The government should seek to establish a new permanent rent regime applicable for all rented property to be introduced in stages during a reasonable transitional period, the Malta Developers' Association said. 

It was referring to this week's landmark Constitutional Court decision, whereby the current legal regime regulating rents of properties leased before June 1995 was declared as breaching landlords’ fundamental rights.

Read: Landmark judgement opens pre-1995 leases to scrutiny

Currently, owners of property that was rented out prior to June 1, 1995, had no right to refuse renewal of the lease and had to make do with a ‘fair rent’, despite soaring market values.

The court ruled that this regime created an unjust imbalance between the rights of the owners and those of the tenants, with the former having to shoulder, for years on end, the social burden induced by the current legislation.

This means that various areas of rent control legislation have been found to breach the fundamental rights of citizens to enjoy their property. At the same time, the government is considering the reaction to the recently issued White Paper on rent reform.

In a statement on Saturday, the MDA said it believed that the whole issue of rent reform should be tackled comprehensively so that a balance is found between the rights of landlords and the protection of tenants.

Attempts at piecemeal solutions have led to more legal complications than solving problems.

MDA appealed to all property owners to continue to join and insisted that it will be at the "forefront" to address these injustices.

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