ADPD wants councils to have a veto on short-term rental permits
Green Party says councils are best-placed to know what is best for locality
Local councils should hold a veto over permits for short-term rentals in their localities, the Green Party has proposed.
The ADPD said such permits should not be granted unless councils consent to them. It also proposed making tax revenue from tourist beds available to local councils.
“Only local councils, together with residents from each locality, have the local knowledge to ensure that [short-term rental accommodation] is done with the least inconvenience and harm to the locality concerned. Why are local councils, which are so necessary to this, being completely ignored?” asked party deputy chairperson Carmel Cacopardo.
Currently, short-term rentals are regulated by the Malta Tourism Authority, which inspects properties and issues permits for them.
ADPD secretary general Ralph Cassar said local councils could help defend and retain the identity of localities, which are being altered by a push for short-term rental accommodation that is pricing locals out residential areas.
“How many apartments have been originally built for residential use but are now being used as short-let rentals for tourism purposes without being registered and authorised by the Tourism Authority?” Cassar asked. “Short-term rentals for tourism may generate income but also fuel abuse.”
Cacopardo sited Swieqi as a case in point, saying what was once a village made up of two-storey houses was now full of apartment blocks that essentially served as a “tourist village”.
The ADPD also called on authorities to drop a €5 cap on eco-contributions required by tourists and increase the 50c-a-day tax “to one which reflects the impact tourism has on our localities.”
Malta has seen tourist numbers increase to record year-on-year totals in recent years and a strategy document presented by the government earlier this year suggests it is targeting 4.5 million arrivals by 2035.
Cassar and Cacopardo noted that while tourist numbers are ballooning, the sector is not creating jobs for locals. According to a sectoral study published three years ago, between 2009 and 2019 the share of Maltese working in the tourism sector fell from 82% to 40.6% of the sector’s total workforce.