As many as three out of every four licenced holiday homes in Malta and Gozo could be impacted by new regulations for short-term lets, according to an exercise carried out by Times of Malta.

The plans, floated by MTA CEO Carlo Micallef last week, would see landlords who rent out short-let apartments required to get the go-ahead from their condominium neighbours before being granted a licence.

MTA CEO Carlo Micallef floated the plans during a press conferece earlier this month. File photo

Landlords currently need a licence from MTA to rent out their property as a holiday home.

According to MTA data, there were just over 6,000 licenced short-let holiday homes across the Maltese islands as of this summer, 4,625 in Malta and 1,379 in Gozo.

Nevertheless, the true number of properties on the rental market is likely to be higher. A 2019 Central Bank study found that there were a little under 9,000 properties in Malta listed on Airbnb, going for an average of €80 per night.

More recently a study commissioned by Malta’s hoteliers found that there were just over 10,000 properties listed on Airbnb and fellow short-let platform VRBO, suggesting that almost half of all holiday homes in Malta operate without a licence.

Four of every five holiday homes in Malta are apartments

An analysis of MTA’s licenced properties suggests that as many as three-quarters of them form part of an apartment block or condominium.

The remaining quarter are mostly made up of farmhouses, villas and townhouses.

Holiday homes in Malta, where more than four of every five short-lets are believed to be situated in an apartment block, would be particularly hard-hit.

Those in Gozo, on the other hand, are less likely to bear the brunt of the plans, with fewer than half the holiday homes on the island believed to be apartments.

Anyone hoping to rent out their property needs to get hold of a licence from MTA first. File photo: Jonathan Borg

Where are Malta’s holiday homes?

The data shows that of Malta’s 6,004 licenced holiday homes, over three-quarters (4,625) are in Malta.

Almost half, 1,920, can be found in just three of Malta’s tourist hotspots, namely Sliema, St Julian’s and St Paul’s Bay.

Valletta is home to over 400 properties with an MTA licence, with Mellieħa, Swieqi and Marsascala also proving popular.

Meanwhile, Xagħra’s 190 holiday homes tops Gozo’s list, with Għarb trailing closely behind.

Only three towns across Malta and Gozo – Marsa, Mtarfa and Santa Luċija – remain untouched by the Airbnb phenomenon, without a single licenced holiday home.  

In total, Malta’s licenced holiday homes provide almost 25,000 bed spaces. 

Mixed reactions to MTA proposal

Tourists staying in holiday homes are frequently blamed for a myriad of problems in tourist hotspots, from littering and excessive noise, to all manners of unruly behaviour.

Details on how Malta plans to manage the ever-increasing Airbnb rental market remain scarce.

Robert Abela has seemingly ruled out a Barcelona-style blanket ban, telling Times of Malta that the government will protect the investment of anyone who bought a property to rent it out as a holiday home.

Meanwhile, reactions to the proposal floated by Micallef were mixed, with estate agents describing them as misguided, while others say the proposal doesn’t go far enough.