MDA shares ‘firm position’ against notarisation of rental contracts

The Malta Development Association has come out strongly against a requirement for rental contracts submitted as part of a residence permit application to be notarised, saying that “it is of the firm position that this procedure should be scrapped since it would not be effective in practice.”

The requirement in question is a new measure by Identità that seeks to bring a measure of control to a sector plagued by scandal and allegation of wrongdoing.

In a statement this week, the government agency said that any property lease submitted to Identità to satisfy a requirement for a valid rental contract in the application to obtain or renew a Maltese residence permit must be notarised by a notary, lawyer or legal procurator.

“No application will be accepted unless the contract is notarised.”

The MDA sought to allay concerns that any and all rental contracts would need to be notarised: “The process referred to is the one related to the Resident Permit Applications with Identita’ and not the registration of contracts procedure with the Housing Authority as regulated by the Private Residential Leases Act.”

Given its strong opposition to the new requirement, the MDA said it is currently in discussions with the relevant stakeholders and authorities “to ensure that whilst abuse including the registration of fake lease agreements are addressed, unnecessary steps which increase costs or add further bureaucracy are not introduced.”

It said that it is putting forward a number of proposals on how the matter should be tackled.