Malta: templates and forms

For a tenant in Malta who has moved out and is still waiting for the deposit. The letter to the landlord gives the date the lease ended and the date the keys were handed back, asks for the deposit within 14 days or a written list of any deduction with the reason and evidence for each, and says which deductions you dispute. The next step it names is the Adjudicating Panel for Private Residential Leases, for claims up to €5,000 on a registered lease. Send it by registered letter and keep the post office receipt.

For a customer in Malta with a complaint against a bank, insurer, payment or investment firm: a wrong charge, a refused claim, a transfer gone astray, poor service. The letter is the written complaint the firm must receive first, and asks for a final response within 15 working days. Send it within two years of first knowing of the matter: the Arbiter for Financial Services hears only complaints made to the firm in that time. If the answer does not satisfy you, or none comes, you can then take the complaint to the Arbiter through its online form. Send it by email and keep a copy.

For someone in Malta who paid by debit or credit card and did not get what they paid for — goods never delivered, faulty or not as described, a refund never paid, a payment taken twice — and could not settle it with the trader. The letter asks the card provider to raise a chargeback under the card scheme's rules and to answer in writing. Many providers have a free online dispute form that does the same job; ask the trader first.

For a consumer in Malta whose goods from a shop or online seller turn out faulty or not as agreed. Under Part X of the Consumer Affairs Act (Cap. 378) the seller answers for a lack of conformity that appears within two years of delivery, and you tell it within two months of noticing. The letter describes the fault, asks for a free repair or replacement and gives the seller 14 days to answer before you turn to the MCCAA or the Consumer Claims Tribunal. Send it by registered letter and keep the post office receipt.

For someone living in Malta who is inviting a relative or friend from outside the Schengen area: a signed letter to the Maltese embassy, consulate or visa centre giving your details and status in Malta, the visitor's passport details, the purpose and dates of the visit, where they will stay, who pays, and your promise that they will leave on time. Check the consulate's own checklist first; the visitor sends it with the application.

For a traveller whose package holiday — transport and accommodation, or other travel services, sold together — was not as booked. The letter tells the organiser that it is responsible for every service in the package under the Package Travel and Linked Travel Arrangements Regulations (S.L. 409.19), and claims a price reduction and compensation, with a total and 14 days to reply. The Malta Competition and Consumer Affairs Authority (MCCAA) explains package holiday rights free of charge. Send it by registered letter and keep the post office receipt.

For a self-employed person or small business in Malta who provides services to a client on their own account — design, writing, IT, translation, consulting. The agreement sets the services, the fees and invoicing, who owns the work, confidentiality and how either side ends it. It is a contract for services, not of service: under the Employment Status National Standard Order (S.L. 452.108), a person who meets five of its eight criteria is treated as an employee whatever the contract says. Both sign it.

For anyone in Malta owed money — a private loan, an unpaid invoice, a sale, a refund a trader owes — who has asked and not been paid. The letter states the debt, gives 14 days to pay in full, and names the next step: the Small Claims Tribunal (claims up to €5,000), the Consumer Claims Tribunal (a consumer against a trader, up to €10,000) or judicial proceedings. It reserves legal interest at 8% a year and costs. Send it by registered letter and keep the post office receipt.

For a debtor in Malta who confirms in writing how much they owe a creditor, and for the creditor who asks for it — a private loan, unpaid rent, money owed between friends or businesses. Signed by the debtor, the acknowledgement interrupts prescription under article 2133 of the Civil Code (Cap. 16), so the time already run no longer counts. An optional plan sets monthly instalments. The debtor signs; the creditor keeps the original.

For a private seller and buyer of a used car or motorcycle in Malta: a contract that identifies the vehicle by registration and chassis number, records the odometer reading and the defects the seller knows of, states the price and how it is paid, chooses whether the Civil Code's warranty against latent defects applies, and says who completes the Transport Malta transfer and pays its fees. Signed receipts for the money and the vehicle are attached.

For someone in Malta who needs another person to act for them in one named matter only — collecting documents, dealing with a bank, a car transfer or a utility account while they are abroad: a special mandate under articles 1856 to 1864 of the Civil Code (Cap. 16) that names the matter, spells out each power, sets an end date and is accepted by the attorney's signature. Not for property deeds, wills or court cases.

For a landlord in Malta who does not want a long private residential lease to renew. The notice tells the tenant that the lease ends on the last day of its current term, and states the tenant's protections: it must be sent by registered letter at least three months before that day, or the lease renews by law for a year; it cannot end the lease earlier; and it is not an eviction. Not for short leases. Send it by registered letter in time and keep the post office receipt.

For an employee or former employee in Malta whose wages, leave pay or statutory bonuses have not been paid: a letter to the employer that lists what is owed, month by month, cites the Employment and Industrial Relations Act (Cap. 452) on when wages are due, and sets a date for payment before a free complaint to the Department for Industrial and Employment Relations (DIER). Send it by registered letter with a copy by email, and keep the post office receipt.

For an employee or former employee in Malta who needs a written reference or certificate of service for a new job, a rental or a permit: a polite letter asking the employer to confirm your dates of employment and job title, or also your duties and its view of your work, and where to send it. For proof of dates alone, your Jobsplus employment history is free. Send it by email and keep a copy.

For two people in Malta — family, friends or acquaintances — where one lends the other a sum of money. The agreement records the amount, how and when it is repaid, and any interest, which the Civil Code limits to 8% a year (article 1852). Both sign it as a private writing and each keeps an original; the borrower signs a separate receipt when the money is handed over. It is not for loans made by a business, which follow consumer credit rules.

For a tenant in Malta whose rented home has a defect the landlord should put right: a structural problem such as a leaking ceiling or a cracked wall, a fault that stops you using the property properly, a water or electricity supply problem, or something the lease puts on the landlord, such as a broken appliance listed in the inventory. It describes the defect and when it appeared, asks for the repair within 14 days, offers access, and names the Adjudicating Panel as the next step. Send it by email.