Nationalist Party (PN) MP Jason Azzopardi has accused the government of dragging its feet to find solutions for “hundreds of families” facing eviction due to the unconstitutional 1979 rent laws.
According to Article 12 of the amended Housing Decontrol Ordinance, a lease of up to 30 years signed prior to 21 June 1979 can be turned into a rent on a permanent basis. Due to this amendment, tenants living in houses on a temporary lease contract have retained the right to reside in these houses permanent and pay an annual rent of a maximum of double the annual lease paid.
Therefore, if the lease signed prior to 1979 says that one had to pay Lm100 per year (€233), than under the amendment, the lease contract which was then transferred into an indefinite rental contract would be required to pay Lm200 per year (€466).
The European Court of Human Rights had declared the 1979 rent law to be in breach of the fundamental right of property owners to enjoy their property. Since then, Maltese constitutional courts have passed judgment to this effect, saying that the law is unconstitutional. Several families have been evicted as a result of local court judgments respecting the spirit of the European Court of Human Rights.
The ECHR also said that while landowners’ rights must be respected, this must be balanced with the rights of the tenants.
In 2014, several high profile stories emerged of families in Paola who were made to leave the property they were residing in while they were paying an annual rent on the basis of the 1979 rent law amendment.
A series of Parliamentary Questions directed to Justice Minister Owen Bonnici by then Parliamentary Secretary for Justice Jason Azzopardi, in 2015, revealed that the Attorney General was working on drafting a law and carrying out a social impact assessment in order to remedy the situation.
“This Government is indifferent to the wounds of those being evicted from their homes because of the illegal law introduced by the socialist government of the 1970s..The institutional omerta on this matter is frightening. The government is refusing to talk about this because it does not want to resolve the problem,” Azzopardi said yesterday in Parliament on the draft amendment bill to the Civil Code.
Azzopardi took aim at the government for awarding €5 million to Mark Gaffarena during the Old Mint Street property scandal and €4 million to the Cafe Premier leaseholders.
He also accused the government for only having socialist values when being generous with the rich and elite whilst it is far less generous to the vulnerable people who require attention.
Justice Minister Owen Bonnici questioned why Azzopardi’s solutions could not have been implemented during the PN’s 25 years in power if the situation was so desperate.