The Notarial Council has ordered notaries not to sign a new Identità lease agreement form because the document does not guarantee that the signatures on a rental contract are genuine.
As of this week, third-country nationals applying for residence need an attested lease agreement as part of their application process.
The new measure, announced last week was designed to fight abuse of the system amid claims that thousands of ID cards were issued on the basis of forged documents.
Notaries, lawyers, and legal procurators are authorized to sign the Lease Agreement Attestation Form.
But notaries are objecting because a form for the registration of the leases allows the possibility to attest the signatures without witnessing the signing, a spokesperson for the Notarial Council said.
The newest version of the document has an option to certify the signatures of a lease agreement without witnessing the signatures the council spokesperson said.“Without witnessing the signature and assuring that the person signing the document is who they say they are, through an identification document there is no legal certainty,” the spokesperson said.
The Notarial Council spokesperson said notaries can still attest lease agreements, but they should not sign the accompanying Identità form.
It issued a directive on Wednesday saying: "With immediate effect, the Notarial Council directs the Notarial College that the new form for the registration of leases, as issued by Identity Malta, should neither be signed nor filled out by the Notary until further notice,” the directive issued by the council to all of Malta’s notaries said.
“The Notarial Council emphasizes that the legal certainty, which notaries are responsible for guaranteeing, must always be upheld,” the statement said.
Notaries “should only sign a rental agreement if all parties have signed in their presence and provided identification via an identity card, driver’s license, or passport,” the council said in a statement.
“The Notarial Council does not agree that notaries should sign documents presented to them already signed because, naturally, the notary cannot confirm the identity of the signatory, nor can they ensure that the document was truly signed by that person,” they said.
They added that notaries cannot guarantee the title of a property without doing the related research.
Tenants union Solidarjetà has also criticised the new measure, saying it is “rash and misguided” and further financial pressure on tenants because of the costs associated with verifying documents.