Cohabitation

Not every couple marries. Malta’s Cohabitation Act (Cap. 614) gives couples who live together a legal framework, if they make it official. This page explains the basics. Article numbers refer to the Cohabitation Act unless stated.

What cohabitation means in law

A “cohabitant” is a person who continually and habitually lives with another person in the cohabitation home as a couple, and who has entered into a public deed of cohabitation with that person, provided they are not already legally bound to someone else (article 2). So the Act’s protections come from a deed made before a notary. See the cohabitation agreement and certificate.

Without a deed, a couple have only limited rights. See below.

In short

• A deed is needed. It takes effect between you from the day it is published, and against other people once it is registered in the Public Registry (article 3).
• Some people cannot enter a deed. For example, anyone under eighteen, close relatives, and anyone who is married, in a civil union or already bound by another deed (article 4).
• You get rights and duties. These include a right to live in the cohabitation home, equal responsibilities, a duty to support each other and your children, and many of the same rights as married people in labour law and social security. See rights and duties.
• You can share certain property by including a community of assets in the deed. If you do not, it is presumed excluded (articles 8 and 10).
• It can end by agreement or on one partner’s request, with the court deciding practical questions, much like a separation. See ending a cohabitation.
• Marriage ends it. If two cohabitants marry each other, or enter a civil union, the deed ends from that day (article 25).

If you live together without a deed

If you have lived together for at least two years and your relationship is not regulated by any law, you can apply to the court within twelve months of the relationship ending, or the other person’s death, for: the right to stay in the common home for a period to allow you to find somewhere else to live; and compensation for any financial loss you suffered where the other person has enriched themselves at your expense (article 27). The rights to stay in the home end if you marry, enter a civil union or start cohabiting with someone else. If the other person has died, you can apply for the right to stay in the home for a time only where they owned it in full (or by emphyteusis), alone or jointly with you (article 27).

Children

Disputes between unmarried parents about care, custody, residence, access and maintenance of their children go through the Family Court’s mediation and court process, in the same way as for married parents (Family Court Proceedings Regulations, 2026, regulation 39). See children.

Getting started

If you are thinking about a deed, or your cohabitation is ending, the first step is a conversation. We can explain what a deed would give you, and what it would not.