                          HOUSING (DECONTROL)                 ġCAP. 158.         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 and Legal Notices 30 of 2001, 46 of 2002, 73 of
2003 and 90 of 2004.
Title.
Amended by: 
XXIX. 1965.2.
1. The title of this Ordinance is Housing (Decontrol)
Ordinance.
Interpretation. 
Amended by: 
L.N. 4 of 1963; 
XXIX. 1965.2; 
XXXVII.1973.2; 
XXIII.1979.2; 
XXVIII.1986.2. 
Cap. 69.
2. In this Ordinance and any regulations made hereunder,
except in so far as the context otherwise requires - 
"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 Reletting of Urban Property (Regulation)
Ordinance;
"decontrolled dwelling-house" means a dwelling-house
registered by the Land Valuation Officer in accordance with the
provisions of article 3;
"dwelling-house" means a building or part of a building
constructed or structurally adapted for occupation as a separate
dwelling; 
Cap.116.
 "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. 110.
"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; 
 2        CAP. 158.ħ             HOUSING (DECONTROL) 
"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 dwelling-
house in absolute ownership or in perpetual emphyteusis or sub-
emphyteusis;
"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;
Cap. 69. 
Cap. 116.
"the Rent Ordinances" means the Reletting of Urban Property
(Regulation) Ordinance and the Rent Restriction (Dwelling
Houses) Ordinance;
"repairs" means those repairs which the lessor is bound to carry
out at his expense; 
"tenant" includes - 
*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."
                          HOUSING (DECONTROL)                 ġCAP. 158.         3
(a) the widow or widower of a tenant provided husband
and wife were not, at the time of the death of the
tenant, either legally or de facto separated;
(b) where the tenant leaves no widow or widower such
members of the tenant’s family as were residing with
him or her at the time of his or her death; and
(c) any sub-tenant in relation to the tenant:
Provided that for the purposes of articles 5 and 12, "tenant"
shall not include any of the persons included under paragraph (b) or
(c) of this definition but shall include, instead, the children, and
any brother or sister, of the tenant who are not married and who
reside with the tenant at the time of his or her death and any
ascendant of the tenant who so resides with 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 dwelling-
house 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
Cap. 328.
(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
(f) 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.
*The War Damage Ordinance (Ordinance No.III of 1943) was repealed by the War
Damage (Repeal) Act (Cap.289).
 4        CAP. 158.ħ             HOUSING (DECONTROL) 
Appeals  from 
decisions  of Land  
Valuation Officer. 
Amended by: 
L.N. 148 of 1975.
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
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.
Decontrolled 
premises and the 
Rent Ordinances. 
Amended by: 
XXIX. 1965.2. 
Substituted by: 
XXIII. 1979.3.
Cap. 69.
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 sub-
article (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 dwelling-
house 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
                          HOUSING (DECONTROL)                 ġCAP. 158.         5
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
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 dwelling-
house 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
 6        CAP. 158.ħ             HOUSING (DECONTROL) 
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
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) where a lease is made in contravention of sub-
paragraph (ii) of this paragraph, no rent or other
compensation shall be due to the owner, until
such time as the provisions of that sub-paragraph
are complied with; and any sums paid by way of
rent or other compensation and not due as
aforesaid shall be recoverable from the lessor;
(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 sub-
article 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.
Exceptions. 
Amended by: 
XXIX. 1965.2; 
XLVIII. 1972.2; 
XXXVII. 1973.3.
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
                          HOUSING (DECONTROL)                 ġCAP. 158.         7
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.
Cap. 125.
*(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
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 dwelling-
houses 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.
8. (1) Any person who, in connection with an application
under this Ordinance for registration of any premises 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 fifty liri 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.
*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. 
 8        CAP. 158.ħ             HOUSING (DECONTROL) 
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.
Increase of the fair 
rent of controlled 
dwelling-houses in 
respect of 
improvements. 
Amended by: 
XIII. 1983.5. 
Cap. 69.
Cap. 116.
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 five hundred liri
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.
(2) An application for the appropriate increase under sub-
article (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
                          HOUSING (DECONTROL)                 ġCAP. 158.         9
sub-article (1) shall take effect from the first rental period
beginning after the completion of the improvements.
Cap. 69.
(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
shall apply to any proceedings under sub-article (1).
Repairs in 
dwelling-houses 
not decontrolled. 
Added by: 
XXIII. 1979.5.
11. (1) Notwithstanding anything contained in the Rent
Ordinances, where at any time after 20th June, 1979, repairs are
carried out by the lessor in a dwelling-house which has not been
registered as a decontrolled dwelling-house, and such repairs are so
carried out with the agreement of the tenant signified in writing or
upon an order of a competent court, the fair rent of the dwelling-
house shall be increased by an amount, not exceeding the said rent,
corresponding to one-tenth of the cost of such repairs.
(2) Notwithstanding any other enactment, the lessor of a
dwelling-house which has not been registered as a decontrolled
dwelling-house may free himself from the obligation to carry out
repairs in the said house by means of an outright sale of the house
in favour of the Government for a price equal to the capitalization
of the fair rent of the house at six per cent.
Temporary 
emphyteusis of 
dwelling-houses. 
Added by: 
XXIII. 1979.5. 
Amended by: 
XXXVII. 1986.3. 
Cap. 16.
12. (1) Notwithstanding anything contained in the Civil Code
or in any other enactment the following provisions of this article
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 commence-
ment 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
(ii) under such other conditions as may be agreed
between them, or failing agreement, as the
 10        CAP. 158.ħ             HOUSING (DECONTROL) 
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.
(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 sub-
article (2)(a) and expiring after the 2lst 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 - 
                          HOUSING (DECONTROL)                 ġCAP. 158.         11
(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
(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, sub-
 12        CAP. 158.ħ             HOUSING (DECONTROL) 
article (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 sub-
articles or by sub-article (7) shall, notwithstanding those
provisions, be competent to such occupier as if he were the
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.
Index of inflation. 
Added by:
XXIII. 1979.5.
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.
(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.
Rights granted by 
Ordinance to 
prevail over 
agreements, etc.
Added by: 
XXIII. 1979.5.
14. (1) The provisions of this Ordinance, and, in particular,
but without prejudice to the generality of the foregoing expression,
the provisions of articles 5, 7, 12 and 13, shall have effect
notwithstanding any agreement, undertaking, promise or other act
or thing contrary to, or limiting, or purporting to limit, any of the
rights conferred by those provisions on the tenant, emphyteuta or
occupier of a dwelling-house; and where a person exercising any of
the said rights is, by virtue of any such agreement, undertaking,
promise or other act or thing, made liable to incur any penalty or
any obligation or other consequence or effect, any such agreement,
undertaking, promise or other act or thing shall, to the extent that it
provides for any liability as aforesaid, be null and without effect.
(2) Any waiver and any restriction or limitation of any of the
rights referred to in sub-article (1), however made, and any
                          HOUSING (DECONTROL)                 ġCAP. 158.         13
subjection of any such right to any obligation or liability, shall be
null and without effect.
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.
15. The Minister responsible for the Public Registry may make
regulations with respect to - 
(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.
Operativeness of 
this Ordinance. 
Added by: 
XXXI.1995.4.
*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
*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.
 14        CAP. 158.ħ             HOUSING (DECONTROL) 
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.
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.
SCHEDULE 
ARTICLE 13(1)
Index of inflation for the years from 1947 until 1998 
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
1973 218.26
1974 234.16
1975 254.77
1976 256.20
1977 281.84
1978 295.14
*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.
                          HOUSING (DECONTROL)                 ġCAP. 158.         15
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)
2001 624.85 (L.N. 46 of 2002)
2002 638.54 (L.N. 73 of 2003)
2003 646.84 (L.N. 90 of 2004)
