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The short-let licence in Malta: what the MTA requires

Letting Maltese property to tourists is a licensed activity. Since the Tourism Accommodation Regulations 2026 (L.N. 92 of 2026), the Malta Tourism Authority issues the licence to the property's proprietor, sets the conditions a short let must meet, and bars anyone caught hosting without one. This page states those rules at the level the regulations themselves state them, and cites them for every requirement.

Who licenses short lets
The MTA
Who holds the licence
The proprietor in title
Longest single booking
90 consecutive days
Hosting without a licence
Barred for 3 years

Before licensing anything, make sure short-letting actually beats long-letting and selling for your property. The comparison page has the live numbers.

First check the three-way decision

Planning to short-let compliantly?

Tell us where the property is and we will send the locality's live long-let benchmark for comparison, plus the order-of-operations checklist from this page in one printable email.

The obligation, stated plainly

Under the Tourism Accommodation Regulations 2026 (L.N. 92 of 2026, made under the Malta Travel and Tourism Services Act, Cap. 409), a person shall not operate short let rented accommodation for tourists unless the Malta Tourism Authority has issued a licence for it. The licence is issued for a studio, an apartment, a house, a villa or a farmhouse, and it must be in place before the first guest stays, not regularised afterwards.

The regulations attach a specific consequence to hosting without one: a person found operating short-let accommodation without a valid licence is disqualified from applying for a licence for 3 years, and for the same 3 years the dwelling itself cannot be licensed, whoever applies, without prejudice to any other penalty the law provides. The MTA may also suspend or withdraw a licence for breaches of the rules on noise, waste or health established by a final court decision or by an enforcement notice no longer open to appeal.

This page deliberately does not restate the MTA's application forms, fee schedule or classification standards, because those are the MTA's to publish and they move. What it adds is the decision-level picture: what is licensed, who holds the licence, what an application must show, and what an owner should do in what order.

Who holds the licence, and who may run the let

The licence is issued only to the proprietor in title of the property. The regulations define that widely: the owner in title, any agent or other person the owner mandates to carry out the activity, a lessee, an emphyteuta or a usufructuary, and, for a company, a director acting on its behalf. The proprietor declares whether the property will be operated directly, by means of a sub-contract, or otherwise by third parties.

So an owner can hold the licence and still have someone else run the let, such as a property manager, provided the declaration says so. Whoever operates it, the application must give complete and accurate information about both the licensee and the operator, and must name a designated natural person who is available 24 hours a day to receive complaints and deal with problems, with that person's name and number kept up to date.

What a short-let licence requires

Category E of the regulations lists the criteria an application must satisfy in full. In summary, as the regulations state them:

  • A valid development permission for the property, and certification that the premises conform to the approved planning permission.
  • Valid proof of insurance, covering the common parts where applicable.
  • Compliance with the classification criteria for short-let accommodation set by the regulations.
  • A waste collection management plan with every application and every renewal.
  • Occupancy of no more than two persons per bedroom as approved by the Planning Authority, and no more than ten persons per unit unless the unit has its own access from a road.
  • No bedrooms underground or at basement level, and a property finished to a high standard in the MTA's reasonable opinion.
  • Once licensed, written notice to the block administrator where the property is in a condominium, with a copy to the MTA.
  • No individual booking longer than 90 consecutive days.
  • Any criteria the MTA sets for a particular locality, and any conditions in that local council's bye-laws.

The order of operations for a new host

The sensible sequence for an owner starting from zero:

  1. Decide the arm first. Run the short-let versus long-let versus sell comparison before touching any application. Licensing effort is wasted if the arithmetic was never in short-letting's favour.
  2. Check the property can be licensed. Confirm the development permission and that the premises conform to it, the bedroom and occupancy limits, and any locality criteria or council bye-laws, before spending on the premises.
  3. Decide who will run it. Yourself, a sub-contractor or a manager: the licence stays the proprietor's either way, the application declares the operator, and someone must be named as the 24-hour contact.
  4. Prepare the premises and the papers. Bring the property to the classification standard, arrange insurance that covers the common parts where needed, and prepare the waste collection management plan.
  5. Obtain the licence, then list. Licence in hand, tell the block administrator if the property is in a condominium, list the property, and display the licence details where the listing platforms ask for them.
  6. Keep it current. Renewals need a waste plan too, the 24-hour contact must stay up to date, and no single booking may run past 90 consecutive days.

Sources

Common questions

Do I need a licence to Airbnb my property in Malta?
Yes. Under the Tourism Accommodation Regulations 2026 (L.N. 92 of 2026), nobody may operate short-let rented accommodation for tourists unless the Malta Tourism Authority has issued a licence for it, and the licence must be in place before guests stay.
What happens if I short-let without a licence in Malta?
The regulations disqualify a person found operating short-let accommodation without a valid licence from applying for one for 3 years, and make the dwelling itself ineligible for a short-let licence for the same period, whoever applies. That is without prejudice to any other penalty the law provides.
Can a property manager run my short let?
Yes. The licence is issued to the proprietor in title, a term the regulations define to include an agent the owner mandates, and the proprietor declares whether the property is operated directly, by a sub-contract or by third parties. The application must also identify the operator and a 24-hour contact person.
How long can a single short-let booking be?
No individual booking may exceed 90 consecutive days under the licence. Longer stays are a different kind of letting with their own rules.
How much does a short-let licence cost in Malta?
The MTA publishes the current fees and they depend on the classification of the property. This page deliberately does not restate figures the MTA updates; check the MTA's current schedule directly.