Cap. 604 Art. 22Offences. 

(1) Any person who:

(a) is found conceding any dwelling house, or any separate space within a dwelling house, for a residential purpose, to any persons who are not the owners of the dwelling house and who are occupying the dwelling house without a valid title of lease, for the reason that the lease agreement does not satisfy the written requisites in a lease ad validitatem agreement or that although it satisfies the written requisites ad it was not registered in accordance with the validitatem provisions of this Act;

(b) hinders, obstructs, molests or interferes with, or attempts to hinder, obstruct, molest or interfere with, any officer or employee of the Authority, or any police officer, or any public officer in the execution of his duties under the law, or fails to comply with any reasonable requirement demanded of him by any such person as aforesaid or otherwise fails to assist him in the carrying out of the said duties, or knowingly furnishes such person with false information or neglects or refuses to give any information required for the purpose aforesaid; or

(c) makes a declaration for any one (1) of the purposes of the Act which is false, misleading or incorrect in any material respect;

(d) permits a number of occupants in excess of that declared in the registration or registrations of a private residential lease agreement or agreements with the Authority and is in breach of the regulations under article 4(8)(a), shall be guilty of an offence against the Act and shall be liable, on conviction, to a fine (multa) of not less than two thousand and five hundred euro (€2,500) and not exceeding ten thousand euro (€10,000).

(2) Proceedings against any person for any offence as is mentioned in sub-article (1) shall be taken before the Court of

Magistrates (Malta) or the Court of Magistrates (Gozo), as the case may be, as courts of criminal judicature in accordance with the provisions of the Criminal Code:

Provided that, notwithstanding the provisions of article

376(1)(b) of the Criminal Code, the court shall, at the request of the prosecution or of the accused, take down evidence given by the witnesses in the manner provided for either in article 390(6) of the

Criminal Code or in any law for the time being in force.