NEWS | Wednesday, 10 December 2008

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Rent reform law may lead to confusion, says Chamber

The Malta Chamber of Commerce and Enterprise yesterday said the rent law reform Bill recently laid in parliament did not give “a concrete way forward” and could lead to confusion due to a number of loopholes.
In an initial reaction the Chamber said several sections of the bill were open to interpretation and could lead to various ambiguities. It said the Bill “does not adequately rectify all the years of injustices.”
“The Chamber believes that the Bill still requires a number of clarifications. Way back in August, the Chamber was assured by the Minister that the long-awaited overhaul of the rent laws would be enacted into one document, but it was unfortunate to see that references to old laws are still made and that parts of the previous legislation have not been repealed.
“The Chamber believes that where exceptions exist, these should have been listed within the draft law, otherwise the old legislation should have been abrogated.”
The Chamber said it was disappointed to note that most of its recommendations were not included in the Bill.
“The Chamber maintains that the State should remain the only carrier of the country’s social burdens. The subsidisation of minimum rents is the sole responsibility of the State. This onus should not fall on the private property owner as the Bill still indicates.”
The Chamber said it will be studying the Bill within the next few days, and said it hopes to be given an opportunity to discuss it further with the authorities.

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