A couple who returned to their rented home last week to find their front door blocked by stones and concrete have protested over inaction by the authorities and say they are planning to leave Malta. 

“I think I’ll be flying to Germany [with] my girlfriend this weekend because we can’t take this anymore,” Jan Gerber, a German national, told Times of Malta on Tuesday.  

This, he said, was a forced eviction, without the three months notice laid down by law. Their belongings were still locked inside, and yet the authorities were refusing to take action, with the police considering it a civil matter. 

The couple have had a long-running dispute over rent and they say the door was cemented over on Thursday in retaliation for them being unwilling to keep paying an additional €400 in monthly payments after the landlord failed to carry out promised renovations to the property, particularly the roof leaking in several places. 

According to messages seen by Times of Malta last week, the landlord claims the pair owe him over €3,000 in underpaid rent and unpaid electricity bills – an amount the couple contest.

They say €1,300 was for rent and electricity payments for September which the landlord requested early, with a further €400 in withheld rent and the rest attributed to a disputed amount from last year. The couple say the landlord cut off their water and electricity earlier this month after demanding the keys back on August 31.

“Thank God there are some good people out there and someone gave us free accommodation,” Gerber said. 

“We spent all our money on generators... it's just unbelievable [and] unbelievably frustrating that nobody comes [to help] and the police still insist it’s a civil matter,” he said.

"If I went to smash in this door now, I am pretty sure the police would come and arrest me for damaging his (the landlord's) property, but why is nobody doing anything for us?

"What if it was their belongings in there?" 

Gerber and his girlfriend Claire Tyler said they have been suffering from “mental breakdowns” since the ordeal began last week. On Monday they took their dog and cat to the vets to be vaccinated in preparation for flying.  

The pair said they have been unable to work since being locked out of their house.  

'The game is over'

On Thursday, the couple received a message from their landlord showing the lock to their front door sealed with an adhesive paste, accompanied by a text message reading, “The game is over.” 

When they returned later that day accompanied by a police officer, they retrieved their dog and cat and a handful of possessions.  

However, the bulk of their belongings remain inside the property, as do their rabbits and chickens, which they presume have now died.  

Gerber said he refused to access the home through the landlord's adjoining property.

"I hope someone with the power and the authority to enforce gets moving and we get access to our house again. We want to go home to Germany normally, [but] we can't get our belongings out of there,” he said. 

The couple had been living in the property for three years and estimate it would take two days to move out fully. 

Gerber said they would have left the property 'no problem' if they had been given three months notice as laid down by law.

The matter, he said was 'pure greed' by the landlord.

Responding to questions on Tuesday, a spokesperson for the Housing Authority warned against renting properties without a contract.  

“In this case, the tenant has been in this property for the past three years, without a registered contract, and only approached the authority when things took a wrong turn,” he said.  

“Cases like this highlight the importance of ensuring all legal requirements are in order to receive the backing of the law.

"The Housing Authority reiterates that if landlords fail to register the rental contract, tenants have the right to submit and register the contract themselves with Housing Authority to protect themselves legally."

The spokesperson confirmed that an official report had been made and said the authority was awaiting documents from the couple before deciding whether to proceed with legal action against the landlord.  

When contacted last week, the landlord had declined to comment, only saying he would let the matter be decided in court. Times of Malta attempted to contact the landlord a second time on Tuesday. He again declined to comment. 

Questions were sent to the police on Friday.