Strong support for AD's rent campaign

Three-quarters of respondents to The Times' online poll said they supported Alternattiva Demokratika's proposal to abrogate all existing rent laws through a referendum.

The Green Party announced two weeks ago it was launching a campaign for the holding of a referendum so that all existing rent laws may be replaced by a more modern and fair system.

In terms of the Referenda Act, AD needs to convince about 31,000 citizens to sign a petition that would oblige the authorities to call a referendum, on the premise that current rent laws are holding back the development of a proper rental market and causing property prices to shoot up without any control.

A respondent who welcomed AD's proposal said that besides perpetrating a blatant injustice to property owners, rent laws had indirectly contributed towards unsustainable development which ruined forever Malta's natural charm.

"Freeing the rent market should reduce the pressure on house prices and give first-time buyers a better chance," another respondent said.

Another commented that the reuse of vacant property would have prevented the need to build Kalkara Valley and similar locations. "Even high-rise buildings would not be needed," he added.

A number of respondents who voted in favour of a rent law referendum claimed they owned property which had been rented out "for a pittance", over which they had no control.

The owner of an "abandoned" shop in Merchants Street, Valletta said she was currently in court trying to regain possession of her property. She said the law prevented her from "breaking into" her own property and changing the locks, even though the rent fee had not been changed for several years.

A commentator said he had no direct interest in the reform being proposed but said he would vote for AD in the next general election if the Green Party managed to run this campaign in a professional manner.

"I suggest that rent should be calculated by means testing of all family members renting out the same dwelling. The right of occupancy of children after their parents' death (expect for children under 18) should be abolished," a respondent said.

Respondents agreed the law should bring about a situation where both the owners and the occupants knew exactly the terms of rent. A respondent asked whether abrogating existing rent laws meant that those who were currently paying Lm30 a year would have to start paying Lm100 annually.

Most of those who voted against remarked that they were doing so because it was not really clear to them what was wrong with the current rent laws and appealed to AD to explain itself more if it wants to garner further support on this issue.

"Can AD explain the benefits of a Lm1 million referendum?" a "no" voter asked.

Other respondents said AD was simply bringing up the issue to gain political mileage, asking why a Green Party would campaign in favour of a "rightist" issue. One respondent went on to label AD as an "extreme left-wing party", adding it was "strange" that the Maltese Green Party would take such an initiative.