Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/1532664
6 OPINION LAW 9 maltatoday | SUNDAY • 23 FEBRUARY 2025 Law Report FOR a Defendant to be the correct De- fendant, it must be shown that prima facie he or she were involved in the transaction. This was held in a judgment delivered by Magistrate Noel Bartolo presiding over the Rent Regulation Board in C&F Enter- prises Limited vs Aloisia Mifsud Grech. The judgment was delivered on 7 Febru- ary 2025. In its application, the company Applicant explained that it is the owner of a shop in Birkirkara, which was rented to the De- fendant in September 2014. However, the Defendant failed to pay the rent in different periods in 2018 and 2019. The company al- so claimed that the Defendant caused dam- ages to the premises. The claim amounted to over €11,000. The Defendant held that the shop was in possession of Justin Haber and that she did not cause any damage to the property. Magistrate Bartolo analysed the lease agreement between the two Parties and the evidence produced. The sirector of the company testified that since the Defend- ant's husband was unwell, he agreed to dis- cuss a new lease with an Italian individual. A draft lease agreement was sent; however, no reply was received. Then the Defendant put Justin Haber forward as a prospective tenant. The company director thought it was an introductory meeting, however, the Defendant gave Haber the keys of the catering establishment. A draft lease agree- ment was given to Haber; however, it was never signed. As such the rent was still due by the Defendant. Haber carried out works contrary to the lease agreement. In his cross-examination, the director held that subleasing was not allowed. Justin Haber also testified saying that the Defendant proposed to rent the catering establishment to him. Although there was a draft agreement, this was not signed by the company. He admitted carrying out some works such as installing gypsum, cameras, and new air conditioning. Under cross-ex- amination, Haber said he paid the rent in front of the director of the company. All works were done with the knowledge of the company. An architect testified that the property was in a bad state of repair. The Rent Regulation Board, first consid- ered whether the Defendant had any legal relationship with the Applicant. The Board quoted from a judgment Grace Borg vs Ed- ward Basile et dated 8 October 2019, that to be considered a legitimate party to the action it would be enough to show that on the face of it the party was part of the trans- action thus establishing a judicial relation- ship. In the case under review, the Defendant argued that the unpaid rent and damages pertained to the period when the place was in the possession of Justin Haber. This was known to the company and also had its ap- proval. However, the Board argued that there is no evidence the company approved that Justin Haber take over the property, nor is there evidence that Haber paid the com- pany. The emails produced show that the Defendant was negotiating directly with Haber. The Defendant was taking legal action against Haber in order to take the property back. If the company had allowed Haber to take over the lease, the action would have been taken by the company and not the Defendant. The Board observed that the Defendant was the tenant, although Justin Haber had possession of the property. In fact, the De- fendant admitted that she was responsible for the unpaid rent. The Board held this was without prejudice to the Defendant taking action against Haber. As to the amount owed to the Applicant company, the Board held that it was con- sidering that the lease agreement was ter- minated on the day the keys were handed over. From the evidence it showed that the tenant paid extra amounts on water and electricity bills and this was deducted from the amount due. The Board accepted that damages were caused. The deposit was also reduced. The Board ordered the Defendant to pay the Applicant Company €9,287. The defendant must be involved in the transaction LAW REPORT MALCOLM MIFSUD Mifsud & Mifsud Advocates MALCOLM MIFSUD Mifsud & Mifsud Advocates Alex Borg Alex Borg is a Nationalist Party MP and spokesperson for Gozo The government's failure: Malta drowning in traffic, the cost of living and lack of vision SURVEY after survey is confirming what everyone has been feeling for years. Traffic is now considered the biggest problem in the country (28%), followed by the cost of living (27%) and corruption (17%). This clearly shows that the current policies are not provid- ing effective solutions to people's needs. The fact that we have completed doz- ens of road projects, but traffic contin- ues to increase, demonstrates a lack of long-term planning. The introduction of 27 new vehicles on our roads every day means that nearly 10,000 new cars are added every year on an already crowded island. If the government's plans were effective, the statistics should have shown a decrease in the number of new cars, not an increase. The question is clear: What has the government done to allow people to choose an alternative to the car? Do we have public transport that offers a tru- ly reliable service? Have the plans for a metro, ferries, and cycling infrastruc- ture remained just on paper? While inflation in the rest of Europe seems to be decreasing, 27% of the pub- lic in Malta still sees the cost of living as the biggest problem. Despite all of the government's promises, rental prices and food costs continue to rise. There is no clear plan to ensure wag- es keep up with the cost of living. The COLA (Cost of Living Adjustment) cannot be the only solution, especially when we've seen how people on mini- mum wages in certain sectors are still struggling to meet essential costs. In- terestingly, attention on corruption has dropped from 35% to 17%. What does this mean? Two possible things: Either people are giving up and no longer believe change is possible, or their priorities are now focused on more immediate problems like the cost of living and traffic. This government has been justifying itself with the economy, but if today people are saying the biggest problems are traffic, cost of living, and difficult living conditions, we must ask: Where has all the money from the supposed- ly healthy economy gone? Why isn't it helping ordinary people? While Malta faces a traffic crisis and poor planning, Gozo remains neglect- ed and without a solution. Despite its specific needs, many Gozitans are still dependent on private cars because they simply have no viable alternatives. The connection between the two is- lands is still problematic. Gozo needs a clear vision to reduce dependency on private cars and help create better, sustainable transport solutions that tru- ly address the needs of Gozitans. This survey should be a wake-up call for the government. Traffic is not just a road issue; it's a problem of poor planning. The cost of living is not something we can ignore – people are finding it hard to keep up. Corruption is not a thing of the past, there are still many seri- ous questions about how public money is being spent. For Malta to move for- ward, a real and effective transport plan is needed, not just more roads and fly- overs. Concrete measures to help families keep up with the cost of living are re- quired, not temporary solutions. Ad- ditionally, transparency and good gov- ernance are essential, because without trust in politics, there is no economy that can survive. The people are sending a clear mes- sage: Life in Malta is becoming hard- er, and a new direction is needed. The question is will the government listen, or will it continue moving in its direc- tion without realising the truth?