The owners of properties rented out for commercial use are furious after amendments to the 2009 law on sub-letting were changed on the eve they were meant to come into force.

The original 2009 clause allowed the termination of commercial sub-lets that dated back before June 1, 1995. The termination was to come into force on May 31, 2018.

However, the doors have been thrown open again. Act 8 of 2018 says that if sub-letting tenants wants to stay on beyond May 31, 2018, he or she can apply to the Rent Regulation Board and stay for the remainder of the lease or for no more than 10 years, whichever was the shorter.

The rent owed would be determined by the board, and could be below market value if payment would “impose harsh consequences” that would “prejudice that person’s living or that of persons working” there.

Rents can then be gradually increased year-on-year until they reach market value in nine years' time, in 2027. 

In a statement issued on Tuesday, the Malta Developers' Association expressed dismay at this shifting of goalposts. 

"It is a matter of disappointment that legal provisions that gave such a long, advanced notice on how these rents had to be regulated were amended a few days before the first term that was fixed so long ago lapsed.

"The 2009 amendments gave a nine-year notice period but landlords hoping for certainty now found that they need to wait for the outcome of legal procedures before they can ask tenants to leave the rented premises," the MDA said.