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State ordered to pay Valletta property owner €560,000 for rights breach
Court orders state to pay Valletta property owner €560,000 in compensation for being denied his right to enjoy the property for 32 years
7 May 2021, 2:44pm
by Matthew Agius
The State has been ordered to pay out over half a million euros in compensation to the owner of a commercial property in Valletta for being denied his right to enjoy the property for 32 years – a situation that was caused by Malta’s old rent laws.
Mr Justice Lawrence Mintoff, presiding the First Hall of the Civil Court in its Constitutional jurisdiction, had been told how the Merchants Street property had been rented in 1964 for LM400 per year and an adjoining St. Paul’s Street property for LM100 in annual rent that the owners could not legally increase or terminate.
The owner of a primary property in Valletta’s commercial hub, put to limited use by the lessors enjoying its possession since 1964, was awarded €560,000 in damages for being denied full enjoyment of his property.
This was the umpteenth judgment by a local court declaring that the current laws, allowing landlords “limited enjoyment” of their property, effectively breached their fundamental rights in terms of Article 37 of the Constitution and Article 1 Protocol 1 of the European Convention.
The massive building, consisting of separate units with entrances on Merchants Street and St Paul’s Street, comprising basement and airspace, measuring 631 square metres at each storey, had been leased to the Caruana family back in 1964.
The owner of a Valletta property he could not repossess because of the old rent laws has been awarded over €300,000 in compensation by a court.
The Court of Constitutional Appeal found that the €60,500 compensation ordered by the First Hall of the Civil Court was too low when considering the rental income which the owner was missing out on.
Presided over by Chief Justice Mark Chetcuti and judges Giannino Caruana Demajo and Anthony Ellul, the court found that while it was true that compensation was not based on market value, the court had to strike a balance when awarding payment.
The court was ruling in an appeal filed by property owner Henry Deguara Caruana Gatto against the state advocate and tenant Georgina Grima.