Planning Parliamentary Secretary Michael Falzon insists a proposal to regularise illegally-built and altered properties is “definitely not an amnesty”.

“For this to be an amnesty, the offenders would have to be let off the hook. But I can assure you that those who have sinned will have to repent and pay a penalty that fits their crime,” he said.

Earlier this month, Times of Malta revealed that the planning authority was in the final stages of drafting a scheme to drop pending enforcement procedures against about 10,000 properties. The scheme is expected to rake in more than €20 million in fines and will apply to all infringements that took place before 2013 and those outside development zones that date back to before 1994 – the year the planning authority was set up.

Asked whether the amnesty scheme would also apply to large villas built without the necessary permits, Dr Falzon took issue with the term ‘amnesty’ and did not specify which planning infractions would be covered.

He would not give details either on what the regularisation fines would consist of and what terms and conditions would apply, saying only they would be “effective” but “attractive”.

“Let me be clear: those that do not make use of this scheme will face action,” Dr Falzon said.

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