GWU calls for fiscal incentives and criminal offences for tenants in rental market proposals

The General Workers Union will propose that tenants of rental properties should enjoy fiscal incentives in order to get a fair value for their residence, The Malta Independent has learned. The GWU is also proposing that a tenant who fails to meet their obligations in terms of the condition of the residential property, such as levels of sanitation, health and safety, environment, and maintenance, will be constituted as a criminal offence.

It has been suggested that the abandonment of such obligations would lead to severe penalties including the right to rent a property.

The initiative form part of a wider set of proposals to address the growing issues of the rental market which will be published on Monday 14 May.

The rental market has become a growing issue on the island, which, mainly as a result of the influx of high-earning foreign workers employed within the gaming and financial services sectors, has expanded rapidly in the last few years, while wages have remained relatively stagnant.

The impact the growth has had on lower income earners has been significant given that the cheapest apartments across the island have begun to fetch for a minimum of roughly 700 to 800 euro per month.

In fact, a KPMG report showed that the average rental prices in Malta had risen by roughly 47 percent between 2013 and 2016; a figure which has certainly grown in 2017 and even further in 2018.

Prime Minister Joseph Muscat recently revealed that the principles of a white paper on the rental market were due to be finalised, but has consistently said that the legislation would seek to find a fair balance between the rights of the tenant and the landlord.

He has insisted that he had no intention of regulating high-end properties but conceded that more needed to be done to safeguard the interests of lower middle-class families, who he said are struggling to compete in the market when there are individuals who are able to pay almost double what they are able to.

A €50 million investment to provide 500 new social housing units was also announced by Muscat at the 1 May Labour Party celebrations, while he has also reiterated the government’s commitment to free up social housing that is being used by tenants who do not actually need it.