Key facts
- AIP permit
- Not required
- Number of properties
- No limit
- Letting
- Freely permitted
- Buyers
- Maltese and foreign — same terms
- Designated by
- Legal Notice
- Added in 2025
- Scirocco Heights, Trident Park
A Special Designated Area (SDA) is a development in which the conditions for buying property are the same for Maltese and foreign buyers. For non-residents that means three freedoms that do not exist elsewhere in Malta: no AIP permit, no limit on the number of properties and freedom to let.
The advantages
- No permit — no application, no minimum-value test, no waiting for approval.
- Several properties — buy one to live in and another to let, or build a portfolio.
- Letting — long lets and, with a Malta Tourism Authority licence, short lets.
- Managed environments — most SDAs offer concierge or security, parking, landscaped common areas and, often, pools, marinas or retail.
The current list
SDAs are designated by Legal Notice, and the list grows over time. Developments currently designated include:
| Development | Location |
|---|---|
| Portomaso | St Julian’s |
| Pender Gardens | St Julian’s |
| Tigné Point | Sliema |
| Fort Cambridge | Sliema |
| Tas-Sellum Residence | Mellieħa |
| SmartCity | Kalkara |
| Madliena Village | Madliena |
| Ta’ Monita | Marsaskala |
| The Hillock | Marsalforn, Gozo |
| Victoria Gardens | Swieqi |
| Tal-General | San Lawrenz, Gozo |
| Forum Residences | Swieqi |
| Fort Chambray | Għajnsielem, Gozo |
| Kempinski Residences | San Lawrenz, Gozo |
| Vista Point | Gozo |
| Scirocco Heights Residences | added by Legal Notice 111 of 2025 |
| Trident Park | Mrieħel, added by Legal Notice 138 of 2025 |
Always confirm that the specific unit you are buying falls within the designated boundary — your notary will verify it.
SDAs and residency programmes
An SDA property can be your qualifying property for the MPRP or the Global Residence Programme, provided it meets the programme’s minimum purchase price or rent. Because SDA owners may let freely, they are also popular with buyers who plan to live in Malta part of the year.
What to check before buying
- Service charges — managed developments carry higher common charges; ask for the last two years’ accounts.
- Rules of the development — letting, pets, alterations and use of amenities.
- Completion status — in newer SDAs, check permits and what “finished” includes; see buying off-plan.
Explore Portomaso and Tigné Point, two of Malta’s best-known SDAs.
