Family wants PL to vacate premises taken over in 1980

A family has called on the Labour Party (PL) to vacate two properties in Birżebbuġa which were requisitioned in 1980 – supposedly for use by the government – but later transferred to the party.

Through a judicial letter filed by Franco Grima and the Ellul Sullivan family, the property owners claim to receive just over €1,000 in annual rent for a large house right opposite Pretty Bay and an adjacent property.

The family say that the large house, which was previously a hotel, was first requisitioned by the Housing Authority to be used as a telephone exchange and health clinic before being transferred to the PL to be used as a clubhouse together with another expropriated property in Triq idDuluri. The two buildings were subsequently annexed.

The Housing Authority insisted, at the time, that the property remained requisitioned in its favour, the family say.

Malta does not have the best track record when it comes to laws regulating rent, which the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) has repeatedly said violate the European Convention on Human Rights. Notwithstanding a number of judgements passed in favour of property owners, these laws have remained largely unchanged.

Last March, the ECHR said in a judgment that Malta should “put an end to the systemic violation of the right of property.”

The court also encouraged the government to pursue measures aimed at remedying the situation “speedily and with due diligence under the supervision of the Committee of Ministers.”

In the judicial letter, the owners claim their fundamental rights are being breached by the attorney general on behalf of the Government of Malta and the Labour Party.

The plaintiffs’ lawyers argue that the rent they are receiving falls far short of the market value and cannot be increased due to the legal limitations.

The family has said they intend to file a constitutional claim for damages and eviction over the coming weeks.

There is no balance between the needs of society and private owners in this case, they have said.

Lawyers Edward Debono and Karl Micallef signed the judicial letter.