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Alternattiva Demokratika yesterday held a “public” consultation meeting on rent reform which was later closed to the press, in which some 43 landlords offered recommendations and suggestions.
Chairperson Harry Vassallo and Edward Fenech were present for the meeting designed to solicit ideas from the public. AD is campaigning for a change to the rent laws in a bid to harmonise the rent market which remains controlled for pre-1995 buildings.
The landlords present were yesterday asked whether they would accept a government proposal to subsidise their rent, if it abolished the right to inherit a rent-controlled property. The verdict was a unanimous no.
Some questioned whether any EU remedies existed in a bid to adjust the rent anomaly, in which rent-controlled properties have their rents fixed at the time it was first rented, and which can be inherited.
Others proposed that rent could be paid according to the income of their tenants, although others argued that rent depended on the value of property, and not on people’s wealth.
Edward Fenech later told MaltaToday AD’s pressure on the issue is working. “The Cabinet will be discussing a White Paper promised in August, but we are cautious on its contents.”
AD was expected to collect 30,000 signatures to hold an abrogative referendum on the issue, but has so far not yet reached the important target. Fenech said AD had no intention of publishing its proposals on the rent law reform before government makes public the contents of its white paper.
“What AD wants is not just a reform to the rent law, but a reform in the property sector: justice for landlords is important but we also aim at leaving no property unused.
“It is madness that in a country with such a scarcity of land there are 32,000 properties empty. That’s the equivalent of Gozo, empty. We cannot continue any longer with two rent regimes.”
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