Once the various Ministries, Local Administrations, Public Organizations and Utilities decide that the creation/construction of a work is required, a letter is sent to the Department of Lands and Surveys, requesting the latter to prepare all the necessary documents for the publication of the relevant notice of compulsory acquisition and/or requisition.

The Compulsory Acquisition and Requisitions Procedure Subsection, is responsible for the preparation of all documents, such as the property table, statutory plans, etc., which are sent to each Acquiring or Requisitioning Authority, regarding their compulsory acquisition / requisition. Together with the information referred to above, an approximate valuation for each plot is prepared for the budget purposes of each Acquiring Authority.

Following the publication of a notice of compulsory acquisition / requisition, the Branch carries out a valuation; a thorough research of comparative sales or rentals is made in order to calculate the market value of the affected properties. The valuation is reviewed at district level and approved by a Headquarters Officer. Subsequently, the compensation offer forms are sent to the beneficiaries within such timeframes as specified by law. The second stage is the negotiation process with the owners and/or their expert valuers/lawyers follows, which in most cases is time-consuming. When and if an agreement on the amount of compensation is reached, the Branch proceeds with the payment of the compensation and the property is registered to the Acquiring Authority.

Many of the owners affected by the compulsory acquisition, having received the offer documents, do not accept the amounts of compensation offered and resort to the Courts. In such cases, the Officer handling each case prepares a fully reasoned valuation report and sends it to the Attorney General for further action. They then proceed to settlement or hearing in order for the Court to determine the final compensation amounts.

In case a property is declared surplus after being compulsory acquired, pursuant to the provisions of section15 of the Compulsory Acquisition Law No. 15/62, a valuation is carried out at the prices of the date of the notice for compulsory acquisition and the fair value of the surplus property to be returned to the original owner is determined. The owner needs to return this amount in order for the property to be re-registered to his/her name. If the original owner does not accept the offer or fails to pay that amount, the property is sold at public auction.

After the payment or deposit of the amounts of compensation to the beneficial owners, the registration subsection proceeds with registration of the acquired immovable property in the name of the Acquiring Authority. Prior to registration, a search for encumbrances and prohibitions is carried out, the necessary certificates are collected and the N63 forms are prepared, in which all the details of the residual property are described, on the basis of which the new title deed shall be issued.