Image: Joanna Demarco

Since 2025, short-let licences have shot up by nearly a quarter. An Amphora Media analysis of data tabled by Tourism Minister Jo Etienne Abela shows that, as of September 2026, Malta has 8,748 active licences, up from 7,116 in 2025.

The industry continues to grow. Between January and August 2026, Malta hosted over 3.1 million tourists, up by almost 500,000 visitors from the year prior. Roughly a third of those tourists (1,025,600) stayed in some form of short-let accommodation, an increase of over 189,000.

The growth comes amid further reforms introduced after Amphora Media’s previous investigation into the industry. However, Swieqi Mayor Noel Muscat said the required changes should focus on the Planning Authority.

“All forms of businesses are controlled by the Planning Authority: if you [want to commercially use] a flat or premises, you have to apply for a change of use. We are asking the central government to control short lets that way,” he told Amphora Media.

He confirmed he submitted this proposal to the government during a pilot project covering his town and Valletta. “I can’t see why the government keeps resisting this change,” he said.

In April 2026, the government introduced a sector reform. Under new rules, the Malta Tourism Authority (MTA) introduced mandatory licensing and a three-year ban for operators found without one. It also required operators to provide a 24/7 contact person, a waste management plan, and meet stricter property standards.

The stricter property standards apply only to properties granted a license after the reform took effect. It is unclear how many new licenses were issued after April 2026. However, at least 7,116 licenses are exempt. 

The waste management plan is already required. In July, MTA’s representative told the Times of Malta that it was developing signage standards.

Under new regulations, the following types of accommodation can operate as short lets: studio, apartment, house, villa, and farmhouse.  

Renting single rooms while the host lives on the premises is also allowed, but it requires a resident host accommodation licence, which needs an architect’s certification and insurance.

According to the latest data from Inside Airbnb, the number of listings on the platform reached 13,256, down from 10,042, with three-quarters listed as entire units. In addition to hotel rooms, the platform advertised over 3,000 private or shared rooms in Malta. It is unclear what kind of licence they hold, as Airbnb allows users to leave the licence field blank in Malta.

Our previous investigation, using data published in early 2025, found 9,376 listings; 7,141, or three-quarters, were entire apartments or homes. That means that there have been at least 3,880 new listings on the platform, which could include entire units, rooms and in some cases, hotel rooms.

A year ago, Amphora Media calculated that on average one in five properties listed on Airbnb may lack a compulsory licence from the Malta Tourism Authority, with hotspots such as Gżira (46%), Sliema (30%), and St Paul’s Bay (28%) showing even higher rates. 

Our estimates show that the number of unlicensed listings on the platform today ranges from 1,294 to 4,508, depending on whether the count includes only entire units.

Airbnb is the leading platform used for marketing short lets, followed by Booking.com, Expedia and TripAdvisor. No datasets comparable to Inside Airbnb’s are publicly available for other platforms. 

As identified in the previous investigation, several Gozitan localities have more licences than listings, a trend that continued this year, suggesting many Gozitan holiday lets are not advertised on Airbnb.

Pressure on the hotspots

St Paul’s Bay (1,145), St Julian’s (1,045), Sliema (1,030), Valletta (592), and Swieqi (522) are Malta’s top five localities for short-let licences, accounting for half of all short-let licences in Malta and Gozo.

Town	Licensed Short Lets
St Paul’s Bay	1145
St Julian’s	1045
Sliema	1030
Valletta	592
Swieqi	522
Mellieha	455
Gzira	400
Zebbug (Gozo)	336
Marsascala	272

Airbnb listings paint a different picture. As of September, Sliema has the most Airbnb listings in Malta, with 1,779 properties, including 1,307 entire units.  The runner-up, neighbouring St Julian’s, has 1,578 listings, 1,183 of them entire units. 

“Year after year, I meet ministers, etc., and I see no progress,” St Julian’s mayor Guido Dalli told Amphora Media, commenting on the negative effects of short lets. 

St Paul’s Bay has the third most listings, with 1,401 total listings, including 1,235 entire units. Subtracting MTA licences from the number of entire units advertised on Airbnb shows Gzira has the largest gap: 299 (out of Gzira’s 878 total listings, with 699 entire units). 

Amphora Media’s analysis a year ago also showed that the town had the largest potentially unlicensed sector. 

Precise cross-referencing of licences and listings is difficult at scale because MTA licences list addresses in various formats, while Airbnb listings use geographical coordinates.

Town	Airbnb listings
Sliema	1779
San Giljan	1578
San Pawl il-Bahar	1401
Gzira	878
Valletta	728
Swieqi	688
Mellieha	591
Marsascala	442
Msida	416
Xaghra	336

Town	‘Entire Unit’ Airbnb Listings
Sliema	1307
San Pawl il-Bahar	1235
San Giljan	1183
Gzira	699
Valletta	649
Mellieha	537
Swieqi	505
Marsascala	379
Msida	282
Zebbug (Ghawdex)	268

Inspections and Enforcement

Amphora Media’s previous investigation found that despite Airbnb listings generating an estimated €47 million in revenue in 2024, the localities housing short-lets are overburdened with enforcement, waste, and public disturbance issues. In most towns facing over-tourism, police staffing decreased amid rising demand for police action.

Much of public attention focuses on Swieqi, which has more MTA licences than entire units advertised on Airbnb, and was the subject of its own Amphora Media investigation in collaboration with Newsbook.

“We’re still very concerned about shortlets in the locality,” says Swieqi mayor Muscat. “The majority of operators are responsible. But then you got the few naughty ones that ruin the party.” 

He says small increases in community policing have not kept up with ballooning tourist numbers, and the requirement that short-let operators have a waste management plan has not led them to hire a contractor to ensure waste is removed daily.

Swieqi was subject to a summer pilot project that coordinated enforcement between the MTA and other bodies, including the police and army. Minister Abela said this will be extended to St Julian’s, Sliema and St Paul’s Bay. 

Data tabled in parliament show that over the last two years, authorities have conducted more than 900 short-let inspections, finding 112 cases of non-compliance. In the first eight months of 2026 alone, authorities conducted 600 inspections in the locality, finding 120 properties in non-compliance.

Although the new rules explicitly state that “licences may be suspended or revoked for confirmed breaches relating to noise, waste or public health”, the minister has disclosed that no licence has been revoked for these reasons in 2024-2025 or as of 6 October.

On waste management, Muscat says little has changed on the ground. In his view, the requirement to have a waste management plan does not mean having a contractor to remove the waste, as hotels, shops, and other commercial establishments do.

“The Planning Authority must intervene to ensure these apartments have a functional swill room, not just on paper. Most will have a garage designated as a swill room, which nobody will use, or will be used for other purposes.”

Asked about enforcement efforts, Dalli of St Julian’s said, “I know there was a pilot project in Swieqi and Valletta, but I don’t know where it’s going.  To be honest, I also don’t know why it’s a pilot project, because all you have to do is find the person making a profit. It’s the owner of the apartment.”

“We have to educate the people who are coming to Malta,” Dalli said, suggesting that leaflets about waste collection and other rules should be distributed at the airport and in tourist accommodation. The new rules require informing guests about waste collection and visibly displaying information about it.

“[The owners] are getting 2,000 euros a month, and, as a mayor, I’m getting all the insults on Facebook, because the street is dirty.”

Dalli suggests adding responsibilities to the service agreement tourists conclude with the host on the platforms or otherwise. “It should be part of the contract.”

“The problem is that there was a change in the minister, and we don’t know the direction. There’s the garbage collection and the spot fines [policy], so those are being considered. But I don’t know if they’re being applied in the same way that [former] Minister [Ian] Borg had suggested,” adds Muscat of Swieqi. 

“Every time there’s a change in administration, unfortunately, in Malta there’s a change in style as well,” he says.

The ministry’s spokesperson did not answer Amphora Media’s questions about enforcement action in Gzira, where unlicensed activity appears to continue unabated.