Budget’s rental scheme doesn’t allow landlord to know who their tenants are

The Malta Developers Association have raised objections over a rental scheme from the Housing Authority through which property owners can rent their premises to the authority, which then subleases it to tenants at subsidised rates.

According to the MDA, instead of allowing for a free rental market with tenants dealing directly with owners and then registering the lease when applying for subsidy, the scheme forces owners to lease their property to the Housing Authority, which in turn sub-leases to the tenants.

"This is in fact a major obstacle for the success of the scheme," the MDA said in a statement. "Owners would normally seek to know who the prospective tenants are before they enter into a rental agreement and should not be obliged to accept anyone who obtains a sub-lease from the Housing Authority."

The MDA said this would have avoided a lot of expensive bureaucracy and expenses on the part of the authority, which will now be responsible for potential damages made to properties by its sub-lease holders.

"With the announced scheme the property owners concerned will lose all control of their property and what happens to it, much as what used to happen in the past in the case of requisition orders.

"It is a pity that such a good initiative has been smothered at its inception in this way rather than being allowed to flourish, something that would not have happened had the Housing Authority consulted interested stakeholders before finalising the scheme."