Malta Budget 2027 — property & housing proposals

• Pre-budget consultation document — launched on 30 September 2026 by Finance Minister Clyde Caruana in Rabat (TVM). Last year: 12 September 2025 (Pre-Budget Consultation Document 2026).
• Budget speech — Monday 26 October 2026, announced by Prime Minister Robert Abela on 20 September 2026 at the Fgura Civic Centre (Lovin Malta). Last year: 27 October 2025 (Budget Speech 2026).
• What the Prime Minister has said — on 9 September 2026, marking the government's first 100 days, that Budget 2027 would bring further improvements to social services and a lower tax burden on parents (Lovin Malta).
• What the Finance Minister said at the pre-budget launch — on 30 September, that the government would not introduce new taxes and that “there will be no austerity” (Newsbook), and that Budget 2027 would continue to help parents (TVM). Asked whether the manifesto's €1,000 “superbonus” would be in the budget, he said the legislature lasts five years: “What certainly won't happen is leaving all the measures for the final budget of the legislature” (Newsbook).
• Legal notices — the measures are then enacted over the following weeks and months. For Budget 2026, the first-time-buyer and inheritance-duty changes were published on 26 December 2025 as Legal Notices 305 and 306 of 2025, with the first-time-buyer relief applying to transfers from 28 October 2025, the day after the speech (BDO Malta).

This list is updated as the budget speech and the legal notices are published.

• Launch — 30 September 2026, by the Finance Minister in Rabat (TVM). The document itself is on finance.gov.mt (Pre-Budget Consultation Document 2027 (PDF)).
• Public finances — energy and food subsidies of about €400 million projected for 2027, after an expected €391.7 million in 2026, with €75 million earmarked for investment in energy infrastructure; and a government deficit projected at 2.8% of GDP in 2026, up from 2.2% in 2025 (Lovin Malta).
• Tax and spending — no new taxes and no austerity, according to the Finance Minister (Newsbook), with Budget 2027 continuing to help parents (TVM).

What the document says about housing. Pedament searched all 156 PDF pages for housing, property, rent, stamp duty, first-time buyers, social and affordable housing, planning, urban conservation areas, vacant property and inheritance (Pre-Budget Consultation Document 2027 (PDF)). It announces no measure on any of them. Housing comes up only in passing:

• in its family-policy discussion of fertility, as one of the pressures on family formation, alongside work-life balance and the cost of raising children;
• in its pensions discussion, where it names housing support among the existing social measures for older persons and says pension policy will be developed alongside wider initiatives that include affordable housing, without detail;
• in one passage on household finances, which says housing affordability “remained comparatively strong”: housing costs accounted for 12.6 per cent of disposable income, against 18.9 per cent across the EU, and the severe housing deprivation rate was 0.5 per cent, against 4.0 per cent in the EU; and
• in its public-finance review, which attributes higher 2025 receipts from VAT and duty on documents to “a robust property market” and, describing the COVID-19 support measures, recalls “temporary reductions in stamp duty and in the tax on property transfers”. Neither is a proposal.

That follows the usual pattern: last year's edition, the Pre-Budget Consultation Document 2026, set out the economic outlook and fiscal strategy for 2026, and the property measures that followed — the first-time-buyer exemption made permanent, the higher deposit-scheme cap and the doubled causa mortis band — were announced in the budget speech, not the pre-budget document. The detail is in Pedament's Budget 2026 guide.

The document was not compared line by line with last year's edition. Any housing measure in Budget 2027 will be added to this page after the speech on 26 October.

The list below covers the main property pledges in the manifesto. The “My First Home” loan was first presented in April 2026 (Lovin Malta). A manifesto pledge is not a budget measure: timing, caps and eligibility can change when a measure is designed. Nor does every pledge have to be in Budget 2027: asked about the manifesto's €1,000 “superbonus”, the Finance Minister said the legislature lasts five years and that the measures would not all be left for its final budget (Newsbook, Lovin Malta). What each party has said about Budget 2027 is compared in the next section, and the opposition's manifesto alternatives side by side in Pedament's election 2026 property guide.

This section compares what each party has said about Budget 2027 itself — for Labour, the government's statements and measures; for the Nationalist Party, the opposition's proposals and stated positions — not their election manifestos, which are compared topic by topic in Pedament's election 2026 property guide. A “proposal” here is a measure a party proposes, or the government announces, for this budget; a general statement that names no measure is shown separately, as a statement. Where a party has published no proposal on a topic, the card says so, with the date it was last checked and what was checked. Each card also gives the party's manifesto position on the topic, labelled as such, so that the two can be read together.

On the budget in general. The Prime Minister said on 9 September that Budget 2027 would bring a lower tax burden on parents (Lovin Malta), and the Finance Minister said on 30 September that it would continue to help parents (TVM); neither statement mentions housing. On the opposition side, party leader Alex Borg and shadow ministers held what the party calls its first consultation meeting with the social partners ahead of the budget on 26 September, with the MCESD Gozo Regional Committee, whose 30 proposals its report groups in five areas (connectivity, energy, health, economic diversification and education), none of which is housing; the report mentions no housing proposal (pn.org.mt, 26 September).

• First-time buyers in Budget 2027

  Labour (government)

  Budget 2027 proposal: As of 4 October 2026, no Budget 2027 proposal published. Checked: the Pre-Budget Document 2027; Housing Authority news releases; legal notices; and Newsbook, TVM and Malta Independent coverage. Source: Pre-Budget Consultation Document 2027 (PDF)

  Manifesto (not a Budget 2027 proposal): “My First Home”, an interest-free government loan of up to 25% of the property value; the cap on the 10% deposit scheme raised to €300,000; an extra €15,000 grant in Gozo; a €1,200 refund of notarial and related fees; the Equity Sharing Scheme opened from age 23; and the first-time-buyer grant doubled to €20,000 for buyers with severe disabilities. Source: Labour Party manifesto

  Pledge tracker above: 5 Pledged and 1 In force.

  Outside the budget: On 3 September the Housing Authority opened a two-month public consultation on a Buyers' Charter for all residential buyers. The first-time-buyer grant changes made in the government's first 100 days are described in the tracker above. Sources: Housing Authority, Housing Authority announcement

  Nationalist Party (opposition)

  Budget 2027 proposal: As of 4 October 2026, no Budget 2027 proposal published. Checked: pn.org.mt news and press releases since 25 July; and Newsbook and Times of Malta coverage. Source: pn.org.mt press releases

  Manifesto (not a Budget 2027 proposal): A refund of 50% of mortgage interest for the first 10 years (about €46,800 on a €405,000 loan), and an interest-free deposit loan of up to 10% of the price (maximum €45,000). Sources: pn.org.mt — First-time buyer scheme, pn.org.mt — Politika Soċjali, Malta Independent

  Outside the budget: On 25 August the party asked for “regional incentives for first-time buyers” in Floriana, a local ask. Source: pn.org.mt, 25 August

• Stamp duty in Budget 2027

  Labour (government)

  Budget 2027 proposal: As of 4 October 2026, no Budget 2027 proposal published. Checked: the Pre-Budget Document 2027; Housing Authority news releases; legal notices; and Newsbook, TVM and Malta Independent coverage. Source: Pre-Budget Consultation Document 2027 (PDF)

  Manifesto (not a Budget 2027 proposal): The first-time-buyer exemption raised from the first €200,000 to the first €300,000; separated and divorced buyers treated as first-time buyers; “Our Next Home” incentives kept for families that upgrade; a rent-to-buy framework with a stamp-duty reduction; and an exemption for elderly downsizers. Source: Labour Party manifesto

  Pledge tracker above: 5 Pledged.

  Nationalist Party (opposition)

  Budget 2027 proposal: As of 4 October 2026, no Budget 2027 proposal published. Checked: pn.org.mt news and press releases since 25 July; and Newsbook and Times of Malta coverage. Source: pn.org.mt press releases

  Manifesto (not a Budget 2027 proposal): An exemption on the first €350,000 for first-time buyers, extended to people buying a home after separation or divorce (on the property each party buys), and an exemption on the first €350,000 when pensioners sell their home to buy a smaller or more accessible one. Sources: pn.org.mt — Tnaqqis fit-Taxxi, pn.org.mt — Politika Soċjali

• Inheritance and family transfers in Budget 2027

  Labour (government)

  Budget 2027 proposal: As of 4 October 2026, no Budget 2027 proposal published. Checked: the Pre-Budget Document 2027; Housing Authority news releases; legal notices; and Newsbook, TVM and Malta Independent coverage. Source: Pre-Budget Consultation Document 2027 (PDF)

  Manifesto (not a Budget 2027 proposal): Stamp duty waived on parent-to-child transfers of a primary residence; the tax-exempt cap on other parent-to-child donations raised to €1,000,000; causa mortis duty removed for a surviving spouse on the half of the property other than the matrimonial home; no succession stamp duty for heirs who make an inherited property their ordinary residence, even if it was not the deceased's; succession duty on inherited property the heirs will not live in deferred until the seventh year or a sale, whichever is first; and a 50% VAT refund on converting a property into homes for children. Source: Labour Party manifesto

  Pledge tracker above: 6 Pledged.

  Outside the budget: TVM reports that on 15 September Cabinet approved making permanent a 1.5% stamp-duty rate (instead of 5%) on transfers of family businesses between members of the same family, by legal notice, including to heirs where a family member dies while the transfer is under way. Legal Notice 250 of 2026, published on 18 September, covers that last case: an heir named as the intended donee pays 1.5%. As of 4 October 2026, the order as amended still applied only to transfers made before 1 January 2027. Sources: TVM, legislation.mt, Legal Notice 250 of 2026

  Nationalist Party (opposition)

  Budget 2027 proposal: As of 4 October 2026, no Budget 2027 proposal published. Checked: pn.org.mt news and press releases since 25 July; and Newsbook and Times of Malta coverage. Source: pn.org.mt press releases

  Manifesto (not a Budget 2027 proposal): Stamp duty and the 5% causa mortis tax removed on inherited property, with no cap on value; tax and stamp duty removed on property donated from parents to children and grandchildren; and succession tax and stamp duty removed on inherited family businesses (shares or business property) that meet conditions. Sources: pn.org.mt — Tnaqqis fit-Taxxi, Malta Independent, MaltaToday

• Social and affordable housing in Budget 2027

  Labour (government)

  Budget 2027 proposal: As of 4 October 2026, no Budget 2027 proposal published. Checked: the Pre-Budget Document 2027; Housing Authority news releases; legal notices; and Newsbook, TVM and Malta Independent coverage. Source: Pre-Budget Consultation Document 2027 (PDF)

  Manifesto (not a Budget 2027 proposal): 700 new social-housing units over five years, with the eligibility income cap raised by €3,000 (plus €200 per child), and incentives for non-profit housing co-operatives with no stamp duty on property transferred to them. Also in the manifesto, not in the pledge tracker above: at least 260 new affordable homes, built with the Church and the private sector in Ħal Kirkop, Fgura, Marsaskala and St Julian's and sold at least 30% below market price, with further calls over five years; and wider income and property-value criteria for the Social Loan Scheme. Source: Labour Party manifesto

  Pledge tracker above: 2 Pledged.

  Budget 2027 statement (no measure): The Pre-Budget Document 2027 says housing affordability “remained comparatively strong” and that pension policy will be developed alongside wider initiatives that include affordable housing. It announces no housing measure. Source: Pre-Budget Consultation Document 2027 (PDF)

  Nationalist Party (opposition)

  Budget 2027 proposal: As of 4 October 2026, no Budget 2027 proposal published. Checked: pn.org.mt news and press releases since 25 July; and Newsbook and Times of Malta coverage. Source: pn.org.mt press releases

  Manifesto (not a Budget 2027 proposal): A permanent Social Housing Market where homes stay linked to their original price, adjusted only for inflation and approved improvements; a Housing First model run with NGOs; and a government scheme to lease or buy vacant properties for social or affordable housing. Source: pn.org.mt — Politika Soċjali

  Budget 2027 statement (no measure): Adrian Delia, the shadow finance minister, wrote on 3 October that the budget must show what the government's Vision 2050 means in priorities, investment and targets, and that “The same applies to housing”. He said housing needs “more than another government scheme” and “a serious strategy involving planning, construction, rental affordability and the relationship between population growth and infrastructure”, and closed with “We need affordable housing.” The article names no scheme, grant or tax change. Source: Times of Malta (Adrian Delia)

• Renting in Budget 2027

  Labour (government)

  Budget 2027 proposal: As of 4 October 2026, no Budget 2027 proposal published. Checked: the Pre-Budget Document 2027; Housing Authority news releases; legal notices; and Newsbook, TVM and Malta Independent coverage. Source: Pre-Budget Consultation Document 2027 (PDF)

  Manifesto (not a Budget 2027 proposal): Housing benefit tapered instead of cut off: 50% of the previous subsidy in the first year after losing eligibility, phased out over two years. Also in the manifesto, not in the pledge tracker above: continued investment in the “Nikru biex Nassistu” scheme, with improved criteria so that more owners take part. Source: Labour Party manifesto

  Pledge tracker above: 1 In force.

  Nationalist Party (opposition)

  Budget 2027 proposal: As of 4 October 2026, no Budget 2027 proposal published. Checked: pn.org.mt news and press releases since 25 July; and Newsbook and Times of Malta coverage. Source: pn.org.mt press releases

  Manifesto (not a Budget 2027 proposal): An annual benefit for registered tenants who do not qualify for existing subsidies; a rent-price-stability framework for registered tenants; and a rent subsidy for over-65s who do not qualify for current rental subsidies. Source: pn.org.mt — Politika Soċjali

  Budget 2027 statement (no measure): The 3 October article by Adrian Delia lists “rental affordability” among the elements of the housing strategy he calls for. It names no rent measure. Source: Times of Malta (Adrian Delia)

• Urban conservation areas and vacant property in Budget 2027

  Labour (government)

  Budget 2027 proposal: As of 4 October 2026, no Budget 2027 proposal published. Checked: the Pre-Budget Document 2027; Housing Authority news releases; legal notices; and Newsbook, TVM and Malta Independent coverage. Source: Pre-Budget Consultation Document 2027 (PDF)

  Manifesto (not a Budget 2027 proposal): The extension of Urban Conservation Areas to more villages, with buffer zones around them, continued; the existing aids, including the €15,000 UCA and vacant-property grant for first-time buyers (€40,000 in Gozo), strengthened; no tax on the rent from restored dilapidated property let for social housing; and the restoration incentives, which already include an allocation for scheduled buildings outside UCAs, extended across the whole country, with money allocated every year. These are not in the pledge tracker above. Source: Labour Party manifesto

  Nationalist Party (opposition)

  Budget 2027 proposal: As of 4 October 2026, no Budget 2027 proposal published. Checked: pn.org.mt news and press releases since 25 July; and Newsbook and Times of Malta coverage. Source: pn.org.mt press releases

  Manifesto (not a Budget 2027 proposal): Incentives and a fast track to reuse vacant buildings; in Gozo, the property-transfer tax exemption extended to vernacular and post-war properties outside UCAs, if the buyer commits to preserving the property, and a process to exempt restoration and re-use applications in Gozo's UCAs from planning-application and other statutory fees. Sources: pn.org.mt — Mobbiltà, Infrastruttura u Ppjanar, pn.org.mt — Għawdex

  Outside the budget: On 25 August the party asked for “the identification and use of vacant properties for residential purposes” in Floriana, a local ask. Source: pn.org.mt, 25 August

  As of 4 October 2026, no extension has been announced of the stamp-duty exemption on the first €750,000 for UCA, older vacant and traditional-style properties, the first-time-buyer UCA and vacant-property grants, or the VAT refund on restoration, all due to end on 31 December 2026. Sources: PwC Tax Summaries, Frank Salt

• Planning in Budget 2027

  Labour (government)

  Budget 2027 proposal: As of 4 October 2026, no Budget 2027 proposal published. Checked: the Pre-Budget Document 2027; Housing Authority news releases; legal notices; and Newsbook, TVM and Malta Independent coverage. Source: Pre-Budget Consultation Document 2027 (PDF)

  Manifesto (not a Budget 2027 proposal): No development or new building to start while a permit is still subject to appeal proceedings; an extensive consultation to review the local plans; the planning process for land outside development zones (ODZ) tightened to limit what can be built there; and the DC2015 design policy updated for better quality, especially aesthetics, context and building volumes. These are not in the pledge tracker above. Source: Labour Party manifesto

  Outside the budget: A public consultation on planning-appeals reform, including automatic suspension of a permit when it is appealed, had closed by 20 August, when the Malta Independent reported its conclusion. According to the Nationalist Party, the reform Bill had by then passed its First Reading in Parliament. Sources: Malta Independent, pn.org.mt, 20 August

  Nationalist Party (opposition)

  Budget 2027 proposal: As of 4 October 2026, no Budget 2027 proposal published. Checked: pn.org.mt news and press releases since 25 July; and Newsbook and Times of Malta coverage. Source: pn.org.mt press releases

  Manifesto (not a Budget 2027 proposal): Planning appeals to halt construction works until a final decision, with a six-month target; a two-thirds parliamentary majority to change a parcel's ODZ classification; and a review of all Local Plans. Sources: pn.org.mt — Ambjent, pn.org.mt — Mobbiltà, Infrastruttura u Ppjanar

  Outside the budget: On 20 August the shadow planning minister, Rebekah Borg, said the party supports automatic suspension of a permit when an appeal is filed, and asked the government not to proceed to the reform Bill's Second Reading until it has published the full outcome of the public consultation. On 25 August the party asked the government for a review of the Local Plan and planning policies in Floriana. Sources: pn.org.mt, 20 August, pn.org.mt, 25 August

  Budget 2027 statement (no measure): The 3 October article by Adrian Delia names “planning” among the elements of the housing strategy he calls for. It names no planning measure. Source: Times of Malta (Adrian Delia)

Whose proposal is it? On 23 September the MDA, the property developers' association, said it welcomed “the proposal to ease stamp duty on the transfer of properties from parents to children” and that it looks forward to reviewing “the proposed legal provisions” (MDA statement). The statement does not say who made the proposal, and as of 4 October 2026 Pedament had found no announcement by the government or either party that does. Each party's manifesto has a different proposal on parent-to-child property transfers (see Inheritance and family transfers in Budget 2027 above); neither the manifesto proposals nor the MDA's “proposal” is a rule.

The cards are updated as either party publishes a Budget 2027 position, and after the budget speech on 26 October each Labour card will show what the budget did. The tracker above shows where each Labour pledge stands.

• Stamp-duty exemption on the first €750,000 — for transfers made by 31 December 2026 of a property in an Urban Conservation Area, one built at least 20 years ago and vacant for at least seven years, or one developed with traditional Maltese features, subject to conditions (PwC Tax Summaries). For UCA and older vacant properties, the seller's final withholding tax on the transfer is also exempt on the first €750,000 (PwC Tax Summaries (income tax)).
• Cash grant: €15,000 (Malta) or €40,000 (Gozo) for first-time buyers of qualifying UCA, older vacant or traditional-style homes.
• VAT refund: up to €54,000 on qualifying restoration works, capped at €300,000 of spend.
• Window for the grant and the VAT refund: until 31 December 2026 (Frank Salt).
• Replacement-home refund: owners who sell their home to buy another, and own no other property, get back the duty paid on the first €86,000 of the new home, for acquisitions made up to 31 December 2026, subject to conditions (PwC Tax Summaries).

The first-time-buyer stamp-duty exemption no longer needs renewing: Legal Notice 305 of 2025 made it permanent (BDO Malta). How the UCA incentives work, and which areas qualify, is covered in Pedament's UCA properties guide; the replacement-home refund is explained in the second-time buyer guide. If a purchase depends on one of these schemes, confirm the conditions with the Housing Authority or a notary before timing the deed around the budget.

These are the measures Budget 2027 will build on. The Budget 2026 measures are explained, with worked examples, in the Budget 2026 guide and the first-time buyer guide. The two legal notices that put the Budget 2026 stamp-duty and inheritance changes into law were published on 26 December 2025 (BDO Malta). The changes to the first-home grant (Housing Authority announcement) and to housing benefit (Housing Authority) were announced by the Housing Authority during the government's first 100 days.

Business groups, industry associations and social partners publish their own proposals ahead of each budget. Four with property asks are summarised below: the Malta Chamber's Budget 2027 document, its programme for the whole 2026-2031 legislature, the Gozo Tourism Association's Budget 2027 submission and the General Workers' Union's Budget 2027 proposals. Two more, from the Malta Chamber of SMEs and the Gozo Business Chamber, make no housing asks. None is a Budget 2027 measure — but a budget is where several of these asks would have to be funded or enacted. What the two parties themselves have said on housing and planning for Budget 2027 is compared above, and what they promised in their manifestos in Pedament's election 2026 property guide. Other groups' Budget 2027 submissions will be summarised here as they are published.

What the Malta Chamber wants from Budget 2027

The Malta Chamber launched “Reset & Lead”, its Budget 2027 document, on 14 September 2026 (Malta Chamber, Reset & Lead (PDF), Newsbook). It splits its proposals in two: Section A, for execution within the first year of the legislature and designed, the Chamber says, for the 2027 budget cycle; and Section B, reforms running to the end of the legislature. Its first-year asks on planning and property, marked where they are new since the Chamber's May programme:

• New: planning circulars for technical clarifications only — circulars should not be used to amend, reinterpret or bypass the Strategic Plan for Environment and Development (SPED), Local Plans, the DC15 development control design policy or other approved planning policies; anything that affects development rights should go through a transparent process.
• New: no benefit from illegality — no retrospective approval, regularisation or sanctioning of developments or operations deliberately begun without the required permits, save for narrowly defined minor technical discrepancies, which the Chamber says would close the “build first, sanction later” abuse.
• New: energy certificates checked after completion — design-stage Energy Performance Certificates linked to verification of the completed building, with post-construction checks, enforcement by the Building and Construction Authority and more visible EPC ratings; in May the Chamber asked only that EPCs carry market value. Alongside it, an incentive framework of advantageous loans and fiscal incentives for new buildings and green renovations that go beyond the legal minimum, building on the green tax incentives the May programme already asked for.
• Carried into the first year from May — escalating penalties for developments left unfinished past the permit's validity, and a “Derelict Redemption Act”, which the Chamber now says should be subject to due process and property-rights safeguards; a mandatory digital building logbook, presented as better protection for buyers and tenants; interest-free or close-to-zero loans to regenerate Urban Conservation Areas, now tied to conservation outcomes and anti-speculation safeguards, with UCA-equivalent incentives for traditional limestone properties outside UCAs and incentives for heritage buildings; and the tax incentives tied to energy performance, with the stamp-duty exemption now asked for all buyers of homes above the minimum energy standard, not only first-time buyers. Each is described under the legislature programme below; the document gives no rates or thresholds.

For the rest of the legislature, Section B repeats the call to revise SPED and adopt a national architecture, aesthetics and landscape policy, and adds two property asks: reforming and fully implementing the National Land Registration System, so that all land and property in Malta and Gozo sits in a single, authoritative, continuously updated title register, with overlapping claims and boundary discrepancies resolved; and a public national spatial data platform, built on the Planning Authority's base map, showing land use, zoning, ownership, heritage and development constraints in one place. None of this is government policy, and as of 30 September 2026 none of these asks had been adopted, funded or enacted.

What the Chamber wants changed in planning over the 2026-2031 legislature

The Chamber began its legislature programme on 27 April 2026, immediately after the general election was called, and addressed the result to the parties ahead of the 30 May vote (Malta Chamber, Proposals for the 2026-2031 Legislature (PDF)). Its economic chapter treats rising rents and property prices as a competitiveness problem, not only a social one; the planning asks below are Section B.1 of that programme.

• A Strategic Plan (SPED) revision — the Chamber says the Strategic Plan for Environment and Development (2015) identified 2020 as its first review milestone and that the review has not been undertaken. It asks for that revision urgently, with alignment across planning policies, a clear hierarchy of rules, the ambiguity that allows inconsistent application removed, and a carrying-capacity assessment of Malta's built and natural environment behind it — and for any reform of planning legislation to go through one holistic, transparent and consultative process rather than scattered amendments.
• A national architecture, aesthetics and landscape policy — treating ODZ (outside development zone) land, townscapes and visual identity as strategic national assets, and pushing design quality and coherence into development decisions.
• Heritage and Urban Conservation Areas — incentives earmarked for maintaining, restoring and adaptively reusing heritage buildings, particularly in historic urban areas such as Valletta, which the Chamber suggests could also extend to converting dormant structures for cultural or creative use, separate from the existing Irrestawra Darek and Irrinova Darek schemes; interest-free or close-to-zero renovation loans to regenerate UCAs; and UCA-equivalent incentives extended to non-UCA properties featuring traditional Maltese limestone architecture, which the Chamber frames as a way to limit demolition and preserve the use, character and appreciation of traditional stone.
• Unfinished developments — escalating financial disincentives for projects left incomplete beyond the permit's validity period, typically five years, plus a “Derelict Redemption Act” letting the State repurpose persistently unfinished buildings for public use.
• Energy Performance Certificates — EPCs that carry market value and feed into how a property is valued. Separately, the Chamber asks for a package of fiscal incentives for environmentally sustainable building and investment practices: exemption from stamp duty, and more support, for first-time buyers of homes above the minimum energy standard; a lower tax rate for lessors of high-performance buildings; reduced capital gains or final withholding tax for developers using sustainable construction materials; and a lower rate on profits reinvested in sustainable systems.
• A building logbook — a record of each building's structural and fabric history and its certification at construction and post-commissioning, with an owner obligation to keep the building in good repair and the logbook current.
• Construction and demolition waste rules — minimum requirements for reused or locally recycled materials, mandatory waste classification and source separation, and dismantling prioritised over demolition.

Other asks in the Chamber's legislature programme

• Off-street parking tied to permits — obligatory off-street parking for new buildings, with no option to offset the obligation against a payment (the former Commuted Parking Payment Scheme, later absorbed into the Development Planning Fund), and more weight on comprehensive, realistic Traffic Impact Assessments. Alongside it, more public-private partnerships to move on-road parking into new multi-storey underground car parks, with EV charging infrastructure and, where possible, green public space at surface level.
• Grand Harbour planning precedence — the Chamber wants industrial and operational requirements to take precedence over commercial interests in planning and development decisions affecting the area, and development in its precinct to face rigorous impact assessments covering road haulage, port operations and maritime services.
• Grid and telecoms capacity earlier in the permit — grid capacity and technical feasibility considered early in the permitting process for renewable-energy investment, through closer coordination between the Planning Authority, Enemalta and the energy and water regulator; and building regulations updated to mandate fibre-ready infrastructure and 5G small-cell provision at design stage for all new developments, then extended to a retrofit programme for existing buildings.
• One tracker across the authorities — a real-time, cross-entity tracking application to cut follow-ups and delays between the entities a business has to deal with, which the Chamber lists as including Malta Enterprise, INDIS, the Lands Authority, the Planning Authority, the Building and Construction Authority and Transport Malta.
• Short-let versus long-let tax distortions — addressing the tax and VAT distortions between short-term rentals, long-term leasing and licensed accommodation providers: reviewing the final withholding tax regime, tiered taxation linked to rental intensity, and the deductibility framework, so that short-term rental activity at commercial scale is taxed like commercial accommodation, on the stated aim of safeguarding housing availability while maintaining a sustainable tourism offering.

None of this is government policy. The Chamber is a business-representative body putting proposals to whoever forms a government, and as of 14 September 2026 none of these asks had been adopted, funded or enacted. The asks that touch incentives buyers can claim today are the UCA ones — those incentives, and the areas that qualify, are in Pedament's UCA properties guide, and, as of 4 October 2026, they were still due to expire on 31 December 2026 with no extension announced.

What the Gozo Tourism Association wants for property in Gozo

The Gozo Tourism Association's Budget 2027 proposals, published in September 2026, call for “quality over quantity” in tourism and warn that unrestrained development risks weakening Gozo's identity and authenticity (Gozo Today, Gozo News). The submission also covers ferries, transport, energy and a marine reserve; these are its asks on planning and property:

• Planning decided closer to Gozo — a dedicated Gozo Planning Authority or, alternatively, stronger regional autonomy within the existing planning framework, so that development decisions, environmental safeguards and land-use policies reflect Gozo's distinct identity and long-term needs.
• Keep the UCA incentives — maintain the current fiscal incentives for buying and restoring properties in Urban Conservation Areas, particularly where the buyer commits to restoring the property and preserving its architectural integrity without subdividing it. That commitment is the association's proposal; the current incentives' own conditions are in the UCA properties guide.
• Extend incentives to vernacular and post-war properties — existing restoration and regeneration incentives extended to vernacular and post-war properties, both inside and outside UCAs, where owners undertake to retain the property's character and to respect the traditional scale, streetscape and height limits of the surrounding village core.
• A Traditional Property Restoration Scheme — a dedicated fiscal incentive programme for restoring, rehabilitating and adaptively reusing traditional properties as homes, boutique accommodation and other tourism-related uses, to regenerate village centres while preserving Gozo's architectural heritage.

The first ask would give Gozo more say over planning decisions. The second and third build on the UCA incentives above, which, as of 4 October 2026, were due to expire on 31 December 2026 with no extension announced; the fourth asks for a new scheme. The Malta Chamber makes an overlapping ask, for UCA-equivalent incentives for traditional limestone properties outside UCAs. The association represents tourism operators, not the government, and as of 27 September 2026 none of these four asks had been adopted, funded or enacted.

What the General Workers' Union wants on housing

The General Workers' Union published its Budget 2027 proposals on 2 October 2026. On housing, it proposes faster investment in social and affordable accommodation, more effective use of vacant properties and fairer access to help with buying a first home (General Workers' Union). The union represents workers, not the government, and as of 4 October 2026 none of these three asks had been adopted, funded or enacted.

Budget 2027 submissions with no housing asks

The Malta Chamber of SMEs announced on 16 September 2026 that it had presented 40 Budget 2027 proposals to the Prime Minister and the Finance Minister at Auberge de Castille; none concerns housing, residential rent or stamp duty (Malta Chamber of SMEs, news release, Malta Chamber of SMEs, Budget Proposals 2027 (PDF)). The Gozo Business Chamber's proposals of 10 September 2026 make no such asks either: their built-environment asks are about infrastructure — expanding Mġarr Harbour, a second access route to it and safeguarding the land identified for a Malta–Gozo permanent link — and their one rent ask is for the government's promised rent support for start-ups and small businesses setting up or relocating in Gozo (Gozo Business Chamber, Budget 2027 (PDF)).

• Ministry for Finance — pre-budget document, speech and implementation act: finance.gov.mt.
• Housing Authority — first-time-buyer grants, deposit and equity-sharing schemes: housingauthority.gov.mt.
• Malta Tax and Customs Administration (formerly the Commissioner for Revenue) — stamp duty, exemptions and refunds: mtca.gov.mt.

• 4 October 2026 — Added a side-by-side comparison of what the Labour Party and the Nationalist Party have said about property and housing for Budget 2027; as of this date neither had published a housing-specific Budget 2027 proposal. Read the Pre-Budget Document 2027 itself: it contains no housing or property measure. Added the General Workers' Union's Budget 2027 housing proposals and Cabinet's 15 September decision on stamp duty on family-business transfers, and noted that the Malta Development Association's 23 September welcome for a parent-to-child stamp-duty proposal does not say whose proposal it is. Corrected the wording of three Labour inheritance pledges to match the manifesto. Re-checked every pledge's status and the schemes expiring on 31 December 2026: none had changed.
• 30 September 2026 — Added the budget date (Monday 26 October 2026), the Pre-Budget Document 2027 launch on 30 September with what the Finance Minister said, and the Malta Chamber's Budget 2027 document, “Reset & Lead”; noted that the Budget 2027 proposals of the Malta Chamber of SMEs and the Gozo Business Chamber make no housing asks. Re-checked every pledge and the schemes expiring on 31 December 2026: none had changed.
• 27 September 2026 — Added the Gozo Tourism Association's Budget 2027 proposals on planning and property: more planning autonomy for Gozo, keeping the UCA incentives, extending them to vernacular and post-war properties, and a traditional property restoration scheme.
• 14 September 2026 — Added the Malta Chamber's built-environment and spatial-planning proposals for the 2026-2031 legislature, published ahead of the 30 May 2026 general election.
• 11 September 2026 — First published: the expected Budget 2027 timeline, the main property pledges in the governing party's manifesto with their status, and the schemes that expire on 31 December 2026.