Renting before you arrive, documents, utilities and settling in.
Yes. Many of our tenants secure their home before they land: send us your budget, move-in date and must-haves, and we shortlist checked homes and show them to you on a live video viewing. You can then reserve and sign remotely. Never pay until you have seen the home, in person or on a live video call, and have a written contract.
Start three to four weeks before your move-in date. That is enough time to see several homes without paying for weeks of a lease you can't use yet.
- Tell us your budget, preferred areas, move-in date and must-haves.
- We send a shortlist of homes that are confirmed available.
- We walk you through each one on a live video call — ask us to open cupboards, run taps and show the street.
- Reserve the home and sign the lease, which the landlord registers with the Housing Authority.
- On arrival, check the inventory and meter readings with us before you unpack.
Set a realistic budget (rent, a deposit of usually one month, the first month in advance, the agency fee if you use an agent, and utilities), choose an area that fits your commute, then move quickly: good homes go within days. View in person or by video, check the inventory, and sign a lease that the landlord registers with the Housing Authority.
Not as a rule. In practice the lease comes first: for non-EU nationals applying for a Single Permit, Identità's checklist asks for a lease (or purchase contract) in your name with its start and end dates, the Housing Authority's confirmation that the lease is registered, and a professional attestation form signed by the landlord.
With your documents ready, going from the first viewing to a signed lease commonly takes under a week, and decisive tenants have done it in a day. Start your search three to four weeks before your move-in date: early enough to choose, late enough that you aren't paying for a home you can't use yet.
If you are applying for a Single Permit, yes: Identità's checklist requires your lease, the Housing Authority's confirmation that it is registered, and a professional attestation form signed by your landlord. EU citizens registering residence aren't asked for registration proof, but need a lease in their name to change their address.
A registered lease matters for more than permits. The Housing Authority's Housing Benefit, a rent subsidy for eligible tenants, also requires a lease registered with the Housing Authority for your main residence. If a landlord offers you a lease "without registration", walk away: it leaves you without these protections.
Sources
Reviewed by Yusef Dwah
Yes. We run live video viewings on WhatsApp for tenants who are abroad or can't come in person: we walk through the whole home, open cupboards, run the taps and show the street outside, and you can ask anything as we go. Choose a home on our listings and book a viewing — pick the video option.
Electricity and water are billed by ARMS. Either the account stays in the landlord's name and you pay on actual meter readings, or you take it over with ARMS Form F2, which needs a lease of at least three months, your ID and dated meter photos. Either way, register everyone who lives there (ARMS Form H) so the account gets the residential rate.
ARMS charges two tariffs. The residential tariff, which is the cheaper one, applies when at least one person is registered as living at the address, and the eco-reduction depends on how many people are registered. With nobody registered, the account falls back to the more expensive domestic tariff.
| ARMS form | What it does | Who signs |
|---|---|---|
| Form F2 | Temporary recognition of a tenant: puts the account in your name for the lease (long lets are renewed every 5 years) | You sign; the landlord must be the current account holder |
| Form H | Declares how many people live at the address, so you get the residential tariff | The account holder, with ID or residence-permit copies for each person added |
| Form F | Permanent change of the registered consumer | The new consumer |
Good habits: photograph the meters with the date on move-in day, keep the inventory, and ask your landlord to file Form H straight away if the account stays in their name. A person can be registered on only one account, and can move their registration only once a year; changes completed after 30 November take effect the following year. Check fees and deposits on the current forms before applying.
Sources
Reviewed by Yusef Dwah
Yes, if you pick the right town. Sliema, Gżira and Msida are genuinely car-free, and St Julian's is too if you work locally; San Ġwann, Swieqi and Ta' Xbiex work with some planning. Buses reach every town, the ferry links Sliema to Valletta, and ride apps cover the rest. Mellieħa and Marsaskala are much easier with a car.