After ‘Mistakingly’ Renting Out Social Housing Beds Online, Maltese Mother Now Faces Homelessness
A Maltese mother of two risks being thrown out onto the streets in the coming days after she was caught renting out beds in her Valletta social housing apartment to students and tourists in breach of the contract.
Donatella Falzon told Lovin Malta that she had no idea she was breaching the contract at the time, that she is willing to refund all profit she made from the rent, and that she deserves a second chance.
Falzon was given the social housing apartment, located close to Hastings Garden, around 14 years ago, back when she was only 20 years old and living in a shelter.
She raised her two children in the apartment and at one point worked as a hairdresser, a job she had to stop for personal reasons, leaving her with social benefits as her sole source of income.
Falzon then decided to earn some money by renting out beds in spare rooms in her apartment to EFL language students, an idea she got from an acquaintance of hers.
“I wanted to be able to look after my two children with more than social benefits and I didn’t know it was in breach of the housing contract,” she said. “When I applied as a host, the language school didn’t ask me whether the house is mine but whether I live there, which I do.”
When summer ended and the pool of language students dried up, Falzon turned to renting her beds to tourists, advertising the property on Booking.com.
The property as advertised on Booking.com
This landed her in hot water with the housing authorities, who ordered her eviction. TVM ran a feature on her case too, quoting an anonymous letter as claiming Falzon (who they didn’t name) was earning up to €600 a day from this rental scheme and wasn’t even living in the apartment.
Social Housing Minister Roderick Galdes even flagged her case in Parliament, stating it is unacceptable for social housing beneficiaries to rent out buildings to tourists and warning he is ready to “be cruel to be kind”.
Falzon insisted that she actually kept on living in the building and earned way, way less than €600 a day.
She said that while beds were rented out to tourists for around €100 a night, her actual take-home pay was much less when taking into account Booking.com fees, bedroom maintenance and food she bought to prepare meals for her guests.
She argued that the fact she advertised the property on such a popular booking site indicates her own prior ignorance to the fact she was breaching the terms of the contract.
“If I had known I was breaching the contract, would I have advertised it for everyone to see?”
Falzon warned she and her children will become homeless in a few days' time
Falzon tried all possible avenues to reverse the Housing Authority’s eviction order and keep on living in what had become her home for many years. She pleaded personally to Galdes but the minister dismissed her outright and she even tried to secure a personal meeting with Prime Minister Robert Abela, but to no avail.
Falzon also challenged the decision in front of the Tribunal for Administrative Appeals but lost the case and a subsequent appeal, prompting her to open a constitutional case on the grounds that her family’s human rights would be breached if they end up homeless.
She flagged as bizarre some questions the Housing Authority’s lawyers asked about her lifestyle during court proceedings.
“They asked my son to confirm when I last visited a hairdresser. What kind of questions are those? Do they expect me to wear rags? They’ve somehow got it into their heads that I’m loaded with money.”
Far from being well off, Falzon said she had to sell several of her personal items just to acquire money to pay for her legal fees.
Falzon admitted she was in the wrong but is pleading with the authorities to give her a second chance, confirming she is ready to pay back all the money she earned from students and tourists.
“All I earn is €400 a month from social benefits, my parents are both dead and I don’t have other relatives or a partner. I challenge Galdes to look into other cases of people who are breaking the law and I urge him to stop punishing weak people. If the minister isn’t going to help people like me, who is he going to help?”
“I made a mistake but he shouldn’t make a mistake as well. He’s meant to be teaching me after all.”
“If I don’t leave in a few days’ time, the police will force me out and onto the streets. Not even dogs are left outdoors on the streets nowadays.”
“I only rented out the beds for six months out of 14 years living in this place. I’m willing to work but why punish the kids as well? Everyone deserves a second chance in life.”
Social Housing Minister Roderick Galdes
Contacted by Lovin Malta, Housing Authority CEO Leonid McKay said the decision to evict Falzon stands, but that she is entitled to obtain assistance to purchase or rent a private dwelling through one of the HA’s numerous affordable housing schemes.
“Please note that the Housing Authority leases dwellings for social accommodation only,” he said. “The lease agreement specifically precludes the use of the leased dwellings for any other purpose.”
“This commitment was reinforced through the new allocation policy which became effective as of this year which stipulates that lease contracts shall be for fixed durations so as to allow for better monitoring.”
“This specific case breached/violated tenancy conditions especially by deriving profit from the tenement, abused of public property intended solely for social purposes. The Authority is committed to enforcement to prevent and rectify such abuse.”
“That said, a decision to evict a tenant who fails to follow the lease conditions is not taken lightly. A stringent mechanism is in place whereby desk-based exercises and reports are followed up by a number of inspections to gather evidence.”
“The matter is then discussed by an independent panel which approves the eviction or otherwise. Once the decision is taken the tenant is informed; accordingly, cordially, and then through legal channels.”
“The tenant may challenge the Housing Authority’s decision in front of the Tribunal for Administrative Appeals and should they not agree with this tribunal’s decision, with an appeal in front of the court of laws.”
“The entire process was followed in this case and the judgment of the court of appeals given last week confirmed the decision of the Tribunal that the Housing Authority was correct to evict the tenant.”
“The tenant must therefore vacate the property allocated for social housing; however, they are entitled to obtain assistance to purchase or rent a private dwelling of their choice through one of the Housing Authority’s numerous schemes for affordable housing.”
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