If you rent in Malta, the lease has to be in writing and it has to be registered with the Housing Authority.
That has been the law since 2020.
An unregistered lease does not give you more freedom. It leaves you with less to stand on.
What changed in 2020
The Private Residential Leases Act brought the whole rental market under one set of rules.
Before it, a lot of renting here ran on handshakes and short verbal agreements.
Now a residential lease must be written down, must contain certain terms, and must be registered by the landlord.
The Act also caps how much the rent can go up during the lease.
Ask to see the registration
You are entitled to ask, and a landlord who has done it will show you without fuss.
One who resists is telling you something useful before you have handed over any money.
Registration is free and takes minutes online, so there is no honest reason for it to be missing.
You can check the status yourself once you have the registration number.
What you pay before you move in
Expect several months of money at once.
There is the deposit, the first month, and usually an agency fee, which here is normally half a month or a full month.
Budget for all three together rather than one at a time. On a €900 flat that is close to €2,500 on the day.
Get the deposit terms written into the contract, including what it can be held against and when it comes back.
Photograph everything on the day you move in and send the photographs to the landlord. A deposit argument is settled on evidence, not memory.
Minimum terms and notice
The law sets minimum lengths and notice periods, and they differ for a long let and a short let.
Read which one your contract says it is, because that decides how much notice either side has to give.
A residential long let runs at least a year. Short lets exist for students and short-term workers and must say so.
Bills and the water and electricity account
Ask whether the account is on the residential rate and whether you are registered as the occupant.
Domestic rates are cheaper than the default, and the discount only applies if the property is declared as your home.
A landlord who bills you at a flat rate per unit is charging you above the tariff. Ask for the ARMS bill.
There is a fuller walk through of the rules, the paperwork and the traps on the renting page.
