Household utilities

Its on that link I PMd you a while ago - a new addition - see 20.

1. An EU citizens legal rights - residency, working, students
2. what sort of residency is available ?
3. what do I need to apply for if I want to reside in Malta ?
4. do I need to apply for residency before coming to live in Malta ?
5. do I need an accountant to apply for residency ?
6. do I need health insurance ?
6.1 Do I qualify for public health cover, and if I do, what cover do I have ? Are prescriptions free ?
7. can I work in Malta ?
7.1 How much is income tax ?
7.2 How much are social security contributions ?
8. where do I apply for my residency certificate ?
9. where can I get the residency application forms ?
10. where do I apply for my ID card ? - EDIT no longer applicable as ID cards no longer issued to foreigners
11. what documents do I need to apply for residency ?
12. can I vote in Malta ?
13.1 buying a property FAQ
13.2 selling a property FAQ
14. renting a property FAQ
15. Importing a vehicle FAQ
16. What's the procedure for importing/exporting a pet ?
17. Can I use my driving licence in Malta ?
17.1 Applying for driving licence
18. Long term residency certificate
19. EHIC
20. electricity/water bills - domestic v residential

Thanks George

Will take a look.

A deposit for utilities?

I strongly recommend you seek alternative accommodation.

I also make a monthly down payment of roughly 500eur. We agreed that we have a look at the invoices after half a yr or something like that and then calculate if it was too much or too less.

I dont see anything wrong with making down payments.

michael78 wrote:

I also make a monthly down payment of roughly 500eur. We agreed that we have a look at the invoices after half a yr or something like that and then calculate if it was too much or too less.

I dont see anything wrong with making down payments.

!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

IMO you've been had mate.

No need to have the bills in your own name (466e cost to you with little or no benefit) - it is sufficient to be named on the owners account as registered consumers (free of charge) but you do need the owners permission and his signature and id cards copies front and back on the change of consumer numbers form. The figures you are quoting are indeed steep and I suspect theyre are based on the considerably more expensive domestic rates of the utility supplies. Which would also suggest he may not be decalring tax on the rental income. Ask your landlord if you can be named on his account as registered consumers there is no charge for this, but you do need e-residency too.

check you readings yourself and calculate the bills each month using the online calculator on the Arms website, this is free too. I think the same as Red - you may have been "had"

i have had four flats now and NEVER EVER paid a deposit for utilites. and NEVER WILL... if its requested i walk away and find a proper landlord..these other ones seem to just want to grab your cash.

remember too once you have paid a deposit YOU RARELY GET IT BACK - they will use every trick in the book to keep it.

Toon,s right, why does he want a deposit when you can check the meter monthly and pay for what you use. If you overpay it will be the landlord that has the money not ARMS, SO ZERO CHANCE OF GETTING IT BACK.

Terry

Plus on what basis has the landlord based your usage - he doesnt know you or your living habits.. this element is highly variable - he  has nothing on which to base his figures. my guess is he just wants a nice little earner.

If he was reasonable he would suggest taking the readings and doing a calculation after one month then agreeing a monthly payment with you with seasonal adjustments at the appropriate times - to me thats the only acceptable way for this to continue... other wise you are leaving yourself open to abuse.

For two of us and including winter consumption (and Lynn does 2 loads of washing each day), our projected average consumption, using the ARMS calculator, for electricity & water is €1800 - €2000 per year. That's a maximum of €166 per month, though it is actually nearer €150 per month.

So you are  paying deposits up to €6000 per year!!!!!
For one person or a family?

I'd stop right now if I were you.

redmik wrote:

For two of us and including winter consumption (and Lynn does 2 loads of washing each day), our projected average consumption, using the ARMS calculator, for electricity & water is €1800 - €2000 per year. That's a maximum of €166 per month, though it is actually nearer €150 per month.

our is approx 60euros per month spring summer autumn and about 80-90 euros per month for winter. a massive 3 bed apartment with air con but little used.

toonarmy9752 wrote:

redmik wrote:

For two of us and including winter consumption (and Lynn does 2 loads of washing each day), our projected average consumption, using the ARMS calculator, for electricity & water is €1800 - €2000 per year. That's a maximum of €166 per month, though it is actually nearer €150 per month.

our is approx 60euros per month spring summer autumn and about 80-90 euros per month for winter. a massive 3 bed apartment with air con but little used.

Those figures were calculated over our last stay for 6 weeks in winter.
Lynn has a thing about washing, so I live with it.
Your calculations back up what we are all saying, he is being well and truly ripped off.
We also negotiated a reduction in our long term rent which gives us (overall) the equivalent rates to the owner.

SillyPennyP wrote:

Is it within the law and standard for the landlord to take a deposit for utilities?  (I think 250e is a little steep?)

I saw this clause in a standard contract of one of the most popular real estate companies here in Malta (but the amount I guess it depends on each case). If it is expected a consumption of around €100 per month, a monthly deposit of €500 for such a thing seems TOO much.

I have NEVER seen a clause in a contract like this. But if I did, I would have it removed and agree something more suitable. And that applies to anything in a contract that i didnt like or agree with plus if it wasnt accepted then i would Move on.

Well we have a Penthouse so the costs are that roughly. In our current place we have something like 350 or so dunno.

There is an app around I think wich calculates your consumptions anyone knows it?

Also note that not all the apartments in Malta use the electricity of enemalta. In the apartments in Portomaso (do not know about other big complex such as Tigné Point) they use their own electricity, they bill the owners of each apartment directly and they even charge the owners every time they want to check the consumption (the owners can not check it by themselves).

At Tigne you pay the electricity to Enmalta afaik and the Air Condition you pay to Midi wich is seperate.

I had a look at my numbers the other day and it added quite up.

One have to say that my wife has airco on all the time as she is from Brazil and also my computers run almost 24/7 which use a lot of energy.

Anyways, there should be some calculators around which justify a down payment.

When all the utility bills are on your name then one should not make any payments in regard to utility bill to the landlord.

Clause from a standard contract of a popular real estate company (reviewed by a Maltese lawyer with knowleadge in property law before sign it):
"2) The electric light, water, gas and telephone bills as well as the consumption thereof and installation and rent
of the internet (where applicable) shall be borne by the said Lessee, who is to pay Eur 100 monthly on account to lessor to be set off against the bills."

Check out your consumption here:

https://www.smartutilities.com.mt/wps/p … BIS9nQSEh/

tariff prices here:

https://www.smartutilities.com.mt/wps/p … 1MzBLMg!!/

If you're happy to pay that much; fine. I wouldn't!

"When all the utility bills are on your name then one should not make any payments in regard to utility bill to the landlord."

this only applies if the account is in YOUR name - and you have paid the 466euros charge for the privilege...personally i wouldnt do it - as there is ABSOLUTELY no benefit to it - its fine to simply be named as a registered consumer on the owners account for the property.

Can I just ask, if you move and the previous tenants have been registered on the account for electricity and water do you still get the residential tarifs or do you have to register yourself every time?

depends if they have left the island or not then they will when they register their new arranegments be removed eventually and your back to square one. be wary, as the utility company are not bound to inform you or the owner and by then you will be landed with a high domestic rated bill.

We are planning to move to Malta, and i am a bit confused about renting an apt.
We are living in Dublin at the moment and here if you rent apt from an agency. You dont have to pay anything. Just one month deposit what you ll get back when you move out. The bills are on your name and you pay them.
Anyone could explain how it works in Malta?
Thanks

see my notes sent to you.

toonarmy9752 wrote:

depends if they have left the island or not then they will when they register their new arranegments be removed eventually and your back to square one. be wary, as the utility company are not bound to inform you or the owner and by then you will be landed with a high domestic rated bill.

So if we move to another property we need to register ourselves on the bills again and it will be automatically taken off from here and applied to the new property, is that what you mean?

yes

the important and the safest thing is to get yourselves registered as the consumers at each let.

but it is a new application via the change to numbers of registered consumers at the proerty for which you ned the land;lords permission, signature and copies of his id card front and back - then there is your e-residency permits copies front and back - the good thing is it can all be done by email.

Thankyou toon, wasnt sure but that has cleared it up

i have had to do this every time (4 times so far) and it is safer - we shouldnt have to, but thats the way it is.

Szia Emese,

as all the others will explain you in Malta it works differently. However if you would like to hear it from a Hungarian's point of view feel free to contact me.

Evi

Hey found the site: https://www.mybill.com.mt/

Maybe you try it and evaluate if the down payment is valid or nor.

the my bill site is free for ten credits (ten uses) but works rather well...

this ine is free to use https://www.smartutilities.com.mt/wps/p … BIS9nQSEh/

Common area electricity bills in block of apartments.
If one is registered as user on the ARMS bill by the landlord and pays the resident rate, what happens with the common parts bill that is shared by all apartments? Is it then automatic that our share of the common parts bill is paid also on resident rates, or is it domestic. We know that one of the apartment occupiers is not/doesn't want to be registered (for devious reasons.) Would this then nullify our claim to resident rates on common parts? Our lease states that we share the costs of common areas but does not distinguish between resident rates for the one and domestic rates for the other.

I believe the common parts is automatically the higher rate on the basis nobody lives there - same for a garage

That's a pity as ours works out quite high, probably because of the lift - the ratio to our personal use is unbalanced, but it sounds as though there is little we can do about it. We will wait for the presentation of the first three month bill (we are paying an estimated figure per month based on the online calculator).

Hi Geoarge,

Would  you be so kind as to send me your "list"? Would be very helpful for me!

Kjnd regards,

Mo

common areas are DOMESTIC.

why is your element of the bill unbalanced - they are normally equally shared amongst the tenant/flats that exist in the property.

Although it has to be said i was once asked to pay more as we were using the lift more as we were on the top floor, and the man who asked us to pay more was on the 1st floor, each of the other tenants on the other floors were also asked to pay more pro rata...on the basis of a calculation that he made floor 1 being elec usage x1 floor 2 usage x2 and ours usage x3.   Naturally i made my comments on the accuracy of such a calculation and the claims were eventually dropped.

Common area electricity bills should be minimal unless there is a lift, and that can cause big issues ! So much so, that some blocks have keys fitted to the lift so people who dont pay cant use the lift. There should be a  written block agreement that specifies how bills for common area utilities are divided.These are often passed onto the tenant, but not always - sometimes the landlord pays.