Rectifying a 60-year-old injustice

As the consultation period for the Rent Laws Reform as set out by the White Paper has just concluded it is important that, at this stage, we all give the authorities the necessary time to digest the various reactions and come up with draft legislation that can address and rectify an injustice that has been continuously perpetrated against property owners - big and small.

The Malta Chamber of Commerce and Enterprise has already gone on record - more than once - saying that it considers the published Rent Laws Reform White Paper as a solid step in the right direction.

We also went through the document thoroughly - especially through an ad hoc committee, which has been analysing the situation emerging in the property rental market over the past years.

The Position Paper resulting from this detailed analysis was aimed to ensure a balanced and equitable way forward and I am proud that our position was also endorsed by the Malta Federation of Industry, the Malta Hotels and Restaurants Association and the Federation of Estate Agents. The paper recognises the positive aspects of the recommendations by the authorities and makes suggestions on how these can be further improved and fine-tuned.

At the recent news conference wherein we published this paper, we congratulated the government, especially Social Policy Minister John Dalli, for the political courage they showed in tackling this issue. We realise that there could be a political price to pay for this courageous reform but, nonetheless, this reform is badly needed.

The Chamber is insisting with both the government and the opposition that the principles of this reform are entrenched in the Constitution as any attempts to reform will be futile unless political agreement is struck.

For over a decade, the Chamber has been arguing that any rent reform has to be based on three main principles: the limitation of security of tenure; the liberalisation of pre-1995 agreements and a level playing field for commercial rents.

Another very basic aspect of this reform is that of requisition orders.

The Chamber has always argued that these measures - essentially of an emergency nature and in all cases imposed rather than at any moment in time voluntarily entered into by the parties - should be revoked forthwith.

The burden of social housing is the duty of the state and not of the private citizen.

As to the important issue of pre-1995 agreements freely entered into by both parties and which are still in force, the Chamber insists that such agreements should only be regulated by the contents of the same agreements.

In the case of lease contracts arising from the termination of the emphytheutical concession post-end June 1995, which according to present legislation enjoy the protection of the pre-1995 lease agreement and relative rent laws, the Chamber insists that these should no longer enjoy such protection.

The Chamber insists that property owners should be granted tax relief for a given period of time on income from rents liberalised by this legislation in order to adequately make up for income lost in the past.

On a positive note, we welcome the fact that the White Paper proposes that the reform will not only apply to tenancies of property owners but also in cases where the government is either a landlord or a tenant. It also agrees with the interpretation that health centres, police stations and similar tenancies are deemed to be commercial rents. On the other hand, the Chamber insists that properties used as clubs by political parties, band clubs and similar organisations should not be excluded and are to fall within the parameters of the new legislation.

There are other fine-tunings we are proposing, including that of having rent value arrived at on the actual property value and surely not on the turnover of the business venture.

In conclusion, as a Chamber, we are adamant on the respect of property owners' right to enjoy their property as well as their right to dispose of their property in the way they deem fit, without any imposition or intervention.

These are principles which have been trampled upon for far too long and it is high time all our elected representatives see the writing on the wall and stand up to be counted.

The full Position Paper of the Malta Chamber of Commerce on rent reform is available online at www.chamber.org.mt.

Mr Tabone is president of the Malta Chamber of Commerce and Enterprise.