Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/608340
maltatoday, SUNDAY, 29 NOVEMBER 2015 7 News Council of Europe demands to know next steps for Malta's fragile rent law MATTHEW VELLA THE government intends extend- ing a general reform of rental laws to the unilateral leases created in 1979, which converted temporary leases into permanent rental contracts – but the details remain sketchy at best. The proposed amendments have already been delayed by a year, a report by the Council of Europe's monitoring committee has revealed. The monitoring committee is re- sponsible to enforce rulings by the European Court of Human Rights, and Maltese rent laws are the sub- ject of three separate rulings. The most contentious is the Am- ato Gauci case, where the European Court effectively found that a law that forcibly turns temporary leases into a permanent rental contract, was against property owners' funda- mental rights. The ECHR had found a dispro- portionate burden was imposed on property owners by the Housing (Decontrol) Ordinance, which from 1979 subjected them to a landlord- tenant relationship without their consent: upon expiry, temporary leases were turned into permanent rental contracts and annual rents only doubled in value every 15 years. Since then, the Maltese courts have been flooded with claims for damages from the government by property owners. Tenants, on the other hand, live in fear of eviction because of the unconstitutionality of the Hous- ing (Decontrol) Ordinance – which however stays in place. And this is the sticking point for both the government and people liv- ing in rent-controlled properties. The government has been tight- lipped about its plans to address the growing number of landlords clam- ouring for the return of their prop- erties. The monitoring committee's as- sessment hints that the government will address the controlled rents that are way below market value – and that will mean a gradual increase in rents that can be as low as €100 a year… having doubled in value only once since they were 'frozen' in 1979. But tenants who first took control of their properties in the 1970s are today pensioners, and they fear they will not afford market rates of €500 a month in rent if the law changes. Justice minister Owen Bonnici has in the past told parliament that a social impact assessment was being carried out on the proposed legal changes that will be "striking a bal- ance between the social impact [on tenants] and landlords' rights." On its part, the Council of Europe committee has demanded further information as to "what procedural safeguards are envisaged" to pro- vide property owners with a rem- edy to challenge both the amount of rent fixed and the actual tenancy – "either on the basis of their own need or that of their relatives, or on the basis that the tenants were not deserving of such protection because they owned alternative ac- commodation". "There is a lack of clarity on the content and the scope… of those reforms and how they will benefit property owners, such as the ap- plicants in these cases, whose prop- erties continue to be the subject of imposed tenancies. "Further information is required on effective domestic remedies and the procedural safeguards in place for these property owners in partic- ular as repetitive cases are pending before the European Court." Tenants trying to fight back Tenants living in rent-controlled properties have no option but to wait for the Maltese government to legislate a compromise for them to retain their tenancies. The Maltese courts are now clear- ing more cases in favour of landlords claiming a breach of their right to enjoy their property. The Mifsud family is one group of tenants that is fighting back in an appeal that argues that they should not be made to pay for the errors of the Maltese government. Their law- yers, Patrick Valentino, Jason Az- zopardi (MP) and Kris Busietta are arguing that tenants should not have to be evicted for the fact that it was the Maltese state that never updated rent laws to create a fair balance be- tween tenants and owners. According to the Code of Organi- sation and Civil Procedure, court decisions that declare a law to be unconstitutional or that breaches a fundamental right, must be deliv- ered to the Speaker of the House and tabled in the House of Representa- tives; and that within six months the Prime Minister must see that the unconstitutional law is amended. Lawyers for the Mifsud family ar- gue that they risk a precarious live- lihood if evicted because of the un- constitutionality of the law – and the government's inaction to legislate a new law. They say the court should decide whether the landlords should be accorded a fairer rent – rather than uphold the first court's deci- sion that could lead to the tenants' eviction. "The tenants cannot be expected to be forced to carry the burden of others and make good for the short- comings of the State," the Mifsuds' lawyers argued. "The State first cre- ated a legitimate expectation that they could remain in their house un- der a rental title, and because those rental conditions were not updated the courts now claim they should answer for the breach of the owners' rights." mvella@mediatoday.com.mt Offers valid on cars in stock. Scrappage Scheme applicable on all models, excluding X-Trail. Malta: Nissan Motor Sales Ltd, Antonio Bosio Street, Msida MSD1341 | T: 2016 0722 | M: 99407554 / 99463750 | E: info-nissan@nissan.com.mt | Gozo: Mizzi Motors Ltd, Mgarr Road, Ghajnsielem GSM9016 T:21556942 | M: 99782000 | E: jcassar@mizzimotors .com.mt | Leasing Dept: T: 23264524 www.nissan.com.mt NISSAN'S OPEN WEEK 30 TH NOVEMBER - 5 TH DECEMBER €500 WORTH OF FREE ACCESSORIES WITH EVERY JUKE & X-TRAIL NEW REDUCED PRICES ON THE NISSAN QASHQAI 0% DEPOSIT ON EVERY NISSAN NOTE & MICRA The Council of Europe committee has asked for more information about proposed procedural safeguards