Town-house or villa wanted for 1 year rental starting Sept 2021

Are you looking at Malta or Gozo?  Have a look at the housing section on here which may give you an idea of rental costs.  You can look at agents sites but many are not kept upto date so you will probably be better off waiting until you get here then go to the agents, whatever you do do not agree on anything without viewing.  Any accommodation with a pool will be expensive even on Gozo.
Good luck

Thanks for the advice - much appreciated. We're looking at Malta rather than Gozo. I've already looked through the housing section and there are a couple that might be suitable. I've also registered with a couple of agents, but take your point about their websites being hopelessly out of date. Fortunately, we got an introduction to one that has been very helpful. I would much prefer to go through an agent particularly given that we're new to Malta. However, it seems going direct to the owner is quite common. I get the impression that there are plenty of properties available at present, so perhaps we can negotiate on that point as the fee is typically only one month's rent split 50-50 between tenant and landlord.

There are probably more properties available as in a normal year they would probably be holiday lets.
It may not be easy finding a quiet area in Malta.

Fortunately at my age my hearing isn't what it was so there wouldn't be a problem unless we are next door to a building site, or AirBNB party house. However, point taken.

A property fitting your description in Malta is not going to be cheap, even on Gozo you are looking at aeou s ?1300 - ?2000 a month.
Agents are unlikely to negotiate on their fee although you may be able to get the Landlord to pay some or all of it, but I doubt it.
To get an idea of the market and see property listed mostly by owners, try going on Facebook and then in to Facebook Marketplace (little house symbol at the top, if your not familier with it.) and do a search on there.
Just out of interest, what is a GRP

Thanks for the advice. I appreciate that we're going to have to pay for somewhere nice to live, but it's still much cheaper than London or Zurich ;-)

I wasn't expecting the agent to reduce their fee, more hoping to persuade the landlord to engage an agent and pay their share of the fee - i.e. 50% of the first month's rent. I can't understand the reluctance of landlords to go through an agent, particularly as keeping their place empty for just two extra weeks would justify the cost. I have rented-out my own properties from time to time in several countries and would never consider dealing directly with my tenants. It's just too much hassle. It's also unattractive on the tenant's side as the agent will (or should) sort-out any issues in a professional way. Other posts suggest that dealing directly with owners can be problematic. For example, would an an owner who wants to save money by not engaging an agent be likely to replace a broken washing machine with a new one, or supply something second-hand after months of nagging? I am sure that dealing with an agent brings its own problems, but at least they are running a business and have their reputation to consider. I'm new to Malta so it makes sense to go through a reputable agent, yes?
 
GRP is Global Residency Programme - i.e. the way UK citizens get to live in Malta post-brexit. The firm that organized our GRP provided an introduction to an agent who seems good. That's the way the world goes round.