Rent reform debate starts

The Bill to reform the rent laws would ensure social justice for the owners of leased tenements, Social Policy Minister John Dalli told Parliament yesterday.

Introducing the Bill, Mr Dalli said it sought to liberalise, in a phased manner, leases entered into before June 1, 1995. It also laid the foundation for a lease market that would function properly and, thus, provide a suitable alternative for adequate and affordable accommodation.

The saving clause in the transitory provisions for requisitioned property was made subject to the government's ongoing policy aimed at phasing out all requisition orders as soon as possible. The minister announced that only some 1,500 requisitioned properties remained out of the original 54,000.

Among other things, the Bill establishes that a contract of letting and hiring of urban property, a residence or a commercial tenement entered into after January 1, 2009, shall be in writing. The Rent Regulation Board shall have the exclusive competence to decide on all matters pertaining to the contract of lease.

The government was neither in favour of the status quo nor was it after big-bang solutions, Mr Dalli said. It was after a gradual reform, therefore, middle-of-the-road solutions had to be sought to retain a social balance.

From the feedback to the White Paper, the solution to the problem lay in keeping a balance in a period of transition, making it clear that the existing framework had ended but, at the same time, that things would not change overnight.

The government had received 2,000 suggestions and 800 questions in response to the White Paper. Reactions had also been received from eight constituted bodies, three government entities and all political parties.

Mr Dalli said he hoped the Bill would be refined further after the government hears the opposition's comments in the second reading.