The owners of a former Qormi cinema, which has been rented to the Labour Party since 1951, are challenging the legality of a law that does not allow them to raise the rent from €198 a year.

The eight owners – Clothilde Borg, Carmen Mizzi, Joseph Mizzi, Salvinu Mizzi, Vincent Mizzi, Isabelle Mercieca, Cecilia Dalli and Felicita Micallef – claimed that a 2014 legal notice regulating the lease of property by political party clubs did not allow them to demand a rent that reflected market prices. Neither did it allow them to review or terminate the lease to safeguard their right to enjoy their property.

In an application in the First Hall of the Civil Court, in its constitutional jurisdiction, against the Labour Party and its leader, Joseph Muscat, they said the former cinema in St Bartholomew Street, Qormi had been leased to Labour to be used as a club.

Originally, the rent stood at €151 a year and it was increased to €198 a year in 2002 after the death of the owners’ mother.

The owners said the rent in place did not reflect the real value of the property and protested that rent laws prohibited them from raising the rent and was, therefore, prejudicing their rights.

They called on the court to declare that the amount of the rent being paid to them and the law regulating it were in breach of their rights. They also asked the court to grant them compensation for the financial loss suffered over the years and to order an effective remedy that could include eviction or raising the rent.

Lawyers Jason Azzopardi, Kris Busietta and Evelyn Borg Costanzi signed the application.