Ground Rents and Emphyteusis in Malta

Ground rent, also known as emphyteusis (ċens in Maltese), is a legal burden placed upon immovable property. It is an interest affecting land or airspace, and by extension, any structure built on it — but not the ownership of the structure itself. This means that while a building may be privately owned, the ground it stands on may be held under ground rent, and obligations may apply to the landholder (the emphyteuta).

Ground rent is primarily financial in nature, typically requiring the payment of an annual monetary sum. However, historical titles may include unusual forms of payment, such as livestock or the obligation to fund a religious mass. In some cases, ground rent may also impose non-monetary conditions, such as restrictions on building height or land use. Importantly, redeeming (buying out) ground rent does not automatically nullify such conditions, if they were attached to the original title.

When transferring property, an owner may impose a ground rent or sub-ground rent, as applicable.

• The person imposing the ground rent is called the dominus
• The person acquiring the property is called the emphyteuta.

Ground rent is generally payable on an annual basis, hence the term annual ground rent.
If a new ground rent is imposed by contract, the purchaser will be liable to pay stamp duty.

Each time a property held under ground rent is transferred, the emphyteuta must pay the dominus a recognition fee, known as laudemium. This fee is typically equivalent to one year’s ground rent and serves as acknowledgment of the dominus’s continuing interest in the property.

▪ Perpetual Ground Rent
This is established in perpetuity and remains fixed unless otherwise specified.

▪ Perpetual Revisable Ground Rent
Similar to perpetual ground rent, but the fee is subject to periodic revision, often tied to inflation, cost of living, or minimum wage indicators.

▪ Temporary Ground Rent
This type of ground rent has a fixed term, commonly 99 or 150 years, and may resemble a long lease. At the end of the term, the land or airspace reverts to the dominus. However, if the property is the emphyteuta’s primary residence, certain legal provisions may allow conversion into a lease or perpetual title.

▪ Temporary Revisable Ground Rent
Same as temporary ground rent, but with built-in adjustments for inflation, typically every 25 years.