Malta Landlords experience

Tel us about YOUR experience with maltese Landlords

Hello jackslater,

Welcome to Expat-Blog...................
Please post this thread in Malta Forum for better reply...............

Regards,
Anil

Hello jackslater,

Your topic is now on the Malta forum for a more effective communication with the other forumers.

@ Anil > Thank you for your help my friend.


Priscilla 

Why?

My family and I moved from Britain to Malta in September 2010. We signed a rental agreement on the first place we saw which stipulated that we were to pay 100 euro per month on account towards our utility bills.
It turns out that this was a scam, and effectively we had made ourselves liable for the utility bill even though our consumption of electricity and water was being calculated at the incorrect, extortionate domestic rate instead of the much cheaper residential rate.
It turns out that there are two utility tariffs in Malta. But did anybody think to tell us that? Heck, no.
According to the various STATE institutions with responsibility for this scam, tenants are lesser beings and can only have access to the much cheaper residential rate if they get permission from their landlords. Its a pity that we were not told this BEFORE we signed the rental contract.
Landlords do not seem to understand the concept of zero as most of their tenants are on the domestic rate (Number of residents = zero). The domestic rate is designed for owners of empty second homes or summer residences. Or maybe it is because they do not want the tax man to find out that they have rent paying tenants in their so called empty properties. Take your pick. I know which one Id go for.
Our family of 5 living in our rental property for 35 months was charged 6185.01 euro at the domestic rate. We should have been charged 3270.28 euro at the cheaper residential rate (No. of persons = 5) for exactly the same consumption. We were entitled to the residential rate seeing as we were living in our primary residence.
What do Arms, Enemalta, the MRA, the minister for energy, the Maltese government do when you point this out? They tell you that they dont do refunds. They tell you that it is against the law to award a tenant the residential rate without the landlords permission.
And apparently the only persons breaking the law are the tenants who refuse to continue overpaying at the domestic rate. Because they find to their horror that landlords are able to freeze their bank accounts and / or salaries to forcibly take this overpayment.
Kafka couldnt have made this one up.

well said Johanna.