The Labour Party has questioned the exclusion of social centres and political clubs from the proposed rent reform in an 18-page reaction to the White Paper.
The MLP said the proposed rent reform should be fair, not only with the most vulnerable but also with landlords who had spent years without adequate compensation.
The document, compiled by a seven-man commission headed by social policy spokesman Michael Farrugia, calls for more comprehensive aid schemes, adding that those currently offered by the Housing Authority are not adequate.
The White Paper, addressing pre-1995 rentals, was launched by Social Policy Minister John Dalli last June. Among its proposals, it limits the right of tenants to pass on rented property to descendants, raises the minimum annual rent by €68.50 and limits landlords' maintenance responsibility to structural damage and roof work.
In a detailed reaction, the MLP calls for a solution which is not only suitable for today but also for coming years, while providing incentives for accommodation within the structure of an overall strategy.
"The government has the responsibility to help tenants while ensuring that property owners get what they deserve. We want a reform which addresses injustices through justice rather than creating new injustices, especially when it comes to vulnerable sectors of society," it said.
It said the social impact of any changes needed to be kept in mind, especially in cases of pensioners. It is calculated that 61 per cent of those over 60 living in property rented before 1995 pay an annual rent of €116.50, which is proposed to go up to €185.
The MLP expressed the belief that any rent increases should be governed by a specific index rather than the rate of inflation, adding that the government had not specified which mechanism would be used to determine the value of rented property.
Referring to business rentals, the MLP said research in this field was lacking, adding that businesses should not be faced with a new reality which changed the way they operate.
Earlier this month the Chamber for Small and Medium Enterprises dubbed the reform the "rip-off of the century" and expressed concern that thousands of small businesses would be "robbed" of their rented premises if the current proposals were pushed through.