There will no longer be a need for a government architect to value a property when it is sold, Finance Minister Edward Scicluna said today.

Speaking during a press conference, Prof. Scicluna said a scientific instrument will be used to value properties based on criteria such as floor area, locality, the type of property etc.

He said a government architect will only be sent to value the property if the price it is sold for varies markedly from the market value.

Previously he said, government architects would value their property "on a hunch" using their experience. When this did not tally with the notary's value, penalties and problems would occur, he said.

He said that there are instances of flagrant abuse where properties are undervalued, but a lot of "innocent families" got caught up in this unnecessarily.

He said if the government estimate is "close" to the estimate given by the notary, no further action will be taken. For peace of mind, people also have the option of hiring an architect to value the property, he said.

Professor Scicluna said that previously, the government used to doubt everyone and sent its own architect for a valuation.

This scared people off from buying run-down properties and refurbishing it just in case the government architect visited several months down and disagreed with the value. 

Photo by Jonathan Borg