Buying an Apartment in a Condominium in Malta: What to Ask First

When you buy an apartment in Malta, you are really buying two things. The first is your unit, which is yours outright. The second is a share in everything around it: the roof, the stairwell, the lift, the facade, the well under the building, and often the airspace above it. That second purchase gets far less attention at viewings, and it is the one most likely to cost you money you did not budget for.

Here is what owning a share of a condominium in Malta involves, and the questions worth asking before you sign a promise of sale.

What the law treats as shared

Every condominium in Malta is governed by the Condominium Act, Chapter 398 of the Laws of Malta. Unless your title says otherwise, the Act treats the parts of a building intended for common use as held in common. That includes the roofs, the main walls and foundations, entrance halls and staircases, courtyards and the airspace above the whole property, along with lifts, wells, cisterns, drains and service installations up to the point where they branch off into an individual unit.

Two consequences follow. Unless the title sets different shares, the common parts are presumed to be divided equally between the units. And you cannot sell your apartment while keeping your share of the common parts, or the other way round. The two always travel together.

That phrase, "unless the title says otherwise", carries a lot of weight in Malta. Roofs and airspace are frequently reserved to the developer or to one owner, especially in newer blocks. Your notary should tell you exactly which common parts you are buying into and which are excluded.

The role of the administrator

Where a building has more than three owners, the Act requires the owners' meeting to appoint an administrator. If they fail to do so, any owner can refer the matter to arbitration. With three owners or fewer, they administer jointly unless they agree otherwise.

The administrator's duties are set out in the law: carrying out the owners' decisions, collecting each owner's contributions, looking after the common parts, rendering accounts and, if the meeting approves, setting up a floating fund for future works. Appointments are recorded in a register kept by the Land Registrar, which anyone may inspect, so if you are told a building has an administrator, that is easy to confirm.

A well-run block usually shows it. Clean common areas and a working lift are the obvious signs. Minutes, accounts and a sensible reserve are the real ones.

Questions to ask before buying into a condominium in Malta

Ask the seller, the agent or the administrator for the following, ideally in writing:

• Who the administrator is, and when they were appointed.
• Recent accounts, and the current annual contribution for the unit you are buying.
• Whether a floating fund exists, and roughly what it holds.
• Minutes of recent meetings, particularly any decision on works to the roof, facade, lift or drains.
• Confirmation that the seller's contributions are paid up to date.
• The condominium rules, if any have been adopted. Rules approved by the owners are registered with the Land Registrar, so they are a matter of record rather than hearsay.

The minutes are where the surprises tend to live. If a meeting has already approved facade restoration or a new lift, a bill is coming, and if you complete before it is issued, it may well land on you. Agree in writing who pays for works decided before the sale. Our guide to the promise of sale in Malta explains how conditions like this are built into the agreement.

Decisions you will be bound by

Owning in a condominium means accepting that some decisions are made by majority. The Act gives installing a lift, widening the entrance and turning a yard into parking as examples of improvements the owners can approve by the required majority. Changes that alter the building's appearance, seriously affect any owner's use of the common parts or could prejudice the building's stability need everyone's consent.

In practice, your voice counts at meetings, so attend them. It also means a neighbour cannot decide alone to repaint the facade or remove a wall in the shared hallway.

One detail matters for buy-to-let investors. Where a unit is rented out, the tenant is entitled to attend owners' meetings and speak on matters affecting the common parts, although only the owner votes.

New blocks and the airspace question

In a new development, the developer often keeps the airspace, sometimes with the intention of building further floors. The Act anticipates this. An owner who builds on airspace held separately can extend the common parts to serve the new units, and the shared running costs are then redistributed to include them.

That is not automatically bad news, since it can spread costs across more units. But it can also mean a period of construction above your head and a roof you cannot use. Read the deed for any reserved airspace, ask whether a permit has been applied for, and weigh that into what the apartment is worth to you.

A law under review

The Condominium Act dates from 1997, and in 2023 the government published a White Paper proposing reforms to how condominiums are run. The position described here is the Act as currently published, so ask your notary whether anything has changed by the time you sign.

Read the stairwell, not just the apartment

A lovely apartment in a badly run block is a harder long-term proposition than an ordinary apartment in a well-run one. When you view, spend five minutes in the common areas. Look at the roof access, the condition of the lift, the drains and the notice board, which the law expects the administrator to keep. Together they tell you a great deal about your future neighbours.

If you are comparing apartments for sale in Malta and would like help reading what a building's accounts and minutes are telling you, ask an agent and we will go through them with you before you commit.

Frequently asked questions

Does every apartment block in Malta need an administrator?

Under the Condominium Act, where there are more than three owners the owners meeting must appoint an administrator, and if it does not, any owner can refer the matter to arbitration. Three owners or fewer administer jointly unless they agree otherwise.

Who owns the roof of an apartment block in Malta?

Unless the title says otherwise, roofs and airspace are treated as common parts shared by the owners. In practice they are often reserved to the developer or one owner, so check the deed with your notary.

How can I check who the administrator of a building is?

The Land Registrar keeps a register of administrator appointments, and anyone may inspect it. You can also ask the seller or agent for the administrator details and recent accounts.

Am I responsible for works approved before I bought?

It depends on what was decided and when the bill is issued. Read the recent minutes and agree in the promise of sale who pays for works approved before the sale.