A couple who returned to their rented home last week to find their front door blocked by stones and concrete have protested over inaction by the authorities and say they are planning to leave Malta.
“I think I’ll be flying to Germany [with] my girlfriend this weekend because we can’t take this anymore,” Jan Gerber, a German national, told Times of Malta on Tuesday.
This, he said, was a forced eviction, without the three months notice laid down by law. Their belongings were still locked inside, and yet the authorities were refusing to take action, with the police considering it a civil matter.
The couple have had a long-running dispute over rent and they say the door was cemented over on Thursday in retaliation for them being unwilling to keep forking out an additional €400 in monthly payments after the landlord failed to carry out promised renovations to the property, particularly the roof leaking in several places.
According to messages seen by Times of Malta last week, the landlord claims the pair owe him over €3,000 in underpaid rent and unpaid electricity bills - an amount the couple contest. The couple say the landlord cut off their water and electricity earlier this month after demanding the keys back on August 31.
19 сен 2023
