Cabinet favours entrenchment in Constitution

The Cabinet is in favour of entrenching the repeal of the requisition order on private property in the Constitution, The Times has learnt.

The right of government to requisition properties was repealed in 1995 along with the liberalisation of the rent laws.

However, a future government might decide to bring it back. With such an entrenchment, such fears would be minimised.

The Cabinet yesterday discussed a paper presented by the Minister for the Family and Social Solidarity Dolores Cristina analysing the five sets of legislation that regulate rent.

The minister also identified gaps in information required for the Cabinet to take a decision on reform of the rent regulations. Ms Cristina has been instructed to report back to the Cabinet by October on the points raised during the discussion.

The Cabinet has also requested a social and economic impact assessment of various options that will be carried out immediately after the completion of the population census in November.

Alternattiva Demokratika recently launched a campaign for a referendum to repeal the rent laws, under which properties rented out prior to 1995 are rented at extremely low rates.

A general consensus has since formed that this and other aspects of the laws are gravely unjust, such as the right to inherit a lease. So far, however, there have been no concrete proposals on ways to reform the laws while protecting vulnerable tenants, a need that has also been widely recognised.