In a judgement delivered on Friday, Magistrate Joseph Gatt ordered Ian Zammit to leave the Republic Street premises, also known as Dar Dom Mintoff, within 21 days. The court also ordered Zammit to pay €23,400 in rent arrears and occupancy fees, as well as €738 for outstanding water and electricity bills.
It was only last April that Judge Francesco Depasquale ordered the State Advocate to pay €254,307 in damages to the co-owners of the premises of the Valletta Labour Party club.
The legal action was initiated by the Valletta Labour Party Local Committee and the Labour Party executive, represented by their respective presidents and secretaries. They argued that Zammit, who had been granted a lease for the bar area in March 2019, had stopped paying rent in July 2024.
Witnesses for the Labour Party committee testified that besides the non-payment of rent, there were also issues regarding the management of the bar and unauthorised structural changes, including an opening made into a third-party property without permission. Furthermore, the committee had to settle utility bills themselves after ARMS Ltd threatened to suspend the service due to Zammit's non-payment.
During the proceedings, the defendant failed to file a timely legal defence, though he was still permitted to submit final legal notes. In his submissions, Zammit challenged the Labour Party's legal standing to bring the case, questioning whether the party owned the property.
However, the Board dismissed this argument, clarifying that under Maltese rent laws, a lessor does not necessarily need to be the property owner to initiate an eviction or seek rent. The court noted that it is sufficient for the person granting the lease to have legal possession or a valid title, such as a sub-lease, which was the case for the Labour Party committee.
The court found that Zammit had failed to regularise his position even after receiving a formal legal letter in November 2024.
The Board calculated the arrears based on the daily rates agreed upon in the 2019 contract, being €25 per day for 2024 and early 2025, increasing to €30 per day from March 2025 onwards.
In addition to the eviction and the payment of arrears, the court ruled that the Labour Party was entitled to keep the initial deposit to cover part of the unpaid utility bills.
Hence, Zammit was given 21 days to vacate the premises.