Draft rules to clamp down on illegal development issued

Two draft legal notices proposing higher fines and penalties to clamp down on illegal development have been published for public consultation.

The draft rules, called the Scheduling of Penalties Regulation and the Daily Penalty Regulations, will overhaul the system by raising fines based on the scale and illegality of the development.

The fines have been categorised in four areas: construction that does not follow the permit; any form of development that does not have a permit; minor development offences and failure to obtain the planning authority’s completion certificate.

A developer who sanctions an illegal development that does not comply with the permit in a scheduled area could face a fine of up to €50,000 while construction without a permit can cost the developer up to 600 per cent of the development planning fee, along with a fixed charge.

In a further clampdown, the planning authority has since January 1 banned applications to sanction illegal development built in scheduled areas after May 2008.

The two draft legal notices, which were issued by the planning authority, can be viewed at www.mepa.org.mt/public-consultation. Any comments or feedback can be sent to the Malta Environment and Planning Authority, Legal Office, PO Box 200, Marsa MRS 1000 or at finesandpenalties@mepa.org.mt by February 11.