Social housing residents in Valletta, Floriana, Marsa and Cottonera are being given the opportunity to own their property outright as part of a government scheme.
The government is contacting the original land owners and buying the necessary land deeds off them. Once the deeds are purchased, existing residents will be offered the chance to buy their home.
Land Minister Jason Azzopardi explained that 800 such deed owners had already been identified and paid by the government.
Between January 2011 and March 2012, the government forked out €2.7 million to land owners whose property had been expropriated immediately after World War II.