Leases, deposits, notice periods, repairs and your rights as a tenant.
A long let is a lease of a home you live in as your main residence, under the Private Residential Leases Act (Cap. 604). By law it lasts at least one year — a shorter agreed term counts as a year — and the landlord must register it with the Housing Authority. It suits anyone who works, studies or settles in Malta.
One year. Under the Private Residential Leases Act (Cap. 604) a long let can't be shorter than one year, and a lease agreed for less is treated as a one-year lease; there is no maximum. Leases of six months or less are allowed only as short lets for specific temporary stays, backed by documents attached to the contract.
A short let is limited to people who need a home for six months or less: a non-resident working on an assignment of under six months, a non-resident student on a course of under six months, a resident who needs a temporary main residence, or a non-resident who isn't seeking long-term residence. The contract has to say which case applies and attach proof; if it doesn't, or if the stay runs beyond six months, the law treats it as a long let, and a short let can't be extended. Holiday lets fall outside the Act.
Two- and three-year leases are common and often negotiable. Longer leases change your notice period if you want to leave early.
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Reviewed by Yusef Dwah
Yes. The landlord must register every long let, and every renewal, with the Housing Authority within 30 days of the lease starting (until 1 September 2024 the deadline was 10 days). An unregistered lease is not valid, but the landlord's failure to register can't be used against you, and you can register it yourself at their expense.
Registration is done online by the landlord or their agent. If the landlord doesn't register, the tenant may register the lease and deduct the fee from the rent. Landlords who don't register face administrative penalties and, for letting without a registered lease, criminal fines.
A registered lease matters for you in practice: non-EU Single Permit applications and the Housing Authority's Housing Benefit both depend on it. Ask your landlord for the registration confirmation once it is issued, and be wary of anyone who offers a lease "without registration".
Sources
Reviewed by Yusef Dwah
There is no legal maximum, but one month's rent is the usual deposit in Malta, and the amount must be written in the lease. You get it back when the lease ends, less any money you owe or damage beyond normal wear. If you leave before the minimum period, the landlord can keep up to one month's rent from it.
The Private Residential Leases Act doesn't set a deadline for returning the deposit, so agree one in the lease. Unless you agree otherwise, a landlord can't ask for more than one month's rent in advance.
The best protection is the inventory, which the law requires as part of every lease. Walk through the home at move-in, photograph everything including meter readings, and have both of you sign it. Do the same at move-out.
Disputes about a deposit on a registered lease, for claims up to €5,000, go to the Adjudicating Panel, which is quicker and cheaper than court.
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Reviewed by Yusef Dwah
Only if your lease says so, and only within limits. Without a rent-review clause the rent can't change during the lease. With one, the rent is fixed for the first year and can then rise once a year, by no more than the yearly change in the National Statistics Office's Property Price Index and never by more than 5%. If the index falls, the rent doesn't. The rent on a brand-new lease is freely agreed.
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Reviewed by Yusef Dwah
It depends on the lease length. On a lease under two years you can leave after six months with one month's notice; on a two-year lease, after nine months with two months' notice; on three years or more, after twelve months with three months' notice. Notice goes by registered letter. Leave after the minimum period with proper notice and there is no penalty.
| Length of lease | You can leave after | Notice (registered letter) |
|---|---|---|
| Under 2 years | 6 months | At least 1 month |
| 2 years to under 3 years | 9 months | At least 2 months |
| 3 years or more | 12 months | At least 3 months |
A lease can give the tenant better terms than these, never worse. Notice that is too short doesn't end the lease. If you leave before the minimum period, the landlord can keep up to one month's rent from your deposit and still claim anything else you owe.
After a renewal, different minimums apply: three months after an automatic renewal; after an agreed renewal, half the minimum period that applies to a lease of the renewal's length — for example, three months for a one-year renewal.
The landlord's side: to end the lease when its term runs out, the landlord must send you a registered letter at least three months before the end date. Without it, the lease renews automatically for a year.
Sources
Reviewed by Yusef Dwah
Usually, yes: in Malta the tenant normally pays an agency fee, but only when a lease is signed through the agency. At Next To Rent the fee is 50% of one month's rent + VAT, payable only when you sign. A legitimate agency never charges for viewings, "registration" or reservations before a contract exists, so pay only against a receipt.
Expect to show photo ID or a passport, proof of income or employment (a contract or recent payslips), and a reference from a previous landlord where you have one. Students can usually use proof of enrolment with a guarantor. The exact list depends on the landlord, so we confirm it for each home before any paperwork starts.
Under the Civil Code the landlord hands over the home in good repair and pays for structural repairs, meaning the building's structure, ceilings included (articles 1540 and 1556). The tenant is responsible for all other repairs during the lease, except damage caused by force majeure without the tenant's fault (article 1557). Many leases also put appliances supplied with the home on the landlord, so check yours.
| Usually the landlord | Usually the tenant |
|---|---|
| Structural repairs: walls, roof, ceilings and the building's structure (art. 1540) | All other repairs during the lease (art. 1556) |
| Faults or defects that stop you using the home, even if they appear after signing (art. 1545) | Damage that happens while you live there, unless you show it wasn't your fault (art. 1561) |
| Allowing urgent repairs that can't wait until the lease ends (art. 1548) |
Under the Private Residential Leases Act, a lease clause that frees the landlord from the duty to warrant the home against defects has no effect. If urgent repairs take more than 40 days, the rent is reduced for the time and the part of the home you can't use.
Report problems in writing as soon as you notice them, with photos, and keep the signed inventory: it is your evidence of the home's condition when you moved in.
Sources
Reviewed by Yusef Dwah
Not without the landlord's agreement. Article 1614 of the Civil Code says a tenant can't sublet or assign a lease unless the lease allows it, and under the Private Residential Leases Act adding a tenant needs the consent of the landlord and the existing tenants. Everyone who lives there should be on the lease.
The lease registration records how many people live in the home, and the Housing Authority sets an occupancy limit of two people per bedroom, up to ten per property. Replacing one tenant with another also needs the express consent of the landlord, the outgoing tenant and the other tenants.
If you want to share, say so before you sign: we can find homes whose owners are happy with sharers and put every flatmate on the lease from the start.
Sources
Reviewed by Yusef Dwah
No, not as a general right. Article 1539 of the Civil Code obliges the landlord to secure your quiet enjoyment of the home during the lease, and the Private Residential Leases Act gives landlords no right of entry. You must allow urgent repairs that can't wait (article 1548); for inspections and viewings, follow what your lease says.
Most leases include a clause letting the landlord inspect the property, or show it to new tenants near the end of the lease, after giving notice. If yours doesn't, agree a reasonable notice period in writing before you sign, and keep it in the lease.
If an urgent repair takes more than 40 days, you are entitled to a reduction in rent for the part of the home you lose.
Sources
Reviewed by Yusef Dwah
The surest sign is a price far below the town's normal range: a listing 25% or more below it is almost always bait. Other warnings are an agent who won't say the price, photos that appear on several sites at different prices, and pressure to pay before you have viewed. Never pay until you have seen the home, in person or on a live video call, and have a written contract.