Renting Out Your Malta Property Under the MPRP — What Is Actually Allowed

Updated 2026. This article replaces an earlier 2018 post that compared several countries’ rules. It now focuses on Malta and the Malta Permanent Residence Programme (MPRP / Malta Golden Visa). Malta’s former citizenship-by-investment program has since been replaced by the Citizenship by Merit framework.

The question: as an MPRP resident, can I rent out my Malta property when I am not using it?

The short answer: sometimes — it depends on whether you bought or rented the qualifying property, where it is, and how long you have held it. The old blanket rule — “your primary residence may never be rented out” — no longer tells the whole story under the MPRP.

First, the MPRP property rule in one minute

The MPRP requires you to hold a qualifying residential property for the first five years of residency, and that property serves as your Maltese residential address. You satisfy the property requirement one of two ways:

• Purchase a residential property from €375,000 (single threshold countrywide since the 2025 revision — the old lower Gozo / south-Malta tier no longer exists), or
• Rent a residential property from €14,000 per year, committed for five years.

The property is not required at application time; it is finalized after approval in principle. After the five-year holding period you only need to maintain a residential address in Malta. Whether you may rent that property out — and when — depends entirely on which of the two routes you took. Full rules on the MPRP-qualifying property page.

If you PURCHASED the qualifying property

A purchased MPRP property must remain your residential address in Malta, and whether you may let it turns on where you bought — because of Malta’s foreign-ownership rules:

• In a Special Designated Area (SDA) — yes. SDA properties are bought without an AIP permit, on the same terms as Maltese citizens, and may be rented out, including while you are away from Malta. SDA zones also allow more than one property (subject to availability and developer limits) and offer straightforward resale. For MPRP buyers who want the option to let, this is the route — see our guide to Malta SDA properties.
• Outside an SDA — generally no. A non-EU buyer acquires an ordinary (non-SDA) property under an Acquisition of Immovable Property (AIP) permit, which is granted for the owner’s own residential use — such a property may not be rented out. If letting matters to you, buy in an SDA. More on permits in buying property in Malta.

Practical notes for an SDA let: use a licensed Maltese letting agent, keep the lease paperwork clean (it is part of your compliance trail), and remember that rental income earned in Malta is taxable in Malta — model the after-tax yield, and take advice on how it interacts with your residence tax position.

If you RENTED the qualifying property

A rented qualifying property is more restricted, because the lease itself is the basis on which you qualify:

• It may be sub-let only after five years, and only with the landlord’s and the lease contract’s consent. Most standard Maltese residential leases prohibit sub-letting outright, so this is never automatic.
• During the five-year qualifying period you should assume no sub-let income at all. You cannot undermine the very lease that supports your residency.

If generating rental income early is part of your plan, the rental route is the wrong tool — buying in an SDA is what gives you that option (a non-SDA / AIP-permit purchase cannot be let either).

Purchase vs. rent, for the leasing question

• Want the flexibility to let the property? Buy in a Special Designated Area (SDA) — an SDA purchase can be let; a non-SDA (AIP-permit) purchase cannot.
• Want the lowest upfront cost and no intention to let? Rent — just do not budget any sub-let yield for the first five years.
• Either way, you must keep a residential address in Malta throughout to maintain your permanent residence status.

The mistake we see most often

Applicants build a cost model that quietly assumes rental income from a rented qualifying unit starting in year one. That income is not available during the qualifying period, so the projection is wrong from the first cell. The same error shows up as “I’ll just Airbnb it” — short-let licensing is a separate regime and does not override the MPRP property rules. We model both the purchase and the rental routes in a free assessment so the numbers are real before you commit.

A note on other countries: rules vary widely — some programs forbid letting a primary residence entirely, others allow it immediately. This article covers Malta only; do not assume another country’s rule applies here, or the reverse.

Questions on any of this? Feel free to get in touch with one of our advisors.