On Thursday 26 March 2020, four legal notices were published in connection with the Private Residential Leases Act. Enacted on 1 January 2020, the Act ensures standards of fairness, clarity and predictability in contractual relations between lessors and lessees.

This set of legal notices, inter alia, provides for the fees to be levied by the Housing Authority upon the registration or renewal of a private residential lease agreement. The Authority retains the right to exempt lessors from the payment of said fees for any period. The fees are specified hereunder:

  • For the registration of an Agreement – EUR 10;
  • For the renewal of an Agreement – EUR 5;
  • The registration fee will increase to EUR 120 in the case of late registration.

The remuneration payable to the members of the Adjudicating Panel for Private Residential Leases was also established. The remuneration payable to the Chairperson is that of EUR 50 for every case disposed of, whether this is decided upon, ceded or withdrawn. The other members of the Panel will be remunerated at a rate of EUR 35 per case. Said remuneration is payable retroactively with effect from 1 January 2020.

Moreover, the new amendments lay down the registry fees that are due for filing an act of procedure. It also sets out the fees due to the Executive Officer for every notification of said act. In so far as fees are concerned, counterclaims are regarded as new claims, and therefore the fees levied for the filing of a counterclaim are equivalent to those for the filing of a new claim. All fees must be paid simultaneously with the filing of the relevant act. The Registrar holds the authority to refuse the filing of any act of procedure if this is not accompanied by the relative fee.

The above-mentioned fees are specified hereunder:

  • For the filing of any claim – EUR 10;
  • For the filing of a reply – EUR 7;
  • For the filing of an appeal application – EUR 20;
  • For the filing of an answer to an application of appeal – EUR14.

The fees payable to the Executive Officer shall be as follows:

  • For every notification of an act of procedure – EUR 1.20

The content of this article is intended to provide a general guide to the subject matter. Specialist advice should be sought about your specific circumstances.