A court yesterday ordered a woman to refund the Housing Authority over €17,000 (Lm7,296) after it was established that she had made a false declaration in order to benefit from a subsidy.
Mr Justice Joseph R. Micallef delivered the judgment in an action instituted by the Housing Authority against Yvonne Attard.
The court heard that the Housing Authority had agreed to give a subsidy to Mrs Attard to enable her to purchase her home. The subsidy was given under certain conditions which Mrs Attard undertook to honour.
But the Housing Authority claimed that Ms Attard had made a false declaration when she had claimed not to have ever benefited from any other subsidy in the past.
The Housing Authority asked the court to order Ms Attard to refund the sum of Lm7,360 representing the subsidy given to her.
Mr Justice Micallef heard that in March 1984 the Housing Authority had granted a plot of land in Tarxien, by title of temporary emphyteusis, to Joseph Attard, Ms Attard's husband. Mr Attard had to construct a house on the plot with the assistance of a loan issued by the Housing Authority.
In June 1995, the Housing Authority had established a scheme to encourage home ownership and, in the following year, Mrs Attard had requested assistance, in terms of this scheme, to purchase the property she was renting at the time. The application was upheld by the Housing Authority. In 1996, Mr and Mrs Attard had redeemed the ground rent on their home in Tarxien and the Housing Authority had also subsidised this redemption.
In May 1996, the Tarxien home was assigned to the husband. Mrs Attard continued to occupy a property in Santa Luċija that she had first rented and then purchased with the assistance of the Housing Authority.
Mr Justice Micallef concluded that Mrs Attard had made a false declaration when she had applied for, and obtained, assistance in terms of the home ownership scheme for she had stated that she had never before received any assistance from the Housing Authority. This was not the case for both Mr and Mrs Attard had received a subsidy in respect of their Tarxien property.
The court therefore upheld the Housing Authority's request and ordered Mrs Attard to refund the sum of €17,144.19 (Lm7,538) which was the subsidy she had received.