case of a building included in a demolition order
grant compensation in such proportion to the value
which would be assessable in respect of such building
if it had not been included in the demolition order, as
the Land Arbitration Board shall consider reasonable;
( b ) in the case of a building included in a compulsory
purchase order, grant in addition to the value of the
land and of the materials in terms of subsection (1) of
this section, compensation in such proportion to the
value which would be assessable in respect of such
building if it had not been included in the compulsory
purchase order, as the Land Arbitration Board shall
  6        CAP. 103. ħ                INSANITARY AREAS 
consider reasonable.
Cap. 88.
(4) Notwithstanding anything to the contrary contained in this
section the provisions of this section shall not have effect in the
case of any building in respect of which a demolition order or a
compulsory purchase order has been rejected by the President of
Malta, and the provisions of the Land Acquisition (Public
Purposes) Ordinance, shall apply to any such building without any
limitation.
Compensation for 
removal expenses. 
Amended by: 
L.N. 4 of 1963.
10. (1) The Minister responsible for public works may
authorize the payment to any person displaced from a building to
which a demolition order or a compulsory purchase order applies,
such reasonable allowance as he may think fit towards his expenses
in removing, and to any person carrying on any trade or business in
any such building the payment also of such reasonable allowance as
he may think fit towards the loss which, in the opinion of the
Minister responsible for public works, he may sustain by reason of
the disturbance of his trade or business consequent on his having to
quit the building.
(2) Where the demolition or compulsory purchase of a building
included in a clearance area is, in the particular circumstances, the
cause of exceptional hardship to the owner or owners, the Minister
responsible for public works may authorize the payment of a grant
ex gratia  to such owner or owners in addition to any compensation
to which such owner or owners may be otherwise entitled under
subsections (1), (2) and (3) of section 9 of this Ordinance.
Power of Minister 
responsible for 
public works to 
make regulations.  
Amended by: 
L.N. 4 of 1963.
11. The Minister responsible for public works may, by
regulation -
( a ) prescribe the form of demolition orders and
compulsory purchase orders;
( b ) confer powers on and prescibe the procedure of the
Board appointed for the purpose of this Ordinance; 
( c ) fix the fees payable in respect of proceedings before
the Board;
( d ) determine the manner in which the materials of any
building may be sold or disposed of after demolition
by the Director of Public Works; and
( e ) generally, make provision for carrying this Ordinance
into effect.
