A court has ordered the eviction of tenants who illegally turned a structure near Ħaġar Qim into a restaurant, much to the dismay of the owners.

The case dates back to 2005 when the Magri siblings, heirs of the original owner of the property, Giuseppa Magri, had instituted civil proceedings against Jane Cini, the tenant, requesting the termination of a lease on the grounds that the lessee had altered the use of the property.

In the course of the proceedings, it transpired that the lessee had made extensive structural alterations to the property which had originally consisted of a small structure and open fields.

Over the years, the tenant built stores, a garage, kennels, toilets and metal-framed tents, the court was told. The original building was transformed into a restaurant. The material used consisted of bricks and concrete which contrasted sharply with the original building, as attested by a court expert.

All this was done without the consent of the applicants’ mother who, at the time was still alive and occasionally used to drop by at the restaurant for a drink or a coffee.

The First Hall, Civil Court had upheld the applicants’ claim in 2012, ordering the tenant to vacate the premises within three months, in spite of the latter’s lawyer arguing that the lease was protected by the Reletting of Urban Property Ordinance, predating the 1995 rent law reform.

The superior court, presided over by Mr Chief Justice Silvio Camilleri, Mr Justices Tonio Mallia and Joseph Azzopardi, observed that according to case law a tenant had the right to carry out structural alterations to a property as long as these did not alter the use of the property, were beneficial to the lessor and could be removed upon termination of the lease.

In this case the very nature of the original tenement had been altered. The fact that the original owner would often visit the restaurant did not necessarily imply that she had granted her consent to the works.

Her intention had always been otherwise, as confirmed even by her heirs under oath, the court said.

In the light of the evidence produced, the court rejected the appeal by the tenant and confirmed the earlier judgment which had ordered the reversal of the property in favour of the Magri family within three months.

Lawyer Michael Tanti-Dougall assisted the Magri siblings.