The European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg has once again ruled against Malta’s old rent laws which “unilaterally imposed leases” on property owners, condemning the state to pay compensation amounting to €70,000 over two separate cases.
In both cases, the court observed that while finding a breach of rights and awarding compensation, the Maltese constitutional court did not offer sufficient relief to the property owners.
In the first case, the European Court of Human Rights ruled that apart from the €15,000 compensation ordered by the Maltese courts, the landlords were also due an additional €32,000 to cover the long number of years where they had their right to the peaceful enjoyment of their property trampled upon by the old rent laws regime.
It was ruling on a case filed by Maria Fatima and John Vassallo over their property in Tarxien which they inherited in 1984. The rent the landlords were receiving amounted to a paltry €134 a year, increasing to €264 in 2016.
According to a court-appointed expert, the landlords should have pocketed €88,000 in rent between 1984 and 2018, when they lodged their constitutional case, but they only received €8,000. In 2019, the Rent Regulation Board increased the rent in line with the rent laws revised in 2018, increasing it to €2,500 for the first three years and then €3,400 a year for the next three years.
This consideration suffices to find that the redress provided by the domestic courts did not offer sufficient relief to the applicants who thus retain victim status… and were made to bear a disproportionate burden- ECHR, Strasbourg
Bearing in mind the rental value of the property “the court considers that the compensation awarded for a violation that persisted over decades was not adequate,” the European Court ruled, as it more than doubled the payout.
“This consideration suffices to find that the redress provided by the domestic courts did not offer sufficient relief to the applicants who thus retain victim status… and were made to bear a disproportionate burden,” it added.
In the second case, the European Court heard how Joseph Zammit and Anna Busuttil were forced to rent their Paola property for just €291 annually when the annual rental value was €2,100 between 2007 and 2012 and €5,800 between 2013 and 2018.
The Maltese courts had awarded the landlords €15,000 in compensation, with the European Court ruling that the domestic courts did not offer the property owners redress for the persistent violation of their rights. Therefore, the court topped this up by a further €8,000, covering pecuniary and non-pecuniary damage.
State Advocate Chris Soler represented the state, while lawyers Michael Camilleri, Edward Debono and Kris Micallef represented the landlords.