A tenth of Malta’s landlords own two-fifths of Malta’s rental properties, according to a study commissioned by the Housing Authority.

Out of the 400 landlords interviewed, 42 per cent owned one property, a quarter owned two and six per cent owned four. 

The 13 per cent who owned more than five properties managed 43 per cent of all rented dwellings, the study published on Tuesday shows.

Sixteen landlords of the 400 interviewed owned more than 10 properties.

The study, ‘Tenant and Landlord experiences of the Maltese Residential Rental Market’, was authored by Marie Briguglio, Brian Micallef and Tiziana Gauci.   

In total, 800 people were interviewed, evenly split between landlords and tenants and randomly chosen from the rent registry.

The majority (56%) of landlords said they were mostly satisfied or very satisfied with the rent they received, and around half were happy with the services offered by the Housing Authority.

Sixty-one per cent said they were mainly content with the way the Housing Authority protected their rights.

A third of landlords said they were unsatisfied or very unsatisfied with the protection of their rights.

“This feeling was more prevalent among those landlords holding three or more properties,” the study says.

The median rent paid by tenants was €650, with almost half of the tenants questioned paying between €600 and €899 in rent per month.

Sixty-one per cent of tenants were mostly satisfied or very satisfied with the rent they paid.

A fifth paid more than €900 a month, while two-fifths paid less than €600.

Just 15% of the 400 tenants interviewed paid less than €300 monthly.

Not every rental contract equals a single property; the report clarifies this as the figures solely refer to the amount paid by the tenants answering the survey.

Four out of every 10 tenants shared their property with other people who are not family, the report says.

St Paul’s Bay, Msida, Sliema, Marsascala and San Ġwann are the five most popular localities for tenants.

Most tenants (61%) and landlords (62%) said they prefer to have one-year contracts over longer ones even though both said they were likely to renew their housing contract in the coming year.

Still, the report noted “considerable turnover” in the market.

More than 70% of tenants had previously lived in another property prior to their current one, indicating a general tendency for tenants to move.

Tenants cited wanting to change location, requests for higher rents, dissatisfaction with the quality of the residence and a worsening relationship with the landlord or other tenants as reasons for leaving the place.

Only 10% of tenants were Maltese, compared to 97% of landlords.

Three-quarters of the interviewed tenants were third-country nationals, with the rest being from other EU countries.

The report noted that TCNs could be overrepresented in the study “given that work permit obligations oblige them to present a lease, a necessity which is not prevalent among EU or Maltese nationals”.

The report said the sample could also be skewed in favour of those who could speak English and Maltese and who had the time and interest to participate in the survey.