Owners of expropriated Freedom Square properties get €47,000

A family whose Valletta properties were expropriated in the 1950s to clear the site for what is today Freedom Square have been awarded almost €47,000 by way of compensation.

The De Marco family owned the site, a section of which is presently being developed into the new Parliament building.

The Land Arbitration Board, presided by Magistrate Giovanni Grixti, ruled that the Commissioner of Lands is to pay the amount. The case has been ongoing for several years.

The board heard how the De Marco family were owners of 16 rooms in a building over the site in Valletta.

The government had been paying the owners €200 a year in rent, an amount fixed by the 1939 rent laws.

The Lands Department had initiated expropriation proceedings in 1998, offering the owners a mere €3,600. The owners chose to pursure the present legal action, during which the court appointed architects to value the property using values for 1998 . The experts informed the court it was worth €46,587.47.

The magistrate ruled that the correct valuation was that established by the architects and ordered the Commissioner of Lands to pay the DeMarcos the amount stipulated in the report, as well as interest.

Lawyer Peter Borg Costanzi represented the De Marco family.