Rent reform 'a step in the right direction', employers say

Employers have welcomed the government's proposed rent reform as a step in the right direction, amid concern over spiralling rent prices unsustainably driving up wages.The Malta Employers' Association met with housing parliamentary secretary Roderick Galdes to discuss the new White Paper on Rental Reform, which seeks to encourage longer lease periods and stabilise the market through limitations on rent price increases.MEA director general Joseph Farrugia told Times of Malta businesses were facing increasing problems due to employees - both Maltese and foreign - demanding higher salaries to cope with increasing rent costs.He also noted that some foreign employees had left Malta due to these issues."There is clearly a relationship between salary demands and rent and property prices. Employers want contented employees, but when you have salaries increasing because of this, it's not necessarily reflecting productivity," Mr Farrugia said.
READ:?Rent reform: minimum lease periods but no fixed pricesWhile the consultation document does not propose any caps on initial rents, Mr Farrugia said these prices had to be subject to market forces, and pointed to the proposal of linking rent...

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