WATCH: Inside AUM’s decrepit student hostel

Footage from inside the American University of Malta’s (AUM) student accommodation in Tarxien shows the rundown state of a building with a long history of illegalities that were sanctioned by the Planning Authority (PA) when AUM first took over the site in 2020.

The footage, obtained exclusively by The Shift, shows peeling paint falling off walls tarnished with nondescript stains, entire floors that had to be closed off for safety reasons, barely finished light fixtures, and a rooftop area that is filled with trash and debris.

Even in parts of the building which are better furnished and less decrepit than others, problems with privacy and safety abound. Some rooms have multiple doors which cannot be locked, and there are no office areas which students can use to study or make private calls to family members.

As can also be seen in the footage, furniture in students’ rooms is also somewhat dated, with one clip showing years of gunk that accumulated in one of the bed frames.

Multiple students who voiced concerns about the decrepit conditions they are staying in were rebuffed by AUM, and were instead told to go find accommodation elsewhere if they were not content with their lodging.

One student who spoke to The Shift complained that the present state of the hostel, known as Bowyer House, is a far cry from what was first advertised to them.

“They told us we were going to this dorm with six levels, with a yard in the back, a gym, and so on. There are none of these things. When we complained about this, we were told we can stay in this dorm for around six months and that if we don’t like it, we can just move out,” the student said.

Another student, interviewed separately, largely agreed with this assessment, arguing that the hostel was not safe and lacked amenities such as an ironing board or even a basic, centralised cooling/heating system. Both were granted anonymity due to fear of reprisal from AUM.

“When we complained about the lack of heating, they gave us gas heaters to be used throughout the floors where we have our rooms… so now we have a dangerous situation where there are all these gas cylinders next to each other. I am worried about what could happen if one of them does not work properly,” the student said.

Both also referred to issues with the building’s electrical supply, a general lack of cleanliness, and the absence of a proper canteen serving meals to students.

The hostel in question, Bowyer House, is built atop one illegality after another.

In 2003, a sports complex and school were constructed on the site without any kind of planning approval. The development was sanctioned by the PA three years later.

Shortly after, a different applicant took over the site. Yet again, the school was illegally converted into student accommodation, with the PA once more approving the application to sanction those illegalities.

Fast forward to AUM’s takeover of the site in 2020 – following a series of additional illegal alterations to the building, AUM successfully obtained permission to sanction those illegalities in 2022 for a measly fine of just €1,800.

The architect who filed the sanctioning application on AUM’s behalf, Ray Demicoli, filed a declaration which explicitly stated that Levels -3 and -2 were to be closed off with walls, noting that no public access was to be granted to those floors unless emergency responders needed to do so.

Despite the evidently underwhelming level of investment in this hostel and its troubled history of illegalities, the PA’s case officer recommended approval of the application after a minor accessibility issue was deemed addressed by the Commissioner for the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD).

AUM’s longstanding institutional troubles were recently brought to the fore again after its former rector, Victoria Fontan, resigned after less than six months at the helm.

Though Prime Minister Robert Abela had handed the institution a golden deal involving prime real estate in Smart City, virtually nothing has happened with the site since, indicating that the institution’s once grand designs for a major private university in Malta have all but fizzled out.