The Malta Developers Association is calling for an end to an injustice which it said the government has been "perpetrating for decades" through pre-1995 rent laws.

The association said it did not make sense that the state, through taxpayers' money, kept forking out hundreds of thousands in compensation instead of changing the law.

Under Maltese law, landlords whose property had been rented out prior to June 1, 1995 have no right to refuse renewal of the lease and have to make do with what is known as ‘fair rent’ in spite of soaring market values.

MDA said in a statement that last week the state was condemned to fork out €250,000 in compensation to the owners of commercial premises in Sliema after a court found that “the law prejudiced landlords”.

Such changes may bring about hardship, particularly on tenants of private residences on long-leases, however, it was the duty of the state - and not of private landlords - to solve these problems, MDA said on Monday.

Landlords, it said, should not be discriminated against as they also had a right to enjoy and make full use of their properties.

"A serious country cannot have endemic anti-constitutional laws. Problems are not solved by looking the other way but by facing and solving them," it said.