92.7% in favour of repealing 1939 rent laws

Practically all those interviewed in the latest Sunday Times opinion survey carried out by sociologist Mario Vassallo are in favour of holding a referendum to repeal the 1939 rent laws, as proposed by Alternattiva Demokratika - and would massively vote in favour.

In fact 97% said they were in favour and only 0.7% said they were against; 2.3% did not commit themselves. And of those questioned, 92.7% would vote in favour of repealing the 1939 laws while only 2% would vote against; 5.3% would not vote.

Besides, 90% believe that a change in rent laws would encourage more young couples to rent rather than buy their homes. Only 7.3% believe that this would not come about; 2.3% did not answer this question.

The survey was carried out by telephone among 300 respondents between June 30 and July 7.

Respondents in the survey were first asked whether they owned their own home. A staggering 89.7% replied that they did, meaning that only 10.3% live in rented properties. Of those interviewed, 4.3% said they lived in privately owned property and paid commercial rents; just 1% said they paid rent frozen at 1939 levels, while the remaining 5% said their home is rented from the government.

Though the figure of those living in rented property appears to be low, official statistics show that between 1996 and 2000 home ownership grew by 6.13%, and this rate appears to have been retained since. Besides, those who live in property rented at 1939 levels are typically elderly people, while those living in non-rented property are relatively young couples with children still at home.

As expected, only persons belong to the lowest socio-economic category (DE: 3.8%) reported that they lived in '1939'-rent property.

Also, those who live in Government-owned property pay highly subsidised rent; 46.7% of those who live in such housing belong to the C2 socio-economic group, and another 46.7% to the DE group. The remaining 6.7% belong to the C1 category.

More than two-thirds (67.7%) of those who live in rented property have been living there for between 11 and 20 years, while 16.1% have lived in the same house for over 20 years.

The vast majority of rented housing is rented directly to the respondents (73.3%); only 13.3% said it was originally rented to someone else before them; another 13.3% preferred not to answer this question.

An overwhelming majority (95.3%) agree that rent in government housing should not be fixed but could vary according to the income of the tenant. Only 3.3% said the rent should be fixed.

An equally impressive majority (83.3%) think that the right of inheriting tenancies should be removed; 15% think it should be retained.

Yet even those in favour of retaining the right of inheritance of tenancies, in their majority (71.1%) favoured reviewing the rent to reflect the tenant's income.

Finally, the vast majority (95.3%) were against renting government property at low rates to someone who owns property let at commercial rates. Only 2.3% agreed with this, while another 2.3% did not reply.

Asked for his comments, Professor Vassallo replied: "The current debate on rent legislation is as healthy as it is complicated. It is certain that the market for long and medium-term rent in Malta is very small, and shrinking by the day, as more Maltese consider it worthwhile putting their major investments in their residence.

"The pre-war rent legislation, though an anachronism, does not appear to be the main cause of the problems in the area, though. If done away with, the social burdens currently being shouldered by the private sector would have to be shifted to the Exchequer, since those benefiting from it are likely to be social cases.

"But a lot can be done by Government to be a true steward of the common heritage of the Maltese: to give a subsidy on housing to those who find it difficult to make ends meet is certainly an important expression of solidarity, but to retain the subsidy at the same level when their situation improves is increasingly being considered by many as unacceptable.

"In the area of housing legislation too, the Maltese appear to be moving into an era in which the management of social capital has to be more equitably sustained. It is up to the politicians to respond to this important sign of the times if they want to sustain a truly leading role in a fast changing society," Professor Vassallo concluded.