Does my landlord have to register my lease in Malta?

Yes. Article 4 of the Private Residential Leases Act (Cap. 604) makes registration the landlord's obligation, within thirty days of the lease starting, and says a contract which is not registered is null and void. It applies to renewals as well, including a lease that simply carried on.

What can I do if my landlord has not registered the lease?

Article 4(4) lets you register it yourself at the landlord's expense, and lets you keep back part of the rent until you have recovered the fee you paid. The Act also says that a failure to register may not be used against you, and that the landlord cannot rely on it as a defence.

Am I entitled to an inventory when I rent in Malta?

Yes, on a private residential lease. Article 6(1)(g) makes an inventory signed by all parties an essential requirement of the contract, covering the condition of the property and the state of any furniture and appliances the landlord supplies. It is required even where the property is let unfurnished, and a contract missing it is null and void.

How much notice do I have to give to leave?

On a short private residential lease you have to stay one month, and after that you can leave at any time on one week's notice by registered letter. Article 12 says no penalty may be imposed on you for leaving that way, and your contract is free to give you better terms but not worse ones.

Does this apply if I am renting a holiday flat?

It depends on you rather than on the flat. Cap. 604 does not cover a place let to a tourist purely for tourism, but the Act says in terms that a property registered as holiday furnished premises is still covered if the person renting it does not qualify as a tourist. If you live and work in Malta and you are renting somewhere as your home, that is the question worth asking a lawyer.

Cap. 604

Renting a home in Malta.

The law gives you more than most people realise, and the part almost nobody knows is near the top: if your landlord has not registered your lease, you can register it yourself and take the cost out of the rent.

What you are owed

Five things your landlord owes you.

All of these come from the Private Residential Leases Act, which covers a place you rent to live in.

A contract in writing: Not a handshake and not a message. Article 6(1) requires writing, and if any of the seven things it lists is missing then article 6(2) says the agreement is null and void.
An inventory that you sign: Signed by everybody, covering the condition of the place and of any furniture and appliances the landlord supplied. Photographs count, as long as they show the condition clearly and each one has a short description with it. You are owed this even if the place came empty.
The deposit written down: Whatever you leave as security has to be stated in the contract. That is the number an argument at the end turns on, and it is a lot easier to settle when both of you signed it at the start.
At least a year, on a long lease: A long residential lease cannot be shorter than a year. If the paper says less, article 8 makes it a year anyway.
Three months before you have to go: A long lease ends when its term runs out only if the landlord sent you at least three months notice by registered letter. No letter, no ending on that date.

Article 4(4)

You can register it yourself.

Registering the lease is the landlord's job, within thirty days of it starting, and a lease that is not registered is null and void. If they have not done it, the Act gives you three things.

Do it yourself

You may register the lease at the landlord's expense. It is done online with the Housing Authority.

Take the fee out of the rent

You may hold back part of the rent until you have got back what the registration cost you.

It cannot be used against you

Their failure to register may not be held against you, and they may not use it as a defence in enforcement proceedings.

Registration counts back to the day the lease started, so doing it late still puts you where you should have been from the beginning.

Questions

Questions tenants ask.

Does my landlord have to register my lease in Malta?: Yes. Article 4 of the Private Residential Leases Act (Cap. 604) makes registration the landlord's obligation, within thirty days of the lease starting, and says a contract which is not registered is null and void. It applies to renewals as well, including a lease that simply carried on.
What can I do if my landlord has not registered the lease?: Article 4(4) lets you register it yourself at the landlord's expense, and lets you keep back part of the rent until you have recovered the fee you paid. The Act also says that a failure to register may not be used against you, and that the landlord cannot rely on it as a defence.
Am I entitled to an inventory when I rent in Malta?: Yes, on a private residential lease. Article 6(1)(g) makes an inventory signed by all parties an essential requirement of the contract, covering the condition of the property and the state of any furniture and appliances the landlord supplies. It is required even where the property is let unfurnished, and a contract missing it is null and void.
How much notice do I have to give to leave?: On a short private residential lease you have to stay one month, and after that you can leave at any time on one week's notice by registered letter. Article 12 says no penalty may be imposed on you for leaving that way, and your contract is free to give you better terms but not worse ones.
Does this apply if I am renting a holiday flat?: It depends on you rather than on the flat. Cap. 604 does not cover a place let to a tourist purely for tourism, but the Act says in terms that a property registered as holiday furnished premises is still covered if the person renting it does not qualify as a tourist. If you live and work in Malta and you are renting somewhere as your home, that is the question worth asking a lawyer.

Everything here is read out of Cap. 604 itself. We are not lawyers and this is not advice about your own tenancy. If something here matters to a dispute you are in, take the Act to somebody who can act on it.

The same rules, from the landlord's side Which bag goes out on which day

Where this sits

For tenants

You are renting a home in Malta. The law gives you more than most people know, including the right to register the lease yourself if your landlord has not.

For tenants Every guide