As pledged, I am commencing the release of a series of concise legal publications on ‘emphyteusis’ (in Maltese: ‘cens’). In this initial instalment, I underscore the distinction between emphyteusis and lease (the difference between in Maltese ‘cens’ or ‘enfitewsi’ and ‘kera’ or ‘lokazzjoni’). Furthermore, I draw attention to contracts labelled as ‘lease’ which, however, are […]

An emphyteusis  (in Maltese: cens) stands as a distinctive arrangement within property law, establishing a clear legal bond between the dominus and the emphyteuta (or utilista). While some characterize the dominus as the owner and the utilista as the tenant due to the annual ground rent paid by the utilista to the dominus, I am […]

In some cases, I encounter situations where promises of sale are made, but contracts fail to come to fruition because the vendor is unable to uphold their commitments. Typically, the vendor would have already received either a ‘deposit on account’ during the promise of sale or a ‘kapparra’ (forfeitable deposit). While the legal implications of […]