How long do I have to wait to get paid for property that Government has expropriated?

Unfortunately there is no clear-cut answer that can be given to this question. This is because there are so many parameters and circumstances that may have a direct bearing on the Lands Authority ability to process and finalise a property acquisition. These include such factors as the rudimentary nature of property-ownership records in Malta, the unique property titles under Maltese laws, inheritance complications, availability of funds, different layers of property ownership, property market values, lengthy Court proceedings, Lands Authority limited staff resources and the sheer quantity of property expropriations that have had to be carried out as a result of the country’s development and infrastructural projects. In recent years Lands Authority has undertaken various initiatives to facilitate the acquisition process including budgetary measures to ensure that new acquisition projects are adequately funded prior to initiation, the farming out of property valuations and of research work to private architects and lawyers and even amendments to the law to enable quicker processing.