Farmers who hold a lease on land with other people now have a right to transfer the land to a third party even if there isn’t a consensus between the partners, Economy Minister Silvio Schembri announced on Thursday.
The minister was announcing changes to regulations to address problems faced by farmers in recent years.
The concept of lands held in solidum, meaning that multiple farmers hold the lease to the same land together, was useful some decades ago when one parcel of land was too large for a single farmer to work on alone, Schembri said. However it had become inconvenient and was creating issues on matters related to transferring or dividing the land.
The changes to the regulations will now allow an individual to transfer his share of the land even if the other farmers on the lease do not agree. Those who disagree must present a valid reason related to agriculture for consideration, with the final decision being taken by the Lands Authority.
“We will no longer accept excuses from people who do not sign off on a transfer because of frivolous reasons or because two individuals are rivals,” Schembri said.
Access will also be created for farmers to be able to reach their share of the in solidum land.
A person who wants to exit the in solidum lease will also have the opportunity to do so without dissolving the whole agreement and objectors must present a valid agricultural reason if they wish to block it.
Under the new amendments, farmers will now also be able to transfer land on which a building of more than 40 square metres is built, provided that it has planning permission and is strictly to be used for agricultural purposes. This was previously not permitted.
Building on agricultural land
Leaseholders who transfer land with a building in it will have enter into a contract with the Lands Authority binding them to only make use of it for agricultural purposes.
Farmers who lease their land from the government and want to build agricultural structures on their land will also be able to do so from now on.
Farmers can submit a planning application for an appropriate agricultural structure, like a greenhouse or a barn, to the Planning Authority. Should this be approved, the Lands Department will in turn recognise the new structure as part of the farmer’s lease.
Inheritance
In cases where a landowner leaves no will, the inheritance of agricultural land will now proceed according to natural law, in order to allow farming families to continue with their work while the administrative issues of inherited land are sorted out.
For farmers who worked on land in a partnership but are not recognised as leaseholders, the minister said the department will recognise them as the new leaseholders if they can prove that they actively worked the land through appropriate documentation.
Schembri said he had instructed the Lands Authority to process old applications for land transfers according to the rules at the time, but if present-day rules are more favourable, then the applications would be processed according to them.