Landlords will be limited to renting their property to two tenants per bedroom under government proposals to amend the rent law.

Housing minister Roderick Galdes said the limit would help "address overcrowding" and pledged that authorities "will not tolerate abuse",

In a rental accommodation that has two bedrooms, landlords could rent the room to up to four people, in the case of three bedrooms, the law would allow six permitted residents. 

In “exceptional” cases where the property has four bedrooms, the landlord would be able to rent the property to eight tenants, as long as there are two bathrooms. 

In cases of the property having five bedrooms, there can be up to 10 residents. 

The amendments seek to curb cases of landlords abusing the system.

"When we said we were going to tackle overcrowding we had a clear plan," Galdes wrote on Facebook. 

The cap is being proposed as part of amendments to the private residential lease bill, which is being discussed at committee stage in parliament. 

It has already proved controversial among tenants over other changes that mean they no longer be able to cut a lease short.

In December, Galdes said landlords would not be able to register rental properties with more than six tenants. 

The issue of overcrowding was raised in June, when Times of Malta reported how foreign workers were paying up to €250 a month each to share a single apartment in Sliema with 40 other people. 

A previous Housing Authority study noted that some migrant workers could be resorting to shared accommodation in cramped conditions because they were being discriminated against.