Holiday home rental laws to be reviewed in Malta
Holiday home rental laws to be reviewed in Malta
The Maltese government is to review the law which governs the rental of properties owned by foreigners on the island. Di-ve.com reports that the complex issue is now to be looked at by the Ministry of Finance.
Non-nationals who intend to rent out their property on Malta need to specify this when they sign their promise of sale. If further down the line they decide that they wish to keep it for personal use then this will not cause a problem. Nevertheless, should they not declare their intention to rent the property at the beginning and they then want to change its status to 'commercial use', then they will not be able to do so, as the current law does not allow for this.
The only way to get round such a situation is to sell the original property and purchase another, specifying that it is to be used for rental purposes and is therefore commercial use. Commenting on the present system, a source said: "It is not fair to force someone to 'die' just because they want to rent out their property."
The existing regulations are now to be reviewed after the Ministry of Finance admitted that this may be an oversight. It is not just the rental law that is to be subject to government attention; other rules affecting the purchase of properties by foreigners are to be examined, including the need for a licence from the Malta Tourism Authority and other tax issues.
Head of secretariat in the Ministry of Finance, Alan Caruna, has further suggested that a federation be set up to work on the marketing and promotion of the Maltese property market.
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5 June 2008
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