The inaugural edition. Real long-let rents, by town, from deals actually closed — not scraped listings.
Ask ten sources what it costs to rent in Malta and you’ll get ten different numbers, most of them scraped from stale portals or copied from articles written years ago. This index is different. Every figure below comes from long-let apartments we actually rented across the island — real agreed prices, not asking prices, not wishful thinking. We’re publishing it quarterly so Malta finally has a straight answer that moves with the market instead of lagging years behind it.
We’ve set this inaugural quarter as the baseline: Index = 100. From Q4 2026 onward, every edition will show how each town has moved against this starting point — up, down, or holding.
The Headline
Across the eight most-rented towns we track, the typical long-let apartment in Malta in Q3 2026 runs from roughly €750 for a one-bedroom in the value towns to over €2,000 for a three-bedroom in the prime coastal strip. The single most common unit we place — a two-bedroom — sits in a broad €900–1,600 band depending entirely on postcode. Location, not luxury, remains the biggest single lever on Maltese rent.
The Index — Verified Rent Ranges by Town (Q3 2026)
| Town | 1 Bedroom | 2 Bedroom | 3 Bedroom |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sliema | €1,000–1,400 | €1,200–1,600 | €1,500–2,100 |
| St Julian’s | €950–1,400 | €1,250–1,550 | €1,450–1,900 |
| Gżira | €950–1,350 | €1,100–1,550 | €1,400–1,950 |
| Msida | €850–1,300 | €1,100–1,500 | €1,300–1,700 |
| San Ġwann | €800–950 | €900–1,300 | €1,200–1,650 |
| Mosta | €750–950 | €900–1,250 | €1,200–1,500 |
| Mellieħa | €800–950 | €950–1,300 | €1,000–1,350 |
| Marsaskala | €750–850 | €900–1,250 | €1,100–1,400 |
Msida also carries an active room-share market at €400–550/room. The prime high-rise developments (Portomaso, Mercury Tower, Tigné Point, Pendergardens, Fort Cambridge) sit in a separate luxury tier from €1,600 to €7,500+ and are tracked in our luxury developments guide.
What the Q3 2026 Numbers Tell Us
The cheapest honest entry point is Marsaskala. At €750–850 for a one-bedroom, the southern seaside town holds the lowest 1-bed band on the island — genuine sea-view living below what most inland towns charge. Mosta matches it for value without the coast.
The value corridor is Msida–San Ġwann–Mosta. For tenants priced out of the Sliema strip, this triangle offers two-bedrooms from €900 and real proximity to the centre. It’s no coincidence this is where budget-conscious professionals and students concentrate.
Demand pressure is real in the student belt right now. Heading into the September academic intake, we’re seeing concentrated demand for one- and two-bedroom apartments in San Ġwann, Msida and Swatar in the €1,200–1,700 range — driven partly by incoming international university students securing homes months in advance. When we publish Q4, this is the corridor most likely to show upward movement.
The prime coastal premium holds. Sliema and St Julian’s remain the most expensive mainstream towns, with three-bedrooms reaching €1,900–2,100 — roughly double the equivalent in the value corridor for the same bedroom count. You are paying for the postcode and the promenade, not the extra space.
How We Calculate This
Transparency is the point of an index, so here’s exactly what these numbers are and aren’t:
- Source: long-let tenancies arranged by Next To Rent as a working Malta letting agency, cross-checked against the live market we operate in every week.
- Agreed, not asked: these reflect prices tenants actually paid, which is why they often sit below the headline figures on listing portals.
- Unfurnished-to-furnished spread and condition can move any individual apartment within its band — see our furnished vs unfurnished guide for how much.
- What’s excluded: short-lets, holiday rentals, and one-off outliers. This is the long-let market only.
For the full cost picture including deposits, agency norms and bills, see our cost of renting in Malta guide, and for where each town suits which tenant, the best places to live in Malta guide.
Next Edition: Q4 2026
The Q4 index will show the first quarter-on-quarter movement against today’s baseline of 100 — revealing which towns tightened, which softened, and where the September demand wave left its mark.
Publishing or researching Malta’s rental market? You’re welcome to cite this index with a link to Next To Rent. Questions about a specific town or a live apartment — WhatsApp us on +356 7979 8661 or browse what’s available now.