A court has ordered the government to hand back a Gozo property to its owners after it was sublet to Maltapost without consent.

The late Prof. Felice Cremona had leased premises in Republic Street, Victoria, to the government in 1935. The premises were originally utilised as a post office but from 1978 onwards they were used as the notarial archives.

Structural damage was caused to the premises as a result of the weight of documents.

Prof. Cremona’s heirs filed an action for eviction in the First Hall of the Civil Court against the Commissioner of Lands, the Attorney General and Maltapost plc.

They said the government had sublet the premises to Maltapost without their consent. They therefore requested the court to order the government and Maltapost to vacate the premises and to make good the damages.

In handing down judgment, Mr Justice Joseph Azzopardi said there was no doubt that Maltapost occupied the premises. They had been passed onto Maltapost as a result of a legal notice in 1998 when the postal department’s role had been assumed by that company.

However, Maltapost had not produced any evidence that it had been recognised as a tenant by the heirs, nor that it had paid any rent.

The court therefore ordered that the property revert to the heirs of the late Prof. Cremona. The court however found that the heirs’ action for damages was barred by lapse of time.