- Insist on a written lease with an inventory, and ask for it to be registered.
- Other offices may ask for the Housing Authority’s registration proof.
- Book viewings directly with verified owners, and never pay before you have seen the home.
Start with the lease, not the flat
The Private Residential Leases Act (Cap. 604) gives every tenant of a home the same protections. A lease must be in writing and name the home, the use, the period, whether it can be extended, the rent and how it is paid, any deposit, and include a signed inventory. A lease that lacks these essentials is null and void.
Why registration is your business too
The landlord has to register the lease online with the Housing Authority within 30 days. If they do not, you can do it yourself. The Act lets you recover the fee from the landlord, by keeping back part of the rent.
It matters beyond the law. Identità says an address on an identity card or residence document can only be used with a valid title, for instance an official, registered lease. For a residence document for a non-EU national, Identità lists a signed lease, a landlord’s signed authorisation form and the Housing Authority’s registration approval letter. Check Identità’s current list before you apply.
Think about the length
A normal lease runs for at least a year. Under the Act you can leave earlier after 6, 9 or 12 months, depending on how long the lease is, with a registered letter. A short six-month lease is only for specific cases, and must say which, with papers to prove it. Read our guide to minimum terms before you choose.
What should not be in your lease
The Act makes some clauses void: charges other than rent, deposit, contents insurance and condominium contributions; fixed utility sums that do not follow what you actually use; and clauses that limit how you use the home as a residence, within the rules of good neighbourliness. Anything agreed by word of mouth that is not in the registered lease is void too.
Water and electricity
The landlord must make sure the home has water and electricity. They must also acknowledge how many people live there, so the right tariff applies, and give you access to the account details. You can ask the supplier to recognise you as the consumer in your own name. Do not pay a utility bill until you have a copy of it, unless you can see the account yourself.
Your move-in checklist
- See the home in person before you pay anything.
- Check who you are dealing with and that they own the home. On noagent.rent every owner is ID-checked and ownership is proven.
- Ask for the lease in writing, in a language you understand, before you pay a deposit.
- Do the inventory together, with photographs, and keep a copy.
- Ask for the registration proof and keep it with your passport or ID papers.
- Photograph the meters on day one.
How noagent.rent helps
You deal directly with the owner. A tenant search pass lasts 30 days, you book viewing slots yourself and there is no agency fee. Rent is for the two of you to agree; we never negotiate and never advise on price.
General information, not legal advice. Sources: Private Residential Leases Act (Cap. 604), articles 4, 6, 7, 11 and 17; rentregistration.mt; Identità Expatriates Unit.