Żurrieq Tenant Reports Landlord To Police For Threatening Message Boasting Of His Connections
A tenant has reported a Żurrieq landlord to the police after he sent him threatening messages in relation to a dispute over unpaid utility arrears.
In the WhatsApp exchange, which was published by tenant activist Patricia Graham, the landlord warned the Norwegian tenant that he owed him €400 and wasn’t going to get away with not paying him.
The tenant responded that he didn’t owe him anything as the rental contract was illegal in the first place, to which the landlord said: “I will find you, mark my words. Listen, you don’t know who I am and who I know. You have till next Sunday to send the money.”
The tenant promptly pledged to report the landlord to the police, to which the landlord confidently told him to inform him of the time and place.
Lovin Malta understands that the dispute revolves around the electricity tariffs the tenant was due to pay. While the landlord was charging the tenant the full domestic rate, the higher tariff applicable for homeowners’ secondary properties, the tenant wanted to apply for the cheaper residential rate.
However, the landlord refused to endorse the ‘Form H’ document and kept charging him at the domestic rate, a tactic often used by landlords who are scared that signing such a document could flag their undeclared rental income to the tax authorities.
Cover image: Stock photo of a street in Żurrieq (Photo: Google Maps)
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