- Put the lease in writing with an inventory, and register it within 30 days.
- You must supply water and electricity and acknowledge the number of residents.
- Self-list on noagent.rent for €69 and get €20 back as credit when the let is confirmed.
1. Be sure the home is yours to let
Know who the owner is, and that you are allowed to let it, for instance if there are co-owners. If you let for someone else, you need their written mandate. On noagent.rent we ask for proof of ownership, or a written mandate, before a listing goes live.
2. Make sure it is fit to live in
The Act says a residence must be fit for habitation. Registration is not a certificate of habitability, and does not protect you against breaches of other laws. The Minister can also set a maximum number of occupants for a home.
3. Write the lease properly
The lease must be in writing and say: the home, the use, the period, whether it can be extended and how, the rent and how it is paid, any deposit, and an inventory signed by all parties. The Housing Authority publishes a model contract you can use. Leave out one of these and the lease is void.
- Do not add fees other than rent, deposit, contents insurance and condominium contributions.
- Do not fix a flat utility sum. It has to follow actual use.
- Do not agree anything on the side. Terms not in the registered lease have no effect.
4. Pick the length and know the exit
A long lease is at least one year. Unless you send the tenant a registered letter at least three months before the end date, it renews for another year. A short lease is only for six months and for named groups of tenants with proof. See our guide to minimum terms and ending a lease.
5. Rent and increases
The rent is freely agreed between you and the tenant. noagent.rent never advises on it. The Act sets rules for later changes: an increase is possible only once a year, not in the first year, and only if the lease provides for it. It may not go above the yearly change in the National Statistics Office’s Property Price Index, and never above 5%. Give a receipt for rent unless payment is made by a traceable method.
6. Register within 30 days
It is your duty, online, with the Housing Authority. You declare how many people will live in the home. A late registration costs more, and the Housing Authority can ask for an administrative penalty of up to €2,329.37 for letting without a valid registered lease. See our step-by-step guide.
7. Water and electricity
You must make sure there is an adequate supply, acknowledge the number of people living in the home so the right tariff is used, and give the tenant access to the account details.
8. Deposit and inventory
Any deposit goes into the lease. The Act sets no maximum and no return date, so write both down. If a tenant leaves early, you may keep up to one month’s rent out of the deposit. Disputes of up to €5,000 can go to the Housing Authority’s panel, for registered leases.
9. Tax
Rent is income. How it is taxed depends on your situation, so ask the Commissioner for Revenue or a tax adviser before you let.
10. Let it yourself
Self-list for €69 or have it surveyed for €199. Both run until the home is let. We check every tenant’s ID, and you approve every viewing.
General information, not legal advice. Sources: Private Residential Leases Act (Cap. 604), articles 2, 4, 6, 7, 8, 9, 11, 13, 14, 17, 20 and 23; rentregistration.mt.