Chamber of Commerce favours rent law change

The Malta Chamber of Commerce and Enterprise has welcomed recent announcement that the government will be making proposals on how existing rent laws can be amended "in a just and fair manner".

In the chamber's view, the first urgent rectification should be the removal by law of the so-called "security of tenure" practice.

For years, this has created a social injustice as it offers protection not only to the incumbent tenants but also to relatives of tenants, in particular those who "abusively" move into premises in the twilight of their relatives' lives in order to "inherit" favourable rental conditions. This practice is to be condemned as morally incorrect, the chamber said.

The second measure, it said, was liberalisation of pre-1995 residential rents. The chamber proposes that a formula acceptable to all parties be devised with a view to hasten the liberalisation process.

"The injustice inflicted by the current system should not be overlooked especially in cases where the tenants are more affluent than the landlord.

"Besides, as the law stands, the landlord is also obliged to finance any maintenance works required in rented properties at current prices and not at 1939 prices," the chamber said.

Thirdly, its stand on commercial rents is for complete liberalisation. The current situation gives rise to even greater injustice because the tenant is exploiting protection from antiquated and unfair legislation to the detriment of the rightful beneficiary of profits.

In the case of rent of commercial premises, another injustice arises in that the government enjoys certain rights that private landlords do not, the chamber said.