The report ‘Demand for regulation as peer rentals rise 20 per cent’ (January 3) adds further concern as many await the expected White Paper on renting in Malta.

I have long been arguing that the rents problem is not only restricted to a renting-to-Maltese facet. As the developers’ sector, and the property-for-rent sector, continue to clamour for absolute liberty to be able to rent as they wish, the fact is that in this melee (or is it minestrone?) these and others find it convenient to throw in the tourism and foreign worker residential ingredients.

I am sick of hearing stories of British and foreign owners of property in Malta who agree accommodation terms far away from the eyes of local agents and brokers and simply push the keys across the pub table in London or elsewhere, with “convenient settlement later”, that is, far away from the eyes of either the Malta Tourism Authority or the Maltese taxman.

The report in question says that Airbnb has over three million listings in over 65,000 cities around the world. To what extent is the MTA aware of which from those listings is in Malta?  To what extent are dedicated websites and apps being checked to find out how much abuse is taking place locally on this front? What are the levels of controls in place to ensure the laws requiring registration are being respected, that is, not allowing our hoteliers to be hit in the way they are presently being hit (to some 30 or 40 per cent of their profits)?

If 20 per cent of those aged between 16 and 74 are using private accommodation when coming to Malta, one wonders what sort of checking is being made at the airport on arrival to see to  what extent such travellers will be staying in properly-licensed accommodation.

There’s a real jungle out there which is being exploited by many property owners of all sorts. Will the coming White Paper touch this element at all?