The tenants of a Vittoriosa store forming part of the Santa Skolastika Monastery have been ordered to vacate the property, after an Appeals Court overturned an earlier decision by the Rent Regulation Board.

The eviction order was issued after it transpired that the property, which had been rented for commercial purposes some 50 years before, had fallen into disuse and was in a bad state of repair.

Situated in 26, Triq il-Miratur, the store had been rented to George Attard, who used to work as a junk dealer.

A technical inspection by Rent Regulation Board architects carried out in 2007 revealed that the property was stuffed with wooden crates and junk.

The monastery claimed that he was breaching the lease agreement, and church authorities asked Mr Attard to vacate the property. But in 2013, the board rejected the request on the grounds that the Church had tacitly consented to the manner in which the property was being managed, as the monastery had accepted the rent payments.

Furthermore, not enough evidence was brought to prove that the store had suffered structural damage due to the tenant’s lack of maintenance, the board said.

Subsequently, the Church filed an appeal arguing that the findings of the structural report compiled by the board’s architects had been ignored.

In its decision, the Appeals Court presided over by Mr Justice Mark Chetcuti expressed its disagreement with the first court, saying that the complainants had after all brought sufficient evidence to back their claims.

It noted that the architects’ report confirmed that the store had not been in use for years and that its present function contrasted sharply with its intended commercial use.

The judge also pointed out that Mr Attard, who died in 2014, had never testified and no evidence was brought to determine whether his son was still in the same line of business.

While acknowledging that the monastery was still receiving the rent, it was not possible to verify what was actually going on, as the entrances had been blocked by the tenants, the court said.

Consequently, the judge re-voked the board’s decision and ordered the tenants to vacate the property within two months.