The Luqa mayor is “fed up” with having to repeatedly report rental cars taking up parking spots. 

Mayor John Schembri said the problem has been persisting for over two years. “Transport Malta does take action and issue fines, but the problem remains,” Schembri said. 

Luqa is located right beside the airport and hosts several rental car companies. 

Despite a law prohibiting the practice, Schembri said that rental cars are often parked long-term on the streets of Luqa.

Despite a law prohibiting the practice, Mayor John Schembri said that rental cars are often parked long-term on the streets of Luqa

As a result, Schembri said, residents have no parking spots and are pushed to park irregularly.  “Triq G. Vassallo and Triq Kan. G .Borg are especially problematic,” he said.

Times of Malta visited the two streets on Tuesday and found numerous rental cars taking up most of the parking spots on the street. Some cars seemed to have not been used for a while and had low tyres.

It is illegal for rental vehicles to remain on the street when not hired out.

Article 52 of the Light Transport Services and Vehicle Hire Services Regulations says that operators must ensure that all vehicles are “at all times, garaged or parked off-street while not hired out”.

Contacted for comment, a Transport Malta spokesperson said that Transport Malta continuously enforces regulations. “At a later date, we will be able to pass on some statistics,” the spokesperson said. 

There are 15,403 rental vehicles in Malta that have QZ numbers, according to figures from the transport ministry.