A couple were locked out of their home in Siġġiewi on Thursday after their landlord sealed the front door shut with concrete in a long-running dispute over rent.  

The pair say the door was cemented over in retaliation for them being unwilling to keep forking out an additional €400 in monthly payments after the landlord failed to carry out promised renovations to the property. 

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

When contacted, the landlord declined to comment.

On Thursday, the couple – who asked not to be named – received a picture 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.” 

They immediately left work and headed to the police station in Żurrieq after being directed there by police in Qormi – who they claim told them they could not help them personally – to speak with the officer responsible for Siġġiewi.  

After stopping at the property en route to check on their dog, they found the front door covered with concrete.  

“He actually built a wall,” they said. “He put bricks up first in front of the door then cemented over them.” 

Since the dog was locked in the property along with their cat, chickens and rabbits, the couple called Animal Welfare, who told them they could only act on instructions from the police.  

After returning with a police officer – who they say did not notify Animal Welfare of the situation – the pair were able to access the property through a kitchen window, allowing them to recover their dog and cat.  

Since then, the couple have not returned to the property, telling Times of Malta they are unwilling to go through the landlord’s property – which is joined to theirs – to get their remaining pets.  

“We can’t face going through his property again to get the rabbits and chickens. Why is nobody coming to arrest him?” they said.  

"We feel very uncomfortable and would like to go through our entrance to collect our things."

No help from authorities 

The couple say the saga began some two years ago when the landlord tried to double the rent from €800 to €1,600.  

The three later agreed on €1,200 on the proviso the landlord would undertake renovations on the property, they said, adding that despite several requests they had never been provided with a Housing Authority contract, a legal obligation since 2020.  

The row continued into this year, with the couple claiming the landlord cut off their water and electricity earlier in September after demanding the keys back on August 31.

The pair filed a report at Qormi police station the following day, and the landlord was subsequently summoned by the police. He cut off the couple's electricity the same day, they said. 

The pair say the police were unwilling to help them after their electricity and water were disconnected, telling them the dispute was a “civil matter”.

They said Enemalta was also unable to act after it transpired their electricity and water were being drawn from the landlord’s house and not directly from the company.  

Despite filing a report with the Housing Authority at the start of the month, they say they have yet to receive a reply and report not being able to reach the authority by telephone. 

“We’re getting punished because he didn’t register the contract, which is illegal in the first place,” they said. 

The pair later took to social media to highlight the incident, with activist Patricia Graham – who regularly assists members of the Expats Malta Facebook group with enquiries relating to residency and employment – questioning why the authorities had not acted.  

“The new rent rules make it a criminal offence for a landlord to forcefully evict the tenant from a property which the latter occupies as his primary residence,” she wrote on Facebook. 

“Where is the law and where is the enforcement?”

In the latest development on Friday, the couple told Times of Malta that when attempting to track down the details of the Siġġiewi Police officer using the officer number he had given them, they were told the number did not exist.

They say they were trying to contact him after not receiving a report he had promised to send to them.

The couple have since lodged a criminal complaint, which was signed by lawyer Jason Azzopardi. 

Questions were sent to the police and the Housing Authority.