Several organisations have presented a list of proposed changes to a Bill which seeks to remove the minimal existing safeguards to tenants within the Private Residential Leases Act. The joint document was sent to the Minister for Social and Affordable Accommodation, Roderick Galdes, and the Shadow Minister, Ivan Bartolo, ahead of the Parliamentary Consideration of Bills Committee meeting that will discuss Bill No. 87, on Wednesday 13 March at 2pm.

The counterproposals were authored by Solidarjetà, Moviment Graffitti and Malta Tenant Support, and have been endorsed by several organisations working within the social field.

The organisations are alarmed by proposed amendments that seek to weaken the already vulnerable position of tenants in order to strengthen the power and quick profits of landlords. In this context, two of the four organisations’ proposals are:

1. The amendment seeking to extend the rent contracts’ registration period from ten days to 51 days (30 days for registration, and a further 21 days for rectification) be changed so that this period is shortened to 20 days. The amendment, as written down in the Bill, would leave many tenants unprotected for an excessively long period of time. Moreover, stronger measures are needed against those landlords who do not respect the very basic requirement of registering a contract.

2. The amendment to extend the di fermo period to the entire length of the rental contract should be scrapped. This would mean that the tenant will lose their deposit and be liable for the landlord’s loss of rental income if they were to exit the contract earlier – even during the last six months. This proposed amendment would effectively trap many tenants in rental contracts even when their relationship with the landlord has broken down or their circumstances have changed so that they could not afford the rent. The exemptions listed in the proposed amendments can never be exhaustive because life is unpredictable and cannot be pre prescribed. This is one of the few features of the current version of the Residential Leases Act that provides a small measure of flexibility and provides them with a means to withdraw from precarious contracts before the end of the contractual period. 

If the Government’s anti-tenant amendments go through, these will exacerbate an already dire situation for the most vulnerable in society. Malta’s current rent law is one of the most anti-tenant laws in the European Union. For example, in Spain, rent contracts have a minimum duration of five years, with a six-month di fermo period. This means that, in Spain, tenants have a right to stay in the rented property for five years and can withdraw from the lease without penalty after six months. In Malta, the minimum lease duration is of a mere one year.

With the proposed amendments, in addition to the precarity enforced by such short-term contracts, tenants would also be forced to stay for the duration of the whole period, losing the opportunity to find better properties or escaping abusive landlords. Most tenants cannot afford to lose their deposit or be held liable for the loss of the landlord’s rental income. In any case the state of Malta’s rental market is very much a landlord market and there is no shortage of tenants looking for a rental property.

The Government’s repeated succumbing to pressures from the developers’ and landlords’ lobby has led to an unregulated, unaffordable and highly abusive property market, something that is widening social inequalities and inflicting much suffering. Should the amendments in Bill No. 87 go through, this would once again show that Government’s loyalty lies with the profits of the few rather than with the common good.

It is not too late to change direction.

The counterproposals are endorsed by:
Moviment Graffitti
Solidarjetà – Workers’ and tenants’ union
Malta Tenant Support
YMCA
OASI
Anti Poverty Forum – Malta
St Jeanne Antide Foundation
Żgħażagħ Ħaddiema Nsara (ŻĦN)
Kunsill Nazzjonali taż-Żgħażagħ (KNZ)
Kunsill Studenti Universitarji (KSU)
Żminijietna – Voice of the Left
Alleanza Kontra l-Faqar
Migrant Women Association Malta
Spark15
African Media Association Malta
Dance Beyond Borders
University Students of Performing Arts (USPA)
Association of Students of Commercial Studies (ASCS)
Earth Systems Association
Malta Biochemistry Students’ Association (MBSA)
Betapsi
Kollettiv Żgħażagħ EkoXellugin (KŻE)

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Il-benesseri soċjali għandu jiġi qabel il-profitti bla skrupli – Numru ta’ għaqdiet jippreżentaw għadd ta’ kontroproposti għall-emendi fil-liġi tal-kirjiet

Bosta għaqdiet ippreżentaw lista ta’ emendi proposti għall-Abbozz ta’ Liġi li beħsiebu jelimina l-protezzjonijiet minimi li hemm fis-seħħ u li attwalment igawdu minnhom il-kerrejja permezz tal-Att dwar il-Kirjiet Residenzjali Privati. Dan id-dokument konġunt ġie mibgħut lill-Ministru għall-Akkomodazzjoni Soċjali u Affordabbli, Roderick Galdes, u lix-Shadow Minister, Ivan Bartolo, qabel is-Seduta tal-Kumitat Parlamentari li fiha se jiġi diskuss l-Abbozz Nru 87, nhar l-Erbgħa 13 ta’ Marzu fis-2pm.

Il-kontroproposti ġew imfassla minn Solidarjetà, Moviment Graffitti, u Malta Tenant Support, u sabu l-appoġġ ta’ bosta għaqdiet li jaħdmu fl-oqsma soċjali.

L-għaqdiet huma mħassba ferm dwar l-emendi proposti li għandhom l-għan li jdgħajfu l-pożizzjoni diġà prekarja tal-kerrejja, filwaqt li jsaħħu l-poter u l-profitti ta’ sidien il-kera. F’dan il-kuntest, żewġ mill-erba’ proposti mressqa mill-organizazzjonijiet huma li:

1. L-emenda li tipproponi li l-perjodu ta’ reġistrazzjoni tal-kuntratti tal-kiri jiġi mtawwal minn għaxart ijiem għal 51 ġurnata (30 għar-reġistrazzjoni u 21 oħra għar-rettifika) tiġi mibdula ħalli dan il-perjodu minflok jitqassar għal 20 ġurnata. L-emenda, skont kif qiegħda mniżżla fl-Abbozz, se tħalli bosta kerrejja nieqsa mill-protezzjoni għal perjodu ta’ żmien twil wisq. Apparti minn hekk, hemm bżonn ta’ miżuri iktar b’saħħithom kontra sidien il-kera li ma jirrispettawx ir-rekwiżit l-iktar bażiku li jirreġistraw il-kuntratt tal-kiri.

2. L-emenda li beħsiebha testendi l-perjodu di fermo biex ikopri t-tul kollu tal-kuntratt tal-kirja għandha titħassar. Permezz ta’ din l-emenda, il-kerrejja se jitilfu d-depożitu u jistgħu jinżammu responsabbli għat-telf tad-dħul mill-kera tas-sid f’każ li joħorġu mill-kuntratt qabel ma jintemm – saħansitra fl-aħħar sitt xhur. Din l-emenda proposta effettivament se torbot lill-bosta kerrejja f’kuntratti tal-kiri kontra l-volontà tagħhom, anke f’każijiet meta r-relazzjoni tagħhom ma’ sid il-kirja tkun fi stat ħażin ħafna, jew jekk iċ-ċirkostanzi tagħhom ikunu nbidlu tant li ma jkunux jistgħu jaffordjaw il-kirja. L-eżenzjonijiet mniżżla fl-emendi proposti ma jistgħu qatt ikunu eżawrjenti, għax il-ħajja mhix prevedibbli u ma tistax tkun preskritta minn qabel. Din hija waħda mill-ftit karatteristiċi fil-verżjoni kurrenti tal-Att dwar il-Kirjiet Residenzjali Privati li tipprovdi miżura żgħira ta’ flessibilità u tipprovdi mezz lill-kerrejja li joħorġu minn kuntratti prekarji qabel ma jispiċċa l-perjodu tal-kuntratt.

Jekk l-emendi tal-Gvern kontra l-kerrejja jgħaddu, dawn se jaggravaw sitwazzjoni diġà gravi għan-nies l-iktar vulnerabbli tas-soċjetà. Il-ligi kurrenti tal-kera f’Malta hija waħda mill-iktar li tmur kontra l-kerrejja fl-Unjoni Ewropea. Pereżempju, fi Spanja, il-kuntratti tal-kiri għandhom tul minimu ta’ ħames snin, b’perjodu di fermo ta’ sitt xhur. Din ifisser li, fi Spanja, il-kerrejja għandhom id-dritt li joqogħdu fil-proprjetà tal-kiri għal ħames snin, u jistgħu joħorġu mill-kuntratt mingħajr penali wara l-ewwel sitt xhur. F’Malta, it-tul minimu ta’ kuntratt tal-kiri huwa ta’ sena biss.

Permezz tal-emendi proposti mill-Gvern, apparti l-prekarjetà infurzata b’kuntratti daqstant qosra, il-kerrejja se jkunu sfurzati li joqogħdu fil-proprjetà tal-kiri għat-tul kollu tal-kuntratt, u ma jkunux jistgħu jsibu proprjetà aħjar jew jaħarbu minn sidien abbużivi. Ħafna kerrejja ma jistgħux jaffordjaw li jitilfu d-depożitu tagħħom jew li jinżammu responsabbli għat-telf tad-dħul mill-kiri tas-sid. Fl-aħħar mill-aħħar, is-stat tas-suq tal-kiri Malti huwa wieħed żbilanċjat favur is-sidien, u ma nistgħux ngħidu li hawn nuqqas ta’ kerrejja jfittxu proprjetà għall-kiri.

Il-fatt li l-Gvern ripetutament ċeda għall-pressjonijiet mil-lobby tal-iżviluppaturi u ta’ sidien il-kera wassal għal suq tal-proprjetà li mhuwiex regolat, mhuwiex affordabbli, u huwa abbużiv. Din hi xi ħaġa li qiegħda twessa’ l-firxa ta’ inugwaljanzi soċjali u twassal għal ħafna tbatija. Jekk l-emendi tal-Abbozz tal-Liġi Nru 87 jgħaddu, dan se juri għal darb’oħra li l-Gvern huwa leali lejn il-profitti tal-ftit minflok lejn il-ġid komuni.

Mhuwiex tard wisq biex tinbidel id-direzzjoni.

Il-kontroproposti huma approvati minn:
Moviment Graffitti
Solidarjetà – Workers’ and tenants’ union
Malta Tenant Support
YMCA
OASI
Anti Poverty Forum – Malta
St Jeanne Antide Foundation
Żgħażagħ Ħaddiema Nsara (ŻĦN)
Kunsill Nazzjonali taż-Żgħażagħ (KNZ)
Kunsill Studenti Universitarji (KSU)
Żminijietna – Voice of the Left
Alleanza Kontra l-Faqar
Migrant Women Association Malta
Spark15
African Media Association Malta
Dance Beyond Borders
University Students of Performing Arts (USPA)
Association of Students of Commercial Studies (ASCS)
Earth Systems Association
Malta Biochemistry Students’ Association (MBSA)
Betapsi
Kollettiv Żgħażagħ EkoXellugin (KŻE)