A woman whose flat in Cospicua was expropriated by the Commissioner of Lands has been awarded €50,000 in compensation, six times more than she had been offered by the authorities.

Presiding over the Land Arbitration Board, Magistrate Giovanni Grixti heard that in June 2011 Jane Pentecost was served with a notice issued by the Commissioner in terms of which she was offered €8,432.33 by way of compensation for the expropriation of the flat she owned in Hannover Street. The flat was expropriated in 2005 when the evaluation was made.

She refused this compensation on the basis that her own architect had valued the flat as being worth €58,000 and that the compensation offered did not even match the market value of a garage in the area.

The board heard that the expropriation had taken place in 2005 when the Commissioner's architects had valued the flat at Lm3,580.

Magistrate Grixti said that the architects appointed by the board to value the flat had ruled that it was worth €42,000. He said that he was perplexed by the fact that the Commissioner had made such a low offer of compensation.

This was important particularly in view of the fact that if Ms Pentecost had not replied to the offer within the legal time limit the Commissioner's offer would be deemed to have been accepted by her.

He said the Commissioner's offer ought to have been realistic and fair from the start of the expropriation process.

The board concluded its judgement by awarding Ms Pentecost €50,000 in compensation as six years had lapsed from the time the expropriation took place to the date when she received the Commissioner's offer.