Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/1493026
maltatoday | SUNDAY • 19 FEBRUARY 2023 15 LAW CLASSIFIEDS WHEN a landlord does not ac- cept the termination of a lease agreement but rents the same property to a third party, this would, in fact, mean that he would be legally accepting the termination. This was held in Gismond Attard et -v- Yog.Art Catering Limited, decided by the Court of Appeal on 2 No- vember 2022, presided by Mr Justice Lawrence Mintoff. Attard filed an appeal from a judgement delivered by the Rent Regulation Board on 31 January 2022. The Board had upheld Attard's claims in that the company should pay €9720 in rent and that since the de- posit of €16,000 was not re- turned, then the rent should be reduced from that sum. A further €2,676 should also be reduced, representing the con- sumption of electricity. The Court of Appeal analysed the case. The Defendant Com- pany, Yog. Art Catering Limit- ed rented a shop in St Julians. The first three years of the lease were di fermo at a rate of €90 per day in rent. A few months into the lease, the company wanted to terminate the lease. The appellant refused to accept the keys. Since the three years di fermo period was not used, the appellant presented a claim of over €79,000. If the deposit of €16,000 had to be deduct- ed, then the claim should be €63,000. Furthermore, there was an additional claim of €2676, which represented an unpaid ARMS bill of electric- ity. In his cross-examination, the appellant confirmed that the shop was rented out to an- other company in March 2015. The Defendant Company ar- gued that it was not in a finan- cial position to continue with the lease. More importantly, the appellant accepted the termination because they had rented the property to a third party. A director of the compa- ny testified that he had noticed that the shop was rented out to others a few weeks after they informed the owner that they were terminating the lease. The Court of Appeal ana- lysed the Board's decision. The Board had quoted from a number of judgements which dealt with the renunciation of a lease. In Mary Ciantar – v- Ladislao Giuseppe Micolucci of 27 April 2010, the Court had listed the elements of renunci- ation. The renunciation must be clear; it must not be gener- al nor open to interpretation. The renunciation must show a precise legal. The Board held that when the company informed the Appel- lants that he wanted to return the keys, the lease was not ter- minated. However, when the property was rented to a third party, it was at this time the lease to the company was ter- minated. The Appellants ob- viously took possession of the shop. In fact, the Appellants presented the lease agreement, which was signed by the Appel- lants and the third party. It was the date of this second lease agreement that terminated the first. The Court calculated that the pending rent is €9720 plus €2676.35, which represents the ARMS bills. The appellant argued that this decision should be over- turned since the di fermo peri- od was binding. The appellant explained that they rented the property to a third party at a lesser rent. The appellant claimed that the keys to the shop were not accepted, and the fact the keys were deposited in Court did not change the legal position. The company replied and held that once the appellant rented the shop to a third par- ty, they renounced the rights listed in the lease agreement. If the appellant wanted the rent, they should have left the prop- erty vacant. The Court of Appeal dealt with the ground of appeal in the di fermo period. Case law shows that when the owner accepts the keys from the tenant, the lease agreement is terminated. In this case, the appellant, as owner, did not ac- cept the keys. The Board held that the Ap- pellants could withdraw the keys from Court. The Court agreed with Board's legal rea- soning. The appellant entered in- to a new lease agreement and therefore did not want to con- tinue with their commercial relationship with the company. As a consequence, the appel- lant renounced their right to the full amount. The Court then moved to turn down the appeal. A new lease agreement is deemed to be renunciation of the old lease agreement LAW REPORT MALCOLM MIFSUD Mifsud & Mifsud Advocates CLASSIFIEDS INFO @MEDIATODAY.COM.MT HOLIDAY ACCOMMODATION MARSALFORN, Gozo - holiday apart- ments for short or long lets with mag- nificent sea-views. Call 21556021, 27556021, 79426883 PROPERTY TO LET SHOP TO LEASE - Class 4 B 60 sqm corner shop to lease in San Gwann. Key money €49,888 and €40 a day rental. Call on 79703404. XLENDI - catering premises in prime site to let. Can be used for other com- mercial purposes. 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