Malta - British Expat Forum

1. What property can I buy ?
2. what additional costs are there ?
3. what is the procedure ?
4. should I use a lawyer as well as a notary ?
5. Can I rent out my property ?

1. What property can I buy ?

1. EU citizen (incl Maltese citizens) - primary residence
no permit required, can buy or rent a property of any value. One exception - if an EU citizen takes up residency under the "permanent residency" (PR) scheme, then is subject to the minimum limits quoted below. PR is explained in the following thread
http://www.britishexpat.com/expatforum/malta/viewtopic.php?t=7961
[edit - PR now superseded by HNWI scheme, but minimum rates still apply, albeit at higher values]

2. EU citizen (incl Maltese citizens) - secondary residence (holiday home)
if you haven't lived in Malta for the last 5 years, permit required for buying

3. non EU citizen
permit required for buying


the permit in 2 and 3 is the same

The permit will be issued usually within 6 weeks, under the following terms and conditions:

a) The value of the property purchased must be above €104,510 in case of Apartments/Maisonettes and €174,132 in case of houses. These values are index linked. You can buy below the limits if the property is in shell or unconverted forum, and can produce an architect’s certificate showing that the property requires additional costs, which bring it to the level of the threshold to make it habitable. For renting, PR minimum rent is about € 4,200 per annum.

b) The property has to be used solely as a residence by the applicant and his family. This condition will be waived if the applicant obtains a permit to rent the property.

c) The immovable property purchased may not be sold or otherwise converted into more than one dwelling house.

There are some areas exempt from the permit system, called "special designated areas", where there are no restrictions on the value or the number of properties a foreigner can buy, including non-EU citizens

these areas are

Portomaso, St. Julian’s, Malta
Cottonera Development, Cottonera, Malta
Manoel Island / Tigne Point, Tigne/ Gzira, Malta
Tas-Sellum Residence, Mellieha, Malta
Madliena Village Complex, Malta
Smartcity, Malta
Fort Cambridge Zone, Tignè, Malta
Ta’ Monita Residence, Marsascala, Malta
Pender Place and Mercury House Site, Malta
Metropolis Plaza, Gzira, Malta
Fort Chambray, Ghajnsielem, Gozo
Kempinski Residences, San Lawrenz, Gozo

2. what additional costs are there ?

As a general rule, its about 7%, broken down as follows
Duty on documents 5% (ie equiv to stamp duty in UK) *
Notarial fees 1% (approx.) (ie equiv to solicitors fees in UK)
Searches & Registration €465.87 (approx.)
Ministry of Finance fee € 232.94

* In the case where the property being purchased is to be the main residence and no other property results to be under the name of the buyer in question, then the first €116,468.67 are subject to a discounted rate of 3.5%. The remaining balance will be subject to the normal rate of 5%. This concession is applicable only to EU citizens.



3. what is the procedure ?

1) View property

2) Make offer

3) When offer is accepted both parties have to assign a notary (can use the same one) They charge around 1% of the purchase price for their fee.

4) A Convenium is then drawn up (Promise of Sale Agreement) which runs for pretty much 2-3 months longer if you wish. This is a binding document which can only be broken if there are problems with searches etc. At this time you will be expected to pay a 10% Deposit which the notary generally holds and passes over to the Seller upon completion.

5) During the time the promise of sale is active the Notary will perform all the relevant searches regarding the property and will probably advise you to get an architect to go and look over the property (if you are getting a mortgage the bank will insist upon this).

6) When everything is then done you will pay the balance (incl fees) and get the keys.


4. should I use a lawyer as well as a notary ?

Personally I'd recommend using one. A notary is acting in the middle, the estate agent for the seller, whereas a lawyer is acting for you.
If you decide to use a lawyer as well as a notary, the notary and lawyer will sometimes split the 1% between themselves, so it costs you no more.

5. Can I rent out my property ?

You can rent your property, as long it abides by atleast one of three conditions

A) It is in a special designated area.
B) It is a villa or house with a private pool.
C) It is issued with a licence from the Ministry of Tourism Authority under “Superior” and “Comfort” category - I'm not sure how strict they are in issuing licences, and whether they consider a pool a pre-requisite for a house/villa to reach the level required

The special designated areas are listed in 1. above.

Hi again Mark,
Could you pls advise me what the minimum value of property to buy is in order to get a permit to buy. Also why does this value not apply to certain areas ? Are these run down areas in need of incentives to purchasers to move there ?

Thanks for a great service-regards, Nick

"Are these run down areas in need of incentives to purchasers to move there ?" quite the opposite These are in many cases gated communities

do you mean the updated values for this ? "The value of the property purchased must be above €104,510 in case of Apartments/Maisonettes and €174,132 in case of houses. These values are index linked." It will be little changed, but I'll have a look

ps if you are an EU citizen and moving to Malta there is no minimum for your primary residence

http://www.aip.gov.mt/faqs.asp
I'm assuming the govt website is up to date (not necessarily a good assumption)

What is the minimum immovable property price for a non-resident to purchase immovable property?

The minimum price is: €99,895 for the purchase of a flat or maisonette; €166,446 for the purchase of any other immovable property.

The Maltese Government can decide to send an architect to re-value your property if they think it may have been under valued. If they decide that the value is higher (even if you did not pay the higher value) they can bill you for extra stamp duty.