Cap. 604 Art. 20Enforcement procedure. 

(1) Notwithstanding any other law that may provide for proceedings and punishments related to offences, when the Authority deems that:

(a) a dwelling house is being occupied for residential leases purposes by any persons who are not the owners of the dwelling house and who are occupying the said dwelling house without a valid title of lease, for the reason that the lease agreement does not satisfy the written requisites ad validitatem in a lease agreement or that although it satisfies the written requisites it was not registered in accordance ad validitatem with the provisions of this Act, hereinafter in this Act referred to as "occupation without title"; or

(b) a person has permitted 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 proviso to sub-article (4) of article 16; or

(c) a person has made a declaration for any one (1) of the purposes of the Act which is false, misleading or incorrect in any material respect, the Authority may serve a notice in writing wherein it describes the offence to the person who is being accused and indicate the steps which shall be taken to remedy the offence and the administrative penalty that he may incur if found guilty of the offence:

Provided that the Authority may request the payment of an administrative penalty of not more than two thousand three hundred and twenty-nine euro and thirty-seven cents (€2,329.37):

Provided further that where the occupation without title has come to an end, the Authority shall not permit that person who conceded the enjoyment of the tenement without a valid title to comply with the provisions of this Act retrospectively.

(2) When a written notice is served in accordance with this article, the person mentioned in the notice may, within twenty one (21) days from such service, accept his responsibility for the offence specified in the notice and in the same time period, or any ulterior time period that the Authority may permit, remedy the offence and pay, or commit in writing to pay the administrative penalty indicated in the notice or such administrative penalty that the Authority may stipulate instead, and in any such case:

(a) the person named in the notice shall be deemed to have committed the offence and to have admitted his guilt in respect thereof, and the administrative penalty paid, or agreed to be paid, shall be the administrative penalty to which he became liable to pay;

(b) if the offence has been remedied and the administrative penalty is paid in the stipulated time period, no other proceedings may be instituted against that person on the same facts; or

(c) if the administrative penalty is not paid in the ulterior time period as previously described, the Authority shall have the right to institute proceedings against the person who breached the law.

(3) If a person who is served with a notice in accordance with sub-article (1) fails to accept responsibility for the offence, or after having accepted such responsibility fails to remedy the offence in the time period stipulated in the said notice, proceedings shall be instituted against such person in accordance with the provisions of article 22..