Malta’s Tourism Authority has confirmed that the majority of existing short-let properties across Malta and Gozo will be exempt from several of the tighter rules introduced to regulate holiday rentals, with most of the new measures applying only to licences granted from 15 June 2026 onwards.

The Malta Tourism Authority (MTA) told the Times of Malta that properties already holding a short-let licence before the Tourism Accommodation Regulations came into force last month will not be required to comply with a number of the new rules, either when operating or when renewing their annual licence. The exemptions cover the two-guest-per-bedroom limit, the ten-person cap for apartments, bans on underground or basement bedrooms and new minimum bedroom size requirements.

The MTA framed the approach around “the guiding principle that acquired rights by those already in possession of a licence shall be retained”, confirming that the number of beds covered by an existing licence would remain unchanged. With close to 8,000 licensed short-let properties across the two islands, that exemption carries considerable reach.

The grandfather clause does not apply across the board, however. Existing licence holders must still remove sofa beds from their properties and submit a waste management plan at renewal. A requirement to display a sign outside listing the landlord’s name and contact details will also extend to existing licences, though that measure has yet to take effect while the MTA finalises its guidelines.

A softer transition for existing operators does not signal lighter enforcement overall. Under the new regulations, anyone found operating without a licence will be barred from applying for one for three years, with the property itself blacklisted for the same period.

That firmer stance arrives as the short-let sector faces growing public scrutiny. Authorities moved last week to close holiday accommodation in Swieqi after footage emerged of guests throwing drinks from a rooftop onto the street below. Inspections of 252 short-let properties in the area over the two days that followed found more than a quarter had at least one violation, with the MTA noting the breaches largely concerned guest numbers. A separate analysis found that roughly a third of Airbnb listings for an August weekend would not meet the new rules as written.