Malta’s residential property price index rose 6.9 per cent in the year to the second quarter of 2026, the National Statistics Office reported on 1 October. It tracks the prices households actually pay for homes and stood at 105.94, with 2025 as its base year, up 1.6 per cent on the first quarter alone. Apartments led the rise, at 7.4 per cent.
There is a second number in the same release that matters just as much to anyone buying to let. Under Maltese law, that index also sets the ceiling for a rent increase on an existing lease, and the ceiling is 5 per cent. Put the two together and you get the whole picture for an agent: purchase prices are still climbing, but what you can charge a sitting tenant is capped, and in practice it is the 5 per cent figure rather than the index that sets the limit.
Malta’s House Prices Rose 6.9 Per Cent in a Year
This index is not an asking-price survey. It is compiled from the prices recorded by the tax authority on the residential sales completed each quarter, about 1,400 of them, and since 2023 it has been adjusted for the mix of properties sold, so a quarter heavy with small flats does not read as a price fall. It is the same series Malta sends to Eurostat as its national house price index, and the National Statistics Office published the second-quarter figures on 1 October.
Malta’s annual rate has edged up through the year, from 6.7 per cent in the first quarter to 6.9 per cent in the second, and it remains well above the European Union average of 4.7 per cent for the same quarter. The office also flags that the last four quarters of source data are provisional and can be revised, so the direction is firm while the decimal may still move.
Apartments Are Pulling Malta’s Index Higher
The headline property prices figure hides a split by type. Apartment prices rose 7.4 per cent over the year, to 106.31 on the index, while maisonettes rose 4.3 per cent, to 103.81. Apartments are the segment most exposed to rental and foreign demand, and they are running ahead of the market as a whole.
That matters when you value a home. A flat in Sliema, St Julian’s or Gzira should be compared with the apartment series, which is the faster one, not the national index. A maisonette in a village core follows the slower series. Quoting the 6.9 per cent national figure for either would be a shortcut that flatters the wrong property.
- All dwellings: index 105.94, up 6.9 per cent in a year and 1.6 per cent in the quarter
- Apartments: index 106.31, up 7.4 per cent in a year
- Maisonettes: index 103.81, up 4.3 per cent in a year
The Index Also Sets a Ceiling on Rent Rises
This is where the property price index stops being a statistic and becomes a rule. Article 14 of the Private Residential Leases Act, Chapter 604 of the laws of Malta, ties the maximum yearly rent increase on an existing lease to the annual variation in the index published by the National Statistics Office, averaged over the previous four quarters, and caps it at 5 per cent of the previous rent, whichever is lower.
Three conditions decide whether it applies at all. An increase can happen only once a year, and only if the lease contains a clause allowing a revision; if the contract is silent, the rent cannot be revised during its term. It applies to a sitting tenant, not to a new lease, because Article 13 leaves the opening rent of a new contract to free agreement between the parties.
Because the index has been rising by around 6 to 7 per cent a year, the four-quarter average also sits above 5 per cent, so the 5 per cent figure is the one that binds. A landlord who quotes the 6.9 per cent headline to justify a 6.9 per cent rise is not applying the law. On a rent of 1,000 euro a month, the legal maximum this year is 50 euro more.
What the Figures Mean for Buyers and Landlords
The table below sets the property prices release against the rule it feeds. Its first three rows are the market; the last two are the ceiling that market number produces.
| Measure | Latest reading | What it decides |
|---|---|---|
| Residential property price index | +6.9% in a year | Headline price growth across Malta |
| Apartments price index | +7.4% in a year | The fastest-moving segment |
| Maisonettes price index | +4.3% in a year | The slower segment |
| Four-quarter average of the index | Above 5% | The input to the rent-revision cap |
| Legal maximum rent increase | 5% | What a sitting tenant can be charged |
Read it for what it does not say. This is a price measure, not a rent measure, so a rising index does not by itself prove that rents are rising. And the cap it drives is a ceiling on the increase, not a target. A landlord cannot raise the rent just because the index moved; the lease has to allow it, and the contract has to be registered with the Housing Authority for any of it to hold up.
A Short Checklist for Agents Working in Malta
Malta’s housing market is small and open, foreign buyers are a normal part of demand, and the rental market is heavily regulated. An agent’s practical job is to keep the market number and the legal number apart, because clients routinely mix them up.
- Use the apartment series for flats and the maisonette series for maisonettes, not the national index
- Tell a buy-to-let client the rent ceiling up front: once a year at most, only with a revision clause, and never more than 5 per cent
- Check the lease is registered with the Housing Authority, because an unregistered contract is void and the tenant can register it at the landlord’s expense
- Remember that a new lease is not capped, so a landlord can reset to market rent only when a tenancy ends
- Note the three-month notice rule: without a registered letter before the term ends, a long lease renews for a year on the same terms
None of this changes the direction of the market. Prices are still rising, apartments fastest, and the index will be revised again next quarter. What it changes is what a client can earn from a property once they own it, and that is the number worth putting in front of them.
Questions Agents Ask About Maltese Property
Are house prices in Malta still rising?
Yes. It was 6.9 per cent higher in the second quarter of 2026 than a year earlier, and the annual rate has edged up through the year, from 6.7 per cent in the first quarter to 6.9 per cent in the second. Apartments rose faster, at 7.4 per cent, while maisonettes rose 4.3 per cent.
Does Malta have a rent cap?
Only on increases to an existing lease, not on rent in general. Article 14 of the Private Residential Leases Act allows a revision once a year, only if the lease contains a clause permitting it, and limits it to the lower of the four-quarter average of the property price index and 5 per cent of the previous rent. A brand new lease with a new tenant is not capped, because Article 13 leaves its opening rent to free agreement.
How much can a landlord raise the rent?
Five per cent of the previous rent, at most, at the moment. It takes the four-quarter average of the property price index and the 5 per cent ceiling and applies whichever is lower. Since the index has been rising by around 6 to 7 per cent a year, the average is above 5 per cent, so the ceiling is the number that binds. On 1,000 euro a month, that is a maximum increase of 50 euro.
Can a landlord increase the rent mid-lease?
No. Rent in a registered lease is fixed for the term of that lease, and no increase can be applied mid-term. A revision can only be considered once a year and only where the contract allows one, and the first year is fixed at the same amount. If the contract says nothing about increases, the rent cannot be revised at all.
What should an agent watch next?
Two things: the next quarterly index release, and the revisions the statistics office applies to the last four quarters, because those feed the four-quarter average that Article 14 uses. For the index to become the binding limit again rather than the 5 per cent ceiling, that average would have to fall below 5 per cent, which would take several quarters of slower price growth rather than one soft reading.
