Malta: templates and forms

For anyone who wants to see the personal data a company, employer, landlord, hospital or public body in Malta holds about them. The request, under Article 15 of the GDPR and Malta's Data Protection Act (Cap. 586), asks for a copy of the data and what the law says comes with it, free of charge, within one month. Any clear request counts, and many organisations have a free online form or a privacy email address; this letter sets the request out in full, so you keep a record of what you asked and when.

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.

For two parties in Malta — individuals or businesses — who settle a money dispute out of court: unpaid work, damage, a deposit, a debt in dispute. The agreement records the dispute, the sum agreed and when it is paid, and that both give up the rest of their claims about it once it is paid. The Civil Code requires a compromise to be in writing (article 1233). It is for disputes not yet before a court or tribunal. Both sign it and each keeps an original.

For a consumer in Malta who bought goods or a service online, by phone or away from the trader's premises and has changed their mind. The notice withdraws the contract within the withdrawal period under the Consumer Rights Regulations (S.L. 378.17) — 14 days, or 30 days for a purchase made during an unsolicited visit to your home or on an excursion the trader organised — with no reason needed, and asks for a refund within 14 days. The model form the trader must give you, or the trader's own online form, does the same job free. Send it by registered letter and keep the post office receipt.

For a tenant in Malta who wants to leave a rented home. You choose the ground — withdrawal after the minimum period, leaving at the end of the term, withdrawal after a renewal by law, a short lease, or leaving early — and give the date; a saving clause moves the date to the earliest one the Private Residential Leases Act allows if needed. It asks for the handover and the return of the deposit and gives your new address. The Act requires a registered letter: send it so, in time, and keep the post office receipt.

For an employer and an employee in Malta who both want the job to end on an agreed date, on an indefinite or a fixed-term contract: an agreement that sets the last day, the final wages, the unused leave and the proportionate statutory bonuses due by the next pay day, any further sum agreed, the FS3 and the Jobsplus form, and the return of property, and that leaves the Industrial Tribunal's four months untouched. Both sign two copies.

For a landlord and tenant in Malta letting a home as the tenant's primary residence for one year or more. The lease sets out everything article 6 of the Private Residential Leases Act requires — the property, its use, the period, renewal, the rent and how it is paid, the deposit — with the inventory attached, and states the Act's rules on notice, withdrawal, yearly increases, water and electricity, repairs and registration. Both sign; the landlord registers it online with the Housing Authority within 30 days.

For a consumer in Malta whose faulty goods were repaired or replaced and still do not work, or whose seller refused or delayed the repair. Under Part X of the Consumer Affairs Act (Cap. 378) you may then ask for a proportionate price reduction, or end the contract and get the price back. The letter sets out the repairs already tried, makes your choice and gives the seller 14 days before you turn to the MCCAA or the Consumer Claims Tribunal. Send it by registered letter and keep the post office receipt.

For an employee in Malta on a contract for an indefinite time, or still on probation, who is leaving the job: a letter that resigns, states the notice you give and your last day, counted as the Employment and Industrial Relations Act (Cap. 452) requires, and asks for written confirmation, your final wages and unused leave by the next pay day, your share of the statutory bonuses and your FS3. Send it by registered letter with a copy by email, and keep the post office receipt.

For two businesses or individuals in Malta who will share confidential information while they talk about working together — a joint project, an investment, a supplier or partner relationship. Each promises to keep the other's information confidential, use it only for the stated purpose and return or destroy it on request, for a number of years both choose; trade secrets are also protected by the Trade Secrets Act (Cap. 589). Both sign it, and each keeps an original.

For a business or self-employed person in Malta owed money by another business for goods or services: invoices unpaid past their due date. The letter lists the invoices, claims the total within 14 days, and claims interest on a commercial debt — the Civil Code's 8% a year from the due date, or late-payment interest and €40 compensation under the Commercial Code's rules between businesses. It names the next step: the Small Claims Tribunal (up to €5,000) or judicial proceedings. Send it by registered letter and keep the post office receipt.

For a consumer in Malta who wants to end a gym membership or another subscription — a club, a streaming or delivery service, a course — at the end of its term, on the notice the contract asks for, or because the service was not provided as agreed. The letter ends the contract from a stated date and asks the trader to stop taking payments and confirm in writing. The contract's own terms govern how it ends, and a term that is unfair under the Consumer Affairs Act does not bind you. Send it by registered letter and keep the post office receipt.

For a passenger whose flight arrived three hours or more late, was cancelled with less than 14 days' notice, or who was denied boarding, on a flight covered by Regulation (EC) No 261/2004: every flight from an EU airport, and flights into the EU on an EU airline. The letter claims the fixed compensation — €250, €400 or €600 per passenger, by distance — from the airline that operated the flight. The airline's own claim form and the EU complaint form are free and do the same job. Send it by registered letter and keep the post office receipt.

For a customer in Malta with a mobile, internet or TV contract that is not working as agreed, or who wants to leave it. The letter complains about the problem and either asks for it to be fixed and credited or ends the contract, asking that no early termination charge be applied where none is due and that any deposit be refunded. Complain to the provider first; the Malta Communications Authority (MCA) takes complaints free once the provider has had time to answer. Send it by registered letter and keep the post office receipt.

For an employer and an employee in Malta agreeing a permanent job: a written contract of service under the Employment and Industrial Relations Act (Cap. 452) setting the start, the probationary period, the job and place of work, hours, wages paid at most four weeks in arrears, statutory bonuses, leave, and notice by length of service as article 36 requires. Both sign two copies and each keeps one.

For a parent or legal guardian in Malta whose child is travelling abroad without them, or with only the other parent, a relative, a school or a friend: a signed consent naming the child, the passport, the destinations, the dates and the adult in charge, with your contact details. Carriers and border officers may ask to see one. It is not the consent for a child's passport, which Identità handles on its own form.

For a driver or vehicle owner in Malta who received a warden's or traffic contravention notice they believe is wrong: a written petition to the Petitions Board, giving the notice number, the vehicle, the grounds and the evidence, and asking for the contravention to be cancelled; if the Board refuses, the charge goes before the Commissioner for Justice. The online petition of the Local Enforcement System Agency (LESA) is free; this text can be pasted in or sent by registered letter.

For a landlord in Malta whose lease provides for a yearly rent increase. The notice to the tenant names the clause that allows it, the current and new rent, the date the new rent applies and the Property Price Index figure used, and states the limits of article 14 of the Private Residential Leases Act: once a year, never in the first year, no more than the index's annual variation and never over 5%. Send it by registered letter and keep the post office receipt.

For an employee in Malta who wants to book paid annual leave: a dated written request to the employer giving the first and last day and the length of the leave, under the Organisation of Working Time Regulations (S.L. 452.87) and your contract, and asking for written approval or other dates. It leaves a record if the leave is later disputed or not paid. Send it by email and keep a copy.

For a landlord and tenant in Malta signing a private residential lease. It records the condition of each room and of the furniture and appliances the landlord supplies, the meter readings and the keys, and lists the numbered photographs with a short description of each, as article 6 of the Private Residential Leases Act requires — even for an unfurnished home. All parties sign it and keep a copy; it is attached to the lease, and the deposit is measured against it when the lease ends.

For a driver or vehicle owner in Malta claiming for damage after a road accident, either from the insurer of the vehicle that caused it or under their own policy: a letter setting out the accident, the vehicles, the damage and the amount, with the evidence, and asking for a reasoned offer or reply within the three months that Cap. 104 sets for third-party claims. Send it by registered letter with a copy by email, and keep the post office receipt.

For a household in Malta that disputes a water or electricity bill from ARMS Ltd: an estimated reading, a wrong tariff, a charge already paid or a service not supplied. The letter sets out the bill, what is wrong and what you ask for — a corrected bill and a refund or credit — and asks for a written answer. Complain to ARMS first; if it does not resolve the complaint, the Regulator for Energy and Water Services (REWS) takes complaints free. Send it by email and keep a copy.

For a landlord and tenant in Malta at the end of a lease, when the keys are handed back. It records the keys returned, the final meter readings, the condition of each room compared with the inventory signed at the start, any damage the landlord points out with the tenant's comments, what is agreed about the deposit, and the tenant's new address. Both sign it on the day and each keeps a copy; signing does not mean accepting a deduction not written in it.

For a tenant in Malta whose landlord has not registered the lease with the Housing Authority. The letter reminds the landlord that the Private Residential Leases Act requires registration online within 30 days of the start, asks for it within seven days with confirmation, and says that otherwise you will register the lease yourself at the landlord's expense and keep back part of the rent to recover the fee, as article 4(4) allows. Send it by registered letter and keep the post office receipt.