Police to press charges against landlord who threatened to kill tenant

In June, MaltaToday reported that a tenant whose rental property was illegally entered into by his landlord, was twice refused the opportunity to file a police report by a sergeant stationed at his locality’s police station

1 July 2024, 1:21pm
by Matthew Farrugia

2 min read

Solidarjetà will be covering the legal costs for a tenant who had his utilities shut off abusively by the landlord

Police are pressing charges against a landlord who threatened to kill one of his tenants before shutting off his water and electricity supply.

On Monday, trade union Solidarjetà stated that the landlord restored his tenant’s water and electricity supply after two weeks.

In June, MaltaToday reported that a tenant whose rental property was illegally entered into by his landlord, was twice refused the opportunity to file a police report by a sergeant stationed at his locality’s police station.

The tenant, Aleksandar Vukoje, thanked the public and his workplace for their support in recent weeks. Aleksandar is also a member of trade union Solidarjetà.

On Monday the union stated,“This win was only possible because of the solidarity shown by the public and by union members. When we organise, we win!”

Solidarjetà announced that they have appointed a criminal lawyer to act as parte civile in the case, as they reminded that they would be covering Aleksandar’s legal fees in the case.

“The whole incident has shown how precarious tenants' lives are in Malta and how a fit of rage by their landlord can effectively make them homeless, with the state unable or unwilling to intervene.”

Solidarjetà noted that cases such as this where landlords shut off electricity or water supply are not rare, but police unwillingness, fear of repercussions and being unaware of their rights are among the reasons behind tenants not taking action against abusive landlords.

“With the only solutions available being months-long court processes, the complete inability or unwillingness of the state to intervene in issues like this means that many landlords can use, and most likely have used, this method to illegally evict tenants from their homes without repercussions. This must change!”

They called for a change in the law to allow tenants to restore their own water and electricity without legal repercussions, or for government entities to have emergency measures to restore the supply themselves.

Matthew Farrugia is a staff reporter at MaltaToday