From Dr A. Borg Cardona
I suspect that Dr Malcolm Mifsud’s article was a kite flown to test people’s reaction to the petition organised by Alternattiva Demokratika for a referendum asking whether the present archaic rent laws should be abolished. Well, here is my reaction and I hope it convinces him not to oppose this petition.
Dr Mifsud’s article last Sunday is a typical product of the current mentality that pervades the Nationalist Party at the moment: bury the real issue under the proverbial red herrings and a bit of nonsense for the party faithful to repeat. Dr Mifsud immediately tried to politicise the issue that really is a national one, a dark stain on our sense of justice and a problem that has been crying out for a solution for decades. Even worse, he gives a superficial overview of the problem, mouthing the inane words of his master that the proposal simply means throwing people out onto the street (I was told the same thing by certain politicians with whom I discussed the subject). Can Dr Mifsud quote one person who has actually written or said these words? Is this scaremongering the tactic his Party will use in an attempt to defeat the eventual referendum? I find it incredible how the Nationalist Party has not only been unable to tackle this grossly unfair situation but now that the Maltese are pressing for a change, we get people like Dr Mifsud calling a serious proposal to solve this issue, a “political gimmick”. Of course, Dr Mifsud should know all about gimmicks. I am sure he is backing the current proposal to entrench anti-abortion laws in the Constitution to the hilt. If AD’s proposal is a political gimmick, at least it is one that will achieve something worthwhile, unlike the current government ‘political gimmick’ which will achieve absolutely nothing!
People who have inherited rented property (as most present owners are) are probably most grateful for Dr Mifsud’s understanding and sympathy of their seething anger and frustration. But that is all they are likely to get from him and his Party. He proposes more time and more discussion on a problem that has been demanding attention for decades. In the meantime, every time somebody inherits rented property, he will have to pay capital gains tax on the current market value of such property and not on its actual rental value (a change in the law made by a Nationalist government). When it comes to imposing taxes, there is no sympathy for these landlords. Furthermore, is it possible that in his legal practice Dr Mifsud has not come across cases where people suffer hardship because they are owners of rented property they have inherited? Does he not know that when a person who is physically unable to work applies for social assistance, he is denied any form of assistance if he owns rented property? I know of a case where a man inherited two houses in the best part of Sliema, each leased for the princely sum of Lm18 per annum. This person could not work for various health reasons – and consequently had to subsist on Lm36 a year and Christian charity as the law denies him, a greedy, speculating landlord, any form of social assistance! Such an injustice alone should have made anybody with the slightest sense of Christian values to bang on the doors of Parliament until the law is changed. So let us not come out with fairytales about landlords being speculators, greedy and (as one other writer had the cheek to write) tax evaders.
For Dr Mifsud is convinced that the owners’ demand to have their property returned to them to re-rent is all a “fairytale”. I assure him that for my family and thousands of others in a similar position, the present situation is a nightmare, a daily reminder of how politicians see justice only through the lens of calculated votes. Does he think that my father worked so hard all his life to see the fruit of his labour being enjoyed by others? Would not my widowed mother live a more comfortable life if she received a decent rent instead of the peanuts currently being paid to her?
Dr Mifsud says there is lack of agreement as to how the balance between the interests of the owners and tenants should be set and at what speed. This could be true but I must point out that while we have had proposals from the Malta Labour Party and AD, none have come from the Nationalist Party. Perhaps the lack of agreement is in that Party? With regard to the time frame for change, does not Dr Mifsud realise that for too long a time a number of families have been subsidising the lifestyle of other families? How long should these owners continue to act as a social service instead of the government? Should not this burden be carried by all of us instead of just the few? The time for a solution is now and there is absolutely no reason to continue postponing the issue. Let us not continue to shove this problem under the carpet, talking loosely about the danger of people ending up living in cardboard boxes. Let us not start trying to scare people with this nonsense. Let us respect the intelligence of our people and not insult them with these hoary tales of old couples being turned out onto the street. Nobody has proposed this since nobody wants. But the longer we delay, the more complicated the issue will get.
The reason why the 1995 changes to the rent laws had no effect on the rental market is very simple: people are still scared to let property to Maltese citizens because the old rent laws are still in force. Owners are still afraid of being stuck with the same tenant paying the same rent forever. The 1995 amendments were a good step forward but did nothing to allay the owners’ fears. Sixty years of bad experiences do not evaporate overnight!
I would suggest to Dr Mifsud and those who share his way of thinking, to start planning their reactions because they will be overwhelmed by the people’s reaction to this proposal. It is not only the thousands who are seeing their property being abused on a daily basis who will sign, but also those who have a sense of justice and a social conscience to see property being put to better use for the good of the whole nation.
Adrian Borg Cardona