A real estate agency that advertised an apartment for rent but instructed Arabs and blacks not to apply has been let off with an advisory note.

The equality watchdog said it “drew the company’s attention to avoid the use of discriminatory language in their adverts”.

According to the law, people guilty of discrimination can be fined up to €2,300 and face a six month jail sentence.

However, the National Commission for the Promotion of Equality does not have the power to enforce such penalties and the police have not yet said whether they will take action.

The law does not oblige a victim to come forward for action to be taken but sources said the police are unlikely to act in the absence of a complaint. Questions sent by The Sunday Times to the police – not for the first time – remained unanswered.

Meanwhile, the Ministry for Family which is responsible for equality, said adverts such as the one published by Simon Estates were “unacceptable”.

“Accommodation should never be refused on the basis of race or colour,” a ministry spokesman said when contacted.

But when asked whether any action would be taken against the estate agency, the spokesman only said: “We are aware that NCPE took immediate action with the estate agency and the advert was removed.”

The case was brought to light on Monday through an article in The Times which sparked various reactions online.

The advert for a flat in Qawra, ended with a notice to potential tenants: “No Arabs, blacks or young boys.” It was removed after several people complained about it on Facebook and one NGO reported it to the NCPE.

Some readers condemned the agency, which has so far refused to make any comment, but many others defended its actions, saying estate owners had every right to exclude certain people from their properties.

One property owner who spoke to The Sunday Times on condition of anonymity said he regularly refused rent to Arabs and did not care if this breached the law because it was never enforced anyway.

“This has nothing to do with racism. It’s about reducing bad debt. We also tend to refuse students now for the same reason.”

He said his family had faced a problem too many times and although there were some bad experiences with Maltese or European residents, problems with Arabs and Africans were more common.

“Sometimes they don’t pay the electricity bill and you only realise after they disappear. Or else they leave the country without paying the last couple of months of rent... Then you find they’ve stolen some things and damaged the furniture,” he said, adding that most of the time the amount of money is not worth pursuing in court.

“With Arabs, it’s a question of culture. They tend to haggle so every payment becomes a hassle. You can’t just haggle because the electricity bill is more than you expected to pay.”

Federation of Estate Agents president Trafford Busuttil said such generalisations were puerile because all sorts of people could be problematic for landlords.

He said discriminatory advertising was illegal and all agents should be responsible enough not to break the law.

However, he refused to answer for property owners and said it was not up to agents to persuade property agents to accept someone they did not want on their property.

Human rights lawyer Therese Comodini Cachia, who runs the Organisation for the Promotion of Human Rights, said discrimination would continue to prevail until the law was properly enforced.

“The legislators have done all they can do but the law is not being enforced,” she said, adding that studies have shown such discrimination is frequent.

“I think NGOs and the NCPE should empower victims to institute proceedings. So far victims are showing a sense of mistrust in the system because they are not presenting complaints.”

But in such cases the police should have taken action without waiting for a complaint and the NCPE could have lobbied for a proper investigation to take place.

Dr Comodini Cachia also suggested that NCPE be given powers to impose fines on those who breach the law on equality.

These issues are regulated by the Equal Treatment of Persons Order of 2007, taken from EU legislation, which states: “No person, establishment or entity, whether in the private or public sector and including public bodies, shall discriminate against any other person in relation to social protection, including social security and healthcare; social advantages; education; access to and supply of goods and services which are available to the public, including housing; and access to any other service as may be designated by law for the purposes of this regulation.”

Just three complaints since 2007

Since the law was enacted, the NCPE said there have been three complaints by members of ethnic minorities in relation to housing, even though studies have shown discrimination is rampant.

The NCPE provided some information about the cases. In one case, an investigation was concluded and found that discrimination had occurred but the NCPE gave no information about what action was taken.

Another case was discontinued by the complainant.

The third case is new and at “initial stages of investigation”. The NCPE provided no more information on this case.

If you have experienced or witnessed discrimination, contact the NCPE on 2590 3850 or equality@gov.mt.