Nadur residents shocked as new owners register their homes

Dozens of Nadur residents living in the Gozitan village’s street of Triq il-Knisja and other central parts have been approached by lawyers claiming their houses do not belong to them.

The lawyers, believed to be acting for the heirs of the late Richard Stagno Navarra, have told the residents their homes and properties are being claimed on the basis of documents dating back to the 1600s, a time when most of these properties did not even exist.

MaltaToday is informed that some farmers have already ceded their land while other property owners have been told to pay up or leave.

The lands in question have also been mysteriously registered with the Lands Authority; some residents have protested the manner in which the registration was carried out unbeknownst to them.

According to different sources, the claims are being made by heirs of the late Richard Stagno Navarra and are being pushed by a number of top Gozitan lawyers.

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Nadur mayor Edward Said expressed his preoccupation on the situation, confirming that he has been approached by a large number of anguished residents following the “registration with the Lands Authority of large parts of Nadur.”

“Just imagine the shock they feel when they are told that their own home is owned by someone else… Many of these people have nothing else and lack the resources to counteract these claims,” Said told MaltaToday.

Said described the situation as “chaotic” with residents being shocked that their land has been registered by other people.

In a Facebook post, Said described the registrations “as a threat to the livelihood of the residents by persons who do not even know where Nadur is, let alone which land in Nadur is theirs.”

Said promised his full assistance to residents even of the matter does not fall under the jurisdiction of local councils.

The matter will, in fact, be discussed in today’s council meeting.

He also promised to raise the matter with the authorities including parliamentarians from both sides of the house to ensure that the homes and property of Nadur residents is not impacted by these claims.