Dr Angele Rapa

Dr Angele Rapa is a notary public and commissioner for oaths based in Mosta, with more than 20 years of experience. Her office at 2 Triq il-Barrieri serves people buying or selling homes in the town and the villages around it, landlords and tenants who need a written lease, and families putting a will or an inheritance in order. Foreign buyers are among those she works with, and buyers who need a mortgage can speak to Alecta Advisors, mortgage advisors nearby.

She lists the main areas of her work as buying and selling property, loans, leases, wills, successions and property for foreigners, together with affidavits, deeds and the notarisation of documents. The practice appears in our directory of notaries in Malta, and the pages below describe each service in plain English for readers who are new to the Maltese system.

Buying and selling a home

For a buyer, the notary's task is mainly to advise on the legal title of the property. At the first meeting Dr Rapa sets out the steps of the whole purchase and asks about any particular worries. The next step is the promise of sale, the konvenju, which she aims to make balanced and fair to both sides. She then carries out the necessary searches, publishes the deed of sale and registers it with the Public Registry and the Land Registry, and the payment of taxes follows within the legal time limits.

Sellers can also use her help. In most sales the buyer chooses the notary, so she assists the seller by monitoring progress against deadlines, advising on the tax rates and regimes that may apply and representing the seller's interests in both the promise of sale and the final deed. When the seller is not a Maltese citizen, she handles the process with the Inland Revenue Department for the permit that the sale needs. If you are moving to the island, our Malta relocation guide gives the wider context.

Leases and rent registration

A written lease protects both landlord and tenant by recording the agreement clearly, and since January 2010 a lease has had no legal validity unless it is in writing and meets the minimum legal requirements. Dr Rapa drafts lease agreements and offers a package that adds rent registration and the lease attestation form, which is needed only when the tenants are non-EU nationals.

Private rental agreements are overseen by the Housing Authority, and registration is part of the process. The attestation form is the document that third-country nationals need when they change address or renew a residence permit, and it must be completed by the landlord and attested by a lawyer or notary. For tax questions on rental income, the Malta tax guide for UK nationals is a sensible first read.

Donations and emphyteusis

For gifts of property, the notary advises on the taxes involved and on any alternatives, drafts and publishes the contract of donation and registers it and pays the taxes on time.

Emphyteusis, known as ċens, is a feature of Maltese property that surprises many British buyers. The owner (the dominus) grants a property to another person (the emphyteuta), who pays a yearly ground rent and must follow the conditions of the grant. Ground rent can be perpetual, temporary or revisable. A perpetual grant can be redeemed at any time by paying 20 times the ground rent, a temporary grant returns to the owner when its term ends, and a revisable ground rent rises at set intervals, so redemption is possible only in a limited window after each revision. Dr Rapa advises on all of this, drafts grants, prepares redemption contracts and carries out searches on the root of title.

Wills, successions and other documents

She prepares wills and handles successions, which in Maltese are called testmenti and denunzja. Powers of attorney (prokura) and private writings are also on her list. These documents suit people who own property on the island but spend much of the year in the UK.

For businesses that need company, tax or accounting advice beside the notarial work, our featured partner CLA Malta provides those services.

Getting to the office and getting started

The office is at 2 Triq il-Barrieri in Mosta, close to the town centre and the famous rotunda church. Mosta is also the gateway to Mdina and Rabat, so a trip fits well with a day out (families may like Adventure Hub, close by), and our Mdina guide lists what to see nearby, and our things to do in Malta page has more ideas. For a base, see where to stay in Malta.

Appointments are arranged in advance. To begin, use the VisitMalta.co.uk enquiry form on this page, say what you need and we will pass your message to Dr Rapa, who will reply to you directly.