MALTA Law and Practice Contributed by: Damien Degiorgio and Ramona Galea, Fenech Farrugia Fiott Legal
6.10 Payment of Utilities and Telecommunications
The Civil Code provides that, should the lessee use the property leased for any purpose other than that agreed upon by the parties, or as pre - sumed according to circumstances where such purpose has not been specifically stated in the contract, or in any manner that may prejudice the lessor, the lessor may demand the dissolu- tion of the lease agreement. 6.13 Tenant’s Ability to Alter and Improve Real Estate The tenant is bound to make use of the property as a bonus paterfamilias and to restore the prop - erty to the condition in which it was received. The tenant has the right to alter or improve the real estate by carrying out all necessary repairs other than those considered as structural repairs. In doing so, the tenant must ensure that all works carried out are done in accordance with good workmanship; otherwise, the landlord shall have the right to refer the matter to the Rent Regula - tion Board, demanding that all repairs carried out shall be made at the tenant’s expense. It should be highlighted that the lessee may not in any case carry out such alterations during the continuance of the lease without the lessor’s consent and shall not be entitled to claim the value of any improvements made without having such consent. The lessee may choose to remove such improve - ments, restoring the property to its original con - dition, provided that, in regard to any improve - ments existing at the time of the termination of the lease, if the lessee can show that they can obtain some profit from taking them away and provided that the landlord does not want to keep them and pay to the lessee a sum equal to the profit to be obtained by taking them away, the latter would obtain.
Expenses relating to utilities and telecommuni - cations serving the property are to be shared between the different tenants of the property, in the same manner as maintenance expenses. 6.11 Insurance Issues The payment of an insurance policy depends on the agreement entered between the parties. This matter is not regulated by any legal provision but rather is determined freely and contractu - ally as to who shall bear the burden of paying the insurance. The Private Residential Leases Act, Chapter 604, does acknowledge that the clauses within a lease contract may impose the payment of insurance on the contents of the ten - ement. However, it states that any other clauses included within such agreement requiring addi - tional payment other than rent, the deposit, insurance and other ancillary contributions shall not have effect. The possibility of tenants recovering rent pay - ments due to business interruption during the pandemic greatly depended on their insur - ance policy and whether such situation of force majeure was covered by the policy. 6.12 Restrictions on the Use of Real Estate The landlord can choose to impose restrictions on the tenant’s use of property as it deems nec - essary, provided that it is regulated within the lease agreement. In any lease agreement, the permitted use of the property leased has to be included within a specific clause to that effect and regulated in accordance with the applica - ble legal provisions imposed on real estate that determine the use of property in line with its location.
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