Malta Property Due Diligence Checklist

Most of Malta’s property due diligence happens between signing the promise of sale and the final deed, carried out by your notary - but knowing what’s being checked helps you ask the right questions before you sign.

Title and ownership

• Public Registry search: confirms the chain of ownership and identifies any registered ground rent, mortgages, easements, or other encumbrances against the property. See Public Registry for what this covers.
• Undivided shares: if the property was inherited, check whether it’s held as an undivided share between multiple co-owners - all of whom generally need to agree to a sale.
• Causa mortis history: where a property was inherited, confirm the causa mortis declaration was properly filed, particularly if exemptions were claimed.

Planning and compliance

• Sanctioned/compliant permits: confirm all construction on the property - including extensions, pools, or converted spaces - has a valid, matching planning permit. Unsanctioned work is one of the most commonly overlooked and financially significant issues in Malta property transactions - see Sanctioning of Illegalities for what regularising it actually involves and costs.
• Outside Development Zone status: check whether the property, or any part of its boundary, falls within an ODZ, since this affects what can legally be extended, rebuilt, or in some cases sold without regularisation.
• Energy Performance Certificate: required for most property sales.

Ground rent and ongoing obligations

• Whether the property carries ground rent - temporary or perpetual - the annual amount, and whether it’s been consistently paid.
• Any service charges (for apartment blocks with shared common parts) and whether they’re up to date.

Structural condition

• A structural survey by a perit is worth commissioning for older properties, particularly houses of character or farmhouses, to identify any structural issues before you’re committed.

Who does what

Your notary runs the Public Registry and title searches and confirms the deal is legally sound to complete. A perit is who you’d separately commission for a structural survey or to confirm planning/ODZ status technically - the two roles are distinct, and buyers of older or character properties in particular should expect to need both.