Snagging in Malta: off-plan apartments, the deed and the 15-year rule
Malta builds mostly apartments, and most of them are sold off plan: a promise of sale (the konvenju) years before the building is finished, then the final deed when it is. Snagging sits in the gap between the two, and it is the buyer's best chance to get things put right.
Snag before the final deed
Once the deed is signed and the balance is paid, your leverage drops sharply. So the inspection should happen when the developer says the apartment is ready and before you sign. Book it early — developers often push for a quick deed once a block is finished.
Many apartments in Malta are sold in shell form or semi-finished. Be clear what your contract says the developer is delivering: you can only snag what they were supposed to finish. Defects in the shell — cracks, damp, levels, openings, services — still count.
Agree it in the konvenju
The promise of sale is the place to protect yourself, because it is signed while you still have leverage. Things buyers commonly ask their notary and lawyer to include:
- A clear description of the finishes and specification, so a snag can be measured against something.
- A right to inspect, with your own perit, before the final deed.
- A sum retained on the deed until listed snags are fixed, or a written undertaking with a date.
- Who handles the common parts — stairwell, lift, roof, façade — and when they will be finished.
Who does the snagging
Usually a perit (architect or civil engineer), often the same one who advised on the purchase. A good snag list from a perit is numbered, photographed and tied to the plan — so the developer's contractors can find every item without a site visit together. See photographs that hold up.
The 15-year rule
Malta's Civil Code (article 1638) makes the architect and the contractor responsible if a building, or a substantial part of it, is destroyed or is in clear danger of collapse within 15 years of completion because of a construction or ground defect. That is protection against serious failure — not cosmetic snags. Finishing defects are a matter for your contract, which is another reason to get them on the list before the deed.
Common snags in Maltese apartments
- Damp and water ingress at balconies, roofs and around apertures.
- Cracks at the junction of new blockwork and concrete.
- Floor tiles hollow, lipped or out of level; missing or uneven grout.
- Apertures that do not close properly, or seals missing around them.
- Unfinished common areas, lifts not commissioned, and services not connected.
Snagger is made in Malta, so this is home ground for us — the new-build checklist works just as well for a Maltese apartment.
This is a general guide, not legal advice. Periods and rules change, and your own contract can add to them — check it, and take professional advice before relying on a deadline.