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Letter to a landlord about the electricity and water tariff (Malta)
Malta · in English · for tenants
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For a tenant in Malta charged a higher water and electricity tariff because the landlord has not declared the people living in the property. The letter asks the landlord, under article 17 of the Private Residential Leases Act, to acknowledge the number of residents for the correct tariff and to give you access to the account, and claims back the extra you paid, which the Act lets you keep back from the rent. It can also say that a fixed utility charge in the lease has no effect. Send it by registered letter and keep the receipt.
- Made for use in Malta
- Last updated November 3, 2026
- Document in English
Published byDocMuse
When to use this document
- Your water and electricity bills in Malta are high because the landlord has not declared who lives there.
- ARMS is charging the flat a higher rate and the landlord will not register the residents.
- Your landlord will not let you see the ARMS account for the flat you rent.
- You want to claim back what you overpaid on the bills because of the wrong tariff.
What you fill in
The details the document asks for.
- Tenant
- Tenant's address
- City
- Tenant's postcode
- Date
- Landlord
- Landlord's address
- Landlord's postcode
- Number of people living in the property
- Bills charged at the wrong tariff (period or bill numbers, optional)
- Extra paid because of the wrong tariff, in euro (optional)
- Fixed monthly charge for water and electricity in the lease, in euro (optional)
Common questions
- Why are tenants in Malta charged a higher water and electricity tariff?
- The tariff for a home depends on the number of people acknowledged as living there. If the landlord declares no residents, or too few, the bills can come at a higher rate. Article 17(2) of the Private Residential Leases Act binds the landlord to acknowledge the number of residents for the correct tariff and to give the tenant access to the account details for the property.
- Can I take the extra utility cost off the rent?
- Yes, for the extra caused by the landlord's failure: article 17(3) lets the tenant recover those amounts and keep back part of the rent due to do so. Work out the difference from the bills, tell the landlord the amount in writing first, as this letter does, and keep the bills. A dispute about it goes to the Adjudicating Panel for Private Residential Leases, up to €5,000, if the lease is registered.
- Can a tenant in Malta have the bills put in their own name?
- The Act lets a tenant apply to the service provider for temporary recognition as the consumer and take on the bills for the property in their own name (proviso to article 17(2)); ask ARMS Ltd how. Separately, a lease clause charging a fixed amount for water and electricity that does not reflect actual consumption has no effect (article 7(1)(f)), and a tenant need not pay a bill until given a copy of it (article 17(4)).
How you can sign this document
- Print it and sign by hand. The signature lines in the document are left blank on purpose — sign on them in ink.
- Sign it yourself with a qualified electronic signature. If you already hold a QES — Evrotrust, B-Trust, StampIT, ZealiD or any qualified provider on the EU Trusted List, on a card, a USB token, in a mobile app or in the cloud — our signing guide explains step by step how to sign this exact file without invalidating it. Step-by-step help, and a way to check it worked
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