Judge shuts down legal bid of Valletta resident who lived rent-free for 35 years

A judge strongly denounced the “blatant abuse of the judicial and legal system”, with the complicity of lawyers, to delay court action, especially when related to housing matters. Mr Justice Francesco Depasquale was ruling in a case instituted by Valletta resident Alfred Zammit and his wife who are being evicted from a Merchant Street apartment they obtained decades ago through the Housing Authority and who claimed a breach of their human rights. The court heard how the Zammits were awarded the property in the mid-1970s after the Housing Authority had requisitioned the property from its owners in 1963. In December 1975, Zammit signed a contract over the property but never paid rent. It was only in 2007 that the authority wrote to Zammit regarding the overdue payments but this, as well as a reminder the following year, were ignored. In 2009, the entire block was derequisitioned and the owners successfully fought a legal battle against the state which, through the old rent laws, deprived them of their right to the enjoyment of their property. The owners won the case and were awarded €180,000 in compensation. Zammit filed a case in the constitutional court claiming that his right...