Can I sublet my office in Malta?

If your lease allows it, usually with the landlord's written consent. Read the subletting and assignment clause first; approaching the landlord with a concrete replacement occupier is what turns the clause into a yes.

What is the difference between subleasing and assigning a lease?

A sublease keeps you on the hook: you remain the landlord's tenant and collect from your subtenant. An assignment transfers the lease to the new tenant and ends your ongoing exposure on the agreed terms. Assignment is the cleaner exit; subleasing is the more available one.

Do I still pay rent during the di fermo if I leave the office?

Yes. The di fermo binds you to the rent for its whole length, occupied or not, which is precisely why subleasing exists: it offsets rent you owe anyway with rent someone pays you.

Is a sublease cheaper than a direct office lease in Malta?

Often, because the sublessor's alternative is paying for empty space, and the space usually comes fitted. The trade-off is a term capped by the head lease and security that depends on the head tenant; check both before signing.

Subleasing an office in Malta: the exits from a lease you have outgrown or left

The di fermo means the rent is owed whether you sit in the space or not, and companies shrink, merge and relocate faster than leases end. The two exits are subleasing and assignment. Both are contract questions before they are market questions, and this page covers both sides of both.

Market figures from 101 live listings across Malta, computed 12 August 2026

Exits from a di fermo: 2
First document to read: The consent clause
Who stays liable on a sublease: You
Who takes over on assignment: The new tenant

Live market: the median asking rent across 101 offices advertised on Darscover is €2,000 per month.

Live office listings across Malta: the comparables for pricing a sublease, or the alternatives if you are the one looking for space.

See what offices are asking now

The middle half of 101 listings asks between €1,250 and €5,750

Paying for space you have left?

Tell us where the office is and we will send the asking rents for comparable space, the sample behind them, and the two clauses to check in your lease before you market it.

The 2 exits: sublease and assignment

A sublease puts a subtenant into your space while your lease, and your liability, stay exactly where they are: you collect from the subtenant and keep paying the landlord, and if the subtenant fails, the gap is yours. An assignment transfers the lease itself: the incoming tenant steps into your position and your ongoing exposure ends on the terms the assignment sets.

Which exit is available is written in your lease. Most Maltese commercial leases require the landlord's written consent for either, and some exclude one or both outright. So the sequence is fixed: read the clause, then approach the landlord, then market the space. Marketing first and asking consent later is how deals collapse after fit-out tours.

Getting the landlord to yes

Landlords say yes to certainty. The ask that works brings the replacement covenant with it: who the incoming occupier is, what they do, and why their money is at least as good as yours. Expect the landlord to treat an assignment as a moment to revisit terms, and price that into your plan; a modest rent adjustment that ends your di fermo exposure is usually a good trade. Where an agency is engaged to find the replacement, commercial fee practice applies, 10% of the average di fermo rent plus 18% VAT per side on a new lease; on subleases, fees are negotiated per deal.

Pricing space you need gone

A sublessor is a motivated supplier, and the honest play is to use that: price at or slightly under the going rate for comparable offices and convert your empty months into a smaller, certain loss. The live figures above, where the sample allows, show what office space is currently asking; your ceiling is the market, your floor is whatever beats paying the full rent on an empty floor. Fitted space with furniture and cabling in place lets faster in Malta's office market, where much demand wants to move in next month, not fit out for six.

Taking a sublease: the other side of the desk

For an incoming occupier, a sublease is often the cheapest fitted space on the market, with two checks that matter: that the head lease actually permits the sublease (ask to see the consent), and that the term you are offered fits inside the head lease's remaining di fermo. A sublease cannot outlive the lease it hangs from, and a subtenant's occupation is only as secure as the head tenant's payments.

Common questions

Can I sublet my office in Malta?: If your lease allows it, usually with the landlord's written consent. Read the subletting and assignment clause first; approaching the landlord with a concrete replacement occupier is what turns the clause into a yes.
What is the difference between subleasing and assigning a lease?: A sublease keeps you on the hook: you remain the landlord's tenant and collect from your subtenant. An assignment transfers the lease to the new tenant and ends your ongoing exposure on the agreed terms. Assignment is the cleaner exit; subleasing is the more available one.
Do I still pay rent during the di fermo if I leave the office?: Yes. The di fermo binds you to the rent for its whole length, occupied or not, which is precisely why subleasing exists: it offsets rent you owe anyway with rent someone pays you.
Is a sublease cheaper than a direct office lease in Malta?: Often, because the sublessor's alternative is paying for empty space, and the space usually comes fitted. The trade-off is a term capped by the head lease and security that depends on the head tenant; check both before signing.