Much is being bandied about (forgive the pun) about the contribution made by band clubs to Malta’s culture and I don’t think that anyone contests this. However, a Bill now being debated in Parliament proposes that private property is in effect requisitioned in order to house such band clubs.

The Bill proposes that the owners of these premises would be compensated by increasing the previous rent, in one case Lm450 per year (say €1,000 per year) by 10 times, i.e. in this case €9,000  annually.

Two provisos are that the rent shall not exceed one per cent of the value of the premises and that the owners can seek revision if the rent thus achieved is not considered proportional, but the board reviewing the owners’ claim must take due account of the social and cultural functions performed by the band club.

A recent judgement has established that the appropriate rent for a shop in Republic Street, Valletta, with a floor area of 25 square metres is €86,540 a year. This judgement has been notified to the Speaker of the House of Representatives.

All things being equal, the rent for a property of 250 square metres (or 10 times 25 square metres) should be €860,540 per annum.

I would be quite happy if the band club in question were to pay us an annual rent in this region, and I am also quite sure that no one will maintain that a rent of €9,000 per year is “proportional”.