Updated on Monday at 3.50pm

A couple found themselves out on the streets of Siġġiewi on Sunday afternoon after being kicked out by their landlord.

The couple, from Canada, said their landlord broke the chain on their door, accompanied by two men, and started packing their belongings into boxes.

“They threw everything in; we don’t even know where our wallets or computers are,” they said.

The couple, who asked for anonymity, filed a police report saying they were illegally evicted and that they were manhandled.

“I tried to go back in but couldn’t because they blocked the entrance,” the woman said.

It is so hard to find a place to live here

Speaking to the Times of Malta, the 62-year-old also claimed that the men had manhandled her and pushed her out of the building.

The Canadians have been living in Malta for around two-and-a-half years and rented the former offices of their landlord six months ago.

The couple said they had a verbal agreement with the landlord to rent the premises until the end of June. They also lamented that the landlord continued to ask for higher rent as the months went on.

“He wanted €600 a month, and then €800 and then €1,000 a month,” the woman said.

“I asked for receipts, but the landlord continued to insist that no receipts would be given.”

Asked why they had agreed to live in the apartment without a written agreement, the woman lamented: “It is so hard to find a place to live here. We still do not have a permanent place.” They have moved to a friend’s house.

The landlord contacted the Times of Malta on Monday to say that the couple had not been paying their rent for “quite some time.” He added that the couple did not want to leave when their time to stay was up, even when asked multiple times.

“They wanted to stay - to the extent that other people who had already booked the space could not move in,” the landlord said.

“You do not simply book a hotel and then tell them that you do not want to move out when your time to stay is up.”