Revised regularisation of development regulations launched

The Planning Authority (PA) has revised the regulations on the regularisation of existing development carried out before 2016.

This revision will affect many individuals and families since, if their property can be regularised, the burden preventing the financing of bank facilities or the placing on the market will be lifted.

The procedure for regularising buildings was introduced in 2016 to assist owners whose property is not fully compliant with PA policies and regulations due to minor irregularities.

Persons whose property with minor irregularities and which has small parts falling outside the development zone may now apply to have the property regularised. Those whose entire property has no permit or lies entirely outside the development zone will not be eligible.

It is not the first time the PA has issued regulations to address buildings with infringements; however, the amended regularisation scheme will now include as well properties located entirely in a Category 1 Rural Settlement.

Every request for regularisation will be evaluated on a case-by-case basis, and the PA may reject any applications it deems are not compliant with the provisions of the regulations – including injury to amenity and adverse impacts on the rights of third parties.

Since launching the Regularisation Scheme in 2016, the PA has received over 19,500 applications for regularisation. Thousands of families and individuals have benefitted from this procedure, including cases where one would have inherited, bought, or owned property with minor irregularities for a long time.

Meanwhile, it is good to know that the payments paid in this Regularization process goes to its PA’s Development Planning Fund. This PA uses this fund to invest in a wide range of urban restoration schemes, including finance for Local councils and NGOs.

Meanwhile, for more information on Regularization of Existing Development, the PA suggests consulting with one's architect so that they may guide and help in line with the updated regulations.