If you rent a room or a flat from a private landlord for your English course in Malta, your contract falls under the Private Residential Leases Act (Chapter 604 of the Laws of Malta), in force since 1 January 2020. The law decides which type of contract you sign, what it must contain and who registers it with the Housing Authority. Here is what to check before you sign and pay.
Which contract applies to you
The Housing Authority’s rent registration site describes two kinds of private residential lease. The short let is the one written for language students. According to the Authority, it applies to:
- students pursuing short courses of less than six months’ duration;
- temporary foreign workers employed for six months or less;
- foreign tenants who are not seeking to establish ordinary residency in Malta;
- residents who need a home for a short period of less than six months.
The rules of a short let, whole dwelling or shared space:
- The lease lasts six months.
- The first month is obligatory for you.
- After that first month, you may leave by giving the landlord at least one week’s notice by registered letter.
- The contract cannot be renewed.
In practice, a student on an eight-week course signs a six-month short let, is bound for the first month, then sends a registered letter one week before leaving.
If you stay a year or more
A long let lasts at least one year. On a one-year contract, the first six months are mandatory, then you may leave with at least one month’s notice by registered letter. On a two-year contract, the mandatory period is nine months and the notice two months. On three years or more, the figures are twelve months and three months. In every case, a landlord who does not intend to renew must tell you three months before the end, by registered letter; otherwise the lease renews automatically for a year.
If your school books you into a residence, a hotel or a host family, you do not sign a private lease with a landlord yourself. Ask the school what you are signing.
What the written contract must include
Every private residential lease drawn up since 1 January 2020 must be in writing and state:
- the property being leased and its agreed use;
- the period of the lease, and whether and how it renews;
- the rent and how you pay it;
- any deposit you pay as security;
- an inventory of the condition of the premises, furniture and appliances supplied by the landlord;
- a Lessor Self-Declaration, an official Housing Authority form confirming details of the property.
The Authority publishes a template contract for long and short lets on the rent registration site. If your landlord uses their own wording, the required elements still have to appear in it.
Who registers the contract, and by when
The owner registers the lease with the Housing Authority within 30 days from the start of the lease. Registration is online, and the Authority vets each application, a process that takes up to 10 working days. The fees listed by the Authority:
- Normal registration: 10 euros.
- Late registration, after the 30 days: a fee of 120 euros may apply.
- Re-registration of a renewed agreement: 5 euros.
Registration is the landlord’s duty, not yours. Ask for confirmation that it has been done once the 30 days have passed. A landlord who refuses to put the agreement in writing, or to register it, is a warning sign before you hand over money.
The inventory protects your deposit
The inventory is mandatory, and it is your best evidence when the deposit comes back. On the day you move in:
- Walk through every room with the landlord and the inventory in hand.
- Photograph walls, floors, furniture and appliances, with the date visible on your phone.
- Write any damage on the inventory before you sign it.
- Note the electricity and water meter readings.
- Keep a copy of the signed contract and inventory outside the flat, in your email for example.
Repeat the walk-through on the day you leave, with the same inventory and the same photos on your phone. If a disagreement remains, the rent registration site explains how to submit a dispute and describes the Authority’s arbitration panel.
A checklist before you pay
- Is the contract a short let or a long let, and does it match the length of your course?
- Is the deposit amount written in the contract?
- Is there an inventory, and have you checked it line by line?
- Are electricity and water included in the rent, or billed on top?
- Will the landlord register the lease within 30 days?
For the search itself, start with our accommodation page and our guide to finding a flat. To set a realistic rent against the rest of your spending, see the monthly budget for students in Malta.
