WARNING: Maltese Landlords will try to rip you off, also in Gozo!

F0xgl0ve wrote:

Perhaps you are not aware, but the agents here are not 'Managing Agents' as they are in many countries where they charge the owner a fee (usually monthly) for there ongoing services, they are letting agents, their only task is to find a tenant and their responsibility ends there. If you sign a 'bad contract' then it is nothing to do with them.
You read the contract, you agree it, you sign it and it is your problem from there on!

Ray

yes, they are just the letting agent.  that's why i said she should only chew him out instead of suing him.  though they are not obligated to provide legal assistance, agents would have a good idea of what the normal terms of leases are in malta and a decent one would have pointed that out.

If we lived in a perfect world, we would not have no famine, wars and unrest. Sadly we don't. We wouldn't need sites like this.....

Now you will have good agents who will be helpful then you have the ones that as long as they get the signature and the signed deal at whatever cost they couldn't careless.

This is life. This why it's always best to have another set of eyes to read the contract.

I fail to understand what's wrong in that?

lottelita wrote:

F0xgl0ve wrote:

Perhaps you are not aware, but the agents here are not 'Managing Agents' as they are in many countries where they charge the owner a fee (usually monthly) for there ongoing services, they are letting agents, their only task is to find a tenant and their responsibility ends there. If you sign a 'bad contract' then it is nothing to do with them.
You read the contract, you agree it, you sign it and it is your problem from there on!

Ray

yes, they are just the letting agent.  that's why i said she should only chew him out instead of suing him.  though they are not obligated to provide legal assistance, agents would have a good idea of what the normal terms of leases are in malta and a decent one would have pointed that out.

if they knew what normal terms of leases were and actually promoted them and used them you wouldnt have hundreds of people each year getting caught out by these smiley smiley rogues.

Chewing him out is a waste of time and effort and only causes more stress.. even the good ones don t always point out what should be pointed out as the whole industry is commission drven and thus once paid they move on  to the next commission opportunity

THE RENTAL SECTOR DESPERATELY  NEEDS OFFICIAL ENFORCED REGULATION AND FOR THE ESTATE AGENTS AND LETTING AGENTS TO BE ACCOUNTABLE AND RESPONSIBLE. Without it you have what you ve got now  - a wild west free for all riddled with cowboys and amateurs who dont give a toss.

Fair contracts dont or rarely exist in Malta - just as the law is biased towards locals  - contracts are biased towards the landlords.

That has to change,

This is the experience of a couple of friends who left Malta last February:
They were paying their rent (cash) to their landlord plus €70 per month towards utilities (the house was on residential tariff, 0 inhabitants) .
Their rental contract was stipulating that €150 would be taken from the deposit anyway for cleaning.
The landlord refused to acknowledge the payment towards water and electricity, ran the cost calculator and deducted the amount from the deposit. Of course, my friends had no proof of giving €70 pm to him so....

On another hand, another friend left in January and was given back her deposit in full, so honest landlords do exist. They just don't seem to be a majority of them.

We are leaving Malta in July and really don't know if we will get our deposit back... It is a lottery and it shouldn't be.

We never pay anything to a landlord without getting a receipt, the
three landlords we have had so far have always been happy to do so.
With regards to bad landlords they are everywhere not just Malta.

Atala74 wrote:

This is the experience of a couple of friends who left Malta last February:
They were paying their rent (cash) to their landlord plus €70 per month towards utilities (the house was on residential tariff, 0 inhabitants) .
Their rental contract was stipulating that €150 would be taken from the deposit anyway for cleaning.
The landlord refused to acknowledge the payment towards water and electricity, ran the cost calculator and deducted the amount from the deposit. Of course, my friends had no proof of giving €70 pm to him so....

On another hand, another friend left in January and was given back her deposit in full, so honest landlords do exist. They just don't seem to be a majority of them.

We are leaving Malta in July and really don't know if we will get our deposit back... It is a lottery and it shouldn't be.

If you have an issue with getting your deposit back please get in touch with me asi have colleagues who can help you... OK. Just PM me here and i will get back to you immediately.

This is happening more and  more these days it is definitely getting worse and...  yes good landlords do exist but its helluva job finding them....

anyone who is paying cash and extra cash towards utilities MUST get receipts  (as not all landlords pay that over to the supplier - some tenants have been caught by this too) )and immediately suspect the tariff you are on is not the one that you should be on....  is RESIDENTIAL WITH A NUMBER OF CONSUMERS QUOTED THAT EQUATES TO THE TRUE NUMBER OF OCCUPANTS  - IF ITS ZERO THEN YOU ARE ON DOMESTIC SIMPLE AS THAT - AND PAYING ANYWHERE BETWEEN 30-105% MORE FOR THE SAME UTILITIES AS YOUR LANDLORD

IF YOU ARE ABOUT TO SIGN  A CONTRACT AND YOU FIND THIS.... DEMAND FORM H BE SIGNED PRIOR TO SIGNING --- AND IF A REFUSAL IS GIVEN THEN PLEASE PLEASE WALK AWAY...

My landlord was great! On the final day he gave me my deposit in cash. I had paid 100 euros a month for electricity and water.  On the last day we read the meters and calculated the cost. He refunded over 500 euros on the spot.

to be fair there are good and bad in both sides. but you dont see a tenant garnisheeing a landlord for  non returned deposits or overpaid utilities ....

zetland1000 wrote:

My landlord was great! On the final day he gave me my deposit in cash. I had paid 100 euros a month for electricity and water.  On the last day we read the meters and calculated the cost. He refunded over 500 euros on the spot.

Our landlord was great in that respect, too. When we moved out, he returned the full deposit (in cash), and we calculated the electricity/water bills online (we were on 0 residents as we were not living in Malta full-time), and he refunded the amount we'd overpaid - we had agreed in our contract to pay 50 Euros/month for bills and then at the end of the lease the actual amount would be calculated. Our contract was just for 8 months, so it was clear when the end of our lease would be.

it doesnt matter whether you were living in  malta full time or not  - even at 8months that is considered as a long let (in fact the malta government has declared any persons living here for three months or more and are renting then the property should be registered with the Tax Authorities).... you should ve also been registered on the Arms account as the LL is obligated to do that under the terms of his contract with enemalta

We have been registered as residents with ARMs by all three landlords and have had the deposit returned on the last day by the first and used as replacement for the last months rent by the second.

Once again I think this topic has been done do death and members could do with a break from the 'Doom and Gloom' of the campaign groups!
If you have entered in to a contract it is up to you to make sure you were happy with the terms.  If the landlord breaks the contract then take him to the small claims court!

Ray

Toon wrote:

it doesnt matter whether you were living in  malta full time or not  - even at 8months that is considered as a long let (in fact the malta government has declared any persons living here for three months or more and are renting then the property should be registered with the Tax Authorities)....

It could well be an EU thing because the same thing applies in Austria and a couple of others I am aware of.

F0xgl0ve wrote:

We have been registered as residents with ARMs by all three landlords and have had the deposit returned on the last day by the first and used as replacement for the last months rent by the second.

Once again I think this topic has been done do death and members could do with a break from the 'Doom and Gloom' of the campaign groups!
If you have entered in to a contract it is up to you to make sure you were happy with the terms.  If the landlord breaks the contract then take him to the small claims court!

Ray

How can you be happy with the terms of an unfair contract and the lies and deception deployed by landlords and agents - it may well be doom and gloom and might be done to death ....but am not dead yet.....and I will continue to post, campaign and fight to expose their lies and deception. And yes i can hear the "well its malta - what do you expect" and the "Go back home if you dont like it" brigade - well sorry but we are not budging on this - even if we have to name and shame...... these shameless scumbags need to be outed.... just as much as the *** tenants that make life harder for everyone

If those groups were to follow your lead then many people would get caught out because they chose to trust these rogues  - these rogues use all manner of tactics and tricks to deceive (including the false smiles) and they work on the trusting people who come to malta.... sorry Ray, we've agreed on many things but on this occasion i cannot and will not agree with you.

We will on this occasion agree to disagree.

Contracts are not always biased towards the owner in other countries. Organized countries have tenant's rights organizations with mediation that is non discriminatory. Toon's point is apt: lack of regulation (in many areas) makes Malta a less pleasant place to live than it could be and I personally am grateful to people like him even though little of the bs actually affects me. You call it doom and gloom but he is simply of a different character- a person who continues to stand up to injustice when of course it's easier to turn a blind eye.

In cyprus its not its reasonably fair  but will admit to having a slight edge toward the tenant.

How can you be sure you actually find a good landlord? is it just pot luck? Just we may be moving there soon but are so worried we will end up with a bad landlord, how can we find a good landlord and we really dont want a furnished flat, are there any flats that are not furnished?

unfurnished units are there but not so many - so the search is harder

as for the good LLs  - take note of those who already have them and see if they can talk to theirs to find out if he/she has any more available for let....

there are facebook groups who specialise in matching good landlords to good tenants and with form H too..... although having form H available is not in itself a 100% guarantee of a good landlord it is a good indicator of a fair one.........

You can never ever be sure but you can take as many precautions as you can, do read the forums, there is a dearth of experiences here some good some bad learn from others mistakes documented here  look for the signs.... and ask the awkward questions. Trust only when other have earned your trust.

Thank you so much. WHat are the names of the websites on facebook you mention of decent landlords in Malta?

I just read the Tenants' Rights brochure that SimCity posted and it states that their is no law or rule governing Landlords to pay back the deposit. 

Is there any way to ensure you get your deposit back? Maybe have them give you previous tenants for reference?

there is no guarantee on getting deposits back

I too am interested in knowing the name/s of Facebook groups matching good tenants with good LLs.

TRY THESE

https://www.facebook.com/groups/upinarmsmalta/https://www.facebook.com/groups/1259259300810091/

AND
although this one isnt a property match group it does offer valuable information for the tenant

https://www.facebook.com/TIPmalta/

Toon wrote:

TRY THESE

https://www.facebook.com/groups/upinarmsmalta/https://www.facebook.com/groups/1259259300810091/

AND
although this one isnt a property match group it does offer valuable information for the tenant

https://www.facebook.com/TIPmalta/

The first one is a campaign group as well!  Not 'matching good landlords and tenants'

Ray

F0xgl0ve wrote:

Toon wrote:

TRY THESE

https://www.facebook.com/groups/upinarmsmalta/https://www.facebook.com/groups/1259259300810091/

AND
although this one isnt a property match group it does offer valuable information for the tenant

https://www.facebook.com/TIPmalta/

The first one is a campaign group as well!  Not 'matching good landlords and tenants'

Ray

True that they are a campaign group - but they do assist when tenants are having issues trying to find one - they do know where the good ones are

Thank you, Toon. Very helpful.

I had a look at the Facebook site, as Toon suggested.
The moderator of that site posted that she`d seen steady growth in tenants joining the group,
but had been frustrated by the small numbers of properties being posted.

Another idea suggested on Expat.com Malta was to ask a good landlord if he/she has other properties that could be rented. That is hard to do when you are new to the island, though.

You do have to be very very careful in most of the rental groups as you never know whether the ads are scams or not - and there are lots of them too.

Id join a few and take recommendations from members  - its a small island and word soon gets round about good and bad landlords and good properties, problem properties and the seriously bad properties......

Yes, you are right. There are some Maltese landlords who will try to rip you off.

Some landlords will always try to keep the deposit at the end of the stay. Therefore you should that the following clause is included when signing the contract:

One month before the termination of the lease the owner should inform the tenant on whether there are any reasons why the deposit or any part of the deposit should be held. The rent of the last month shall only be paid after the landlord informs the tenant on whether there are any reasons for which the deposit shall be withheld and shall only be paid when the deposit is returned.

If the landlord does not agree to such a clause, then reject such an offer.

Good idea, AJ.

Have you yourself used this insertion in a contract?
if so, how did LLs react? did the majority refuse, or did most comply?

Yes, I included that paragraph in the last rent two agreements I entered into a couple of years ago.

Before that, I had troubles in the past receiving money deposited.

I used to rent properties for third parties.

On one occasion I was dealing with an illiterate landlord who didn't understand the significance of that clause and signed the agreement without taking due notice.  I remember well however that I had to rely on that clause with him because he insisted on keeping the deposit money for some ordinary wear and tear damage made by  the tenants I represented. He insisted he needed to repaint the whole house just because there were a couple of footmarks on the wall.

On another occasion, the landlord had trouble understanding why I needed to have such a clause inserted in the agreement. I had to explain to her that I had been bitten off in the past. I didn't needed to use that clause with that landlord though.

Prior to these 2 contracts, I concluded a number of agreements trouble-free, but experienced problems with having the deposit returned in a couple of other occasions.

So to narrow it down, in your experience, which type of LLs
are most likely to agree to this insertion? For example, would you say
it is a good idea to look for `professional` LLs who have multiple properties
they rent out? 

In other words, is there anything that might tip you off that you are dealing with
a reputable LL?

many landlords will insist on a clause of the last rent not being withheld as rent or used to offset damages in their contracts  - so be aware.

am all in favour of any clause you can insert that will be accepted by the LL that will offer the tenant some protection but in my experience most contracts are absolutely worthless.

I only included that clause twice.

I suggest that the tenant should be polite and explain why such clause is needed. If the landlord does not understand why such clause is needed, the prospective tenant should find a landlord who is more understanding.

So even if you can get a LL to agree to a contractual insertion on deposit return (as AJ suggests),
he/she can garnish you. Game over. Or, you may get it all back.

The top level view is that we are basically talking about probability here: trying to increase the likelihood we get deposits back, and more generally speaking, making ourselves less vulnerable.
And this is always a worthwhile endeavour by all of us.

Toon wrote:

many landlords will insist on a clause of the last rent not being used to offset damages in their contracts  - so be aware.

am all in favour of any clause you can insert that will be accepted by the LL that will offer the tenant some protection but in my experience most contracts are absolutely worthless.

Yes the court system is too inefficient to have such rights enforced. The judicial systems is not geared to remedy small claims of money and do not provide a speedy decision that would be needed by a foreign tenants

However if the contract is properly drafted you should be able to avoid going to court while safeguarding your right to get the deposit back.

AJ : any advice on my previous question?

Do you look for anything in particular when assessing a LL`s decency?
(other than literacy!)

yes as is taking timed and dated photos of the property at start of tenancy and at the end of tenancy plus dong a witnessed "walk through" of the property agreeing any damages or deficiencies = its for your own protection - some might say that is extreme believe me it isnt  - you only need to be bitten once to know how important it is.

maybe even at start sending photos to LL of said found issues at start of tenancy and if things are found then get an agreement in the contract that they will be rectified or attended to within an acceptable  timeframe with the provison that if they are not then you can walk away without penalty

andy5m wrote:

So even if you can get a LL to agree to a contractual insertion on deposit return (as AJ suggests),
he/she can garnish you. Game over. Or, you may get it all back.

The top level view is that we are basically talking about probability here: trying to increase the likelihood we get deposits back, and more generally speaking, making ourselves less vulnerable.
And this is always a worthwhile endeavour by all of us.

A garnishee is something completely different and has nothing to do with this context.

If you bind over the LL with a clause which states that the deposit has to be sorted out when the tenant makes your last payment, then the deposit has to be sorted then.  If he doesn't come with the deposit, then you don't pay him. That's it.