People have until the end of March to provide feedback about the current condominium legislation and how they think the 24-year-old law could improve.
Justice Minister Edward Zammit Lewis said on Thursday that the government will table a Bill regulating residential common areas by June, and enact a new law by the end of the year.
Zammit Lewis noted that as society and residential communities continued to change over the past two decades, the law was amended four times.
Asked about any changes the government had in mind, he said that among others a new law could recognise other people, not just the administrator, who also render a service to the apartment owners.
The annual general meeting rules could also be revised as condominia have become more complex, while other issues, such as the fact that a contractor can retain full ownership of common areas, that need to be addressed.
Another issue that needs to be tackled is litigation. Apartment owners, he said, could take their grievances to the Mediation Centre, rather than court.
"It's not very healthy for people living in the same community to end up in litigation. When we launched the rent law we had addressed this issue by introducing compulsory mediation," he said, adding that the government wanted to consult with all stakeholders, including companies that provide common area services, architects and neighbours.
Andrew Cauchi, from the State Attorney's office, told a press conference launching the public consultation that by law, a block of more than three units should appoint an administrator to take care of the common areas.
The condomini should meet this administrator once a year, to approve estimates and agree on a course of action to fix any damage, among others. As things stand, such a meeting can take place if two-thirds of all common area owners turn up for it.
The new law, he added, should reflect today's realities and address concern raised over the past 20 years.
Alex Muscat, Parliamentary Secretary responsible for communities said that the majority of local residents live in apartments.
Availability of land in Malta was limited, and therefore vertical extension of buildings will continue, he said.
He noted that in 2020 alone, 839 new associations were registered with the Lands Registry.
In all, there are 3,931 registered associations.
Parliamentary Secretary for Construction Chris Agius meanwhile noted that while it was the government that had pioneered the concept of flats in the 1970s, the number of people living in apartments continued to increase. While in 2013 there were 2,062 new applications for apartments, this figure increased to 10,762 in 2019, he said.
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