Buying a house in Malta: no permit for your main residence, and 3.5 per cent on the first 200,000 euros

Yes, as a Dutch national you may buy a house in Malta, and for the home you are going to live in yourself you need no permit. What it costs: the transfer duty, in Malta stamp duty, is 5 per cent of the purchase price or the value if that is higher, plus the notary. The find in the Maltese law on documents and transfers: whoever buys a home as their sole, ordinary residence and needs no permit for it pays 3.5 per cent on the first 200,000 euros. The trap lies with a second home: as long as you have not yet lived in Malta for five uninterrupted years, you need a permit for it, even as an EU citizen.

Do I need a permit?

Malta regulates this in the law on the acquisition of immovable property by non-residents, chapter 246. It distinguishes between a "resident of Malta" and a "non-resident person", and the line is not drawn at your nationality but at your years:

Who	Main residence	Second home
EU citizen who has lived in Malta for at least five uninterrupted years	free	free
EU citizen who has not reached that yet	free	only with a permit

Under the law a main residence is the home where you habitually live or will live as your principal place of abode. For those who do need a permit — the acquisition of immovable property, AIP — EURES gives an amount of 233 euros. The law also has special designated areas, designated zones where the permit requirement does not apply.

What does the purchase cost on top of the price?

Item	Amount	When
Stamp duty, standard	5 per cent	1 per cent at the preliminary contract, 4 per cent at the deed
Stamp duty, only home without a permit	3.5 per cent on the first 200,000 euros, 5 per cent above	same
Deposit to the seller	normally 10 per cent of the price	at the preliminary contract
Notary and legal costs	roughly 1.5 to 2.5 per cent	a third at the preliminary contract, the rest at the deed
Estate agent	via a registered estate agency the seller pays; via a private broker 1 per cent	—

The 3.5 per cent relief has conditions. You buy the home to make it your sole, ordinary residence; you own no other home for which you already received the same relief; and you record that in a declaration the notary includes in the deed. The notary expressly warns you that the declaration must be truthful. If you buy in a special designated area where you would otherwise have needed a permit, the relief does not apply.

How does the purchase work?

Unlike in the Netherlands, it starts with a preliminary sale contract, the konvenju or promise of sale, drawn up by a notary. On signing you pay 1 per cent of the 5 per cent duty and usually a 10 per cent deposit. In the weeks after, the notary searches the title, debts and mortgages on the property, and you arrange your financing and the permits needed. At the final deed, at the notary or the bank's legal office, you pay the rest of the price, the rest of the duty and the notary. The notary must register the deed at the Land Registry within 15 days.

At the konvenju your money is already on the table. At the preliminary contract you already pay 1 per cent duty and your deposit, and in the weeks after you must get your loan and the necessary permits in place. So have the contract read by a notary or lawyer who works for you, before you sign — EURES recommends that too.

Will I get a mortgage?

Maltese banks grant mortgages with a term of 15 to 40 years, or until you turn 65, depending on your situation, EURES writes. Whoever comes to Malta with a pension is already at or past that limit; so ask the bank what is possible for you before you sign a konvenju.

Why not buy straight away?

Because renting teaches you which Malta suits you: Sliema or the south, Malta or Gozo. How that works and what the law gives you as a tenant is in living and renting in Malta; why the order rent-then-buy is wise, in no house purchase in your first year. And if you are considering a special tax regime: the Maltese programmes with a 15 per cent rate set requirements for the home you buy or rent, see AOW, pension and tax in Malta. Where the home falls in your sequence is in the step-by-step plan for Malta.

In Vertrekklaar this is phase 4 of 5 of the journey, step 4.1: the same steps, but for your situation — in your order, tickable, and with the deadlines watched. See the whole journey to Malta or go straight to step 4.1 in the open plan.