The government is in talks with the owners of 10 properties around Malta and Gozo as part of its efforts to avoid several towns and villages ending up without a band club, a staple of Maltese tradition.
The 10 are among 23 premises leased to band clubs that could fall under threat of eviction as a result of recent court rulings holding the old rent laws in breach of rights.
The government is trying to purchase these properties with funds from the golden passport scheme, through its investment holding company Malita Investments plc.
There are 23 band clubs in 17 localities facing potential eviction if the owners start or move forward with legal proceedings to regain their properties. Among them are large, old properties in Valletta, Ħamrun, Paola, Żebbuġ, Sliema, Birkirkara and Mosta.
The government issued a call last January for interested owners to come forward and enter negotiations. So far, 10 have done so.
Details of the location of their properties have been sparse as the government refuses to divulge them for fear of prejudicing the negotiations.
A government spokesperson told Times of Malta that the government’s intention is to ensure certain localities do not end up without a band club.
The plan is that after the properties are purchased by the state, the government will then enter into discussions with the individual band clubs to negotiate a fair rent.
There are 23 band clubs in 17 localities facing potential eviction if the owners start or move forward with legal proceedings to regain their properties. Among them are large, old properties in Valletta, Ħamrun, Paola, Żebbuġ, Sliema, Birkirkara and Mosta
The money will be disbursed from the National Development and Social Fund, which was set up to receive 20% of the proceeds from the Individual Investor Programme (IIP). One of the aims of the fund is to safeguard Malta’s national and cultural heritage.
When asked for the budget for this initiative, the spokesperson said it was premature to give figures since negotiations between Malita and the respective private property owners are yet to be concluded.
Sources said that while the bulk of properties are valued at around €500,000 to €700,000, others are worth millions, such as the De Paule band club in Paola.
In cases like Sliema’s Stella Maris band club, the government would need to negotiate the remaining term before the lease expires in a few years’ time.
'Negotiations are not plain sailing'
The negotiations are not plain sailing, sources said. They are likely to be drawn out since not all owners are accepting the valuations reached by government-appointed real estate experts.
Band clubs have been the subject of lengthy legal battles in recent years. Where the owners have gone to court, they have obtained judgments stating that the old rent laws breach their property rights.
Some band clubs are being asked to fork out steep increases in their rents and some have been threatened with outright eviction by owners wanting their properties back.
Faced by calls to address the situation, and in line with the Labour Party’s manifesto, in 2019 then justice minister Owen Bonnici promised to intervene to ensure band clubs would not be evicted.
Legal amendments were passed, meant to safeguard band clubs from eviction as a result of legal action by landlords, but those amendments were declared unconstitutional and in breach of the owners’ human rights.
Malta’s highest court went one step further to declare the new laws “a clear abuse of power”.
Earlier this year, the court threw out appeals by the state and the Stella Maris band club, bringing the landlords a step closer to reclaiming possession of their Sliema premises.
The idea of a fund to help band clubs purchase their premises had first been floated by former Nationalist MP Jason Azzopardi in parliament in May last year.