Chapter 614 – Cohabitation Act
What is this act about?
Din il-liġi tirregola l-koabitazzjonijiet f'Malta, billi tistabbilixxi l-qafas legali għal persuni li jgħixu flimkien bħala koppja u li jixtiequ jirregolaw ir-relazzjoni tagħhom permezz ta' att pubbliku. Hija tistabbilixxi drittijiet u dmirijiet għall-koabitanti u tipprovdi għall-istabbiliment u x-xoljiment ta' tali arranġamenti.
Who it applies to: Persuni li jgħixu flimkien bħala koppja u li jixtiequ jirregolaw ir-relazzjoni tagħhom legalment; Persuni li diġà qed jikkoabitaw u jixtiequ jkunu rregolati minn din il-liġi.
At a glance
- Country
- Malta
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- legislation.mt
- Text retrieved
- Explanation updated
What does this act regulate?
- L-istabbiliment ta' koabitazzjoni permezz ta' att pubbliku.
- Il-komunità ta' assi bejn il-koabitanti, inkluż id-dar tal-koabitazzjoni u oġġetti mobbli.
- Drittijiet u dmirijiet bażiċi tal-koabitanti, bħad-dritt ta' abitazzjoni u d-deċiżjonijiet dwar il-kura medika.
- Il-proċeduri għax-xoljiment tal-att pubbliku ta' koabitazzjoni.
Who does this act apply to?
- Persuni li jgħixu flimkien bħala koppja u li jixtiequ jirregolaw ir-relazzjoni tagħhom legalment.
- Persuni li diġà qed jikkoabitaw u jixtiequ jkunu rregolati minn din il-liġi.
What are the key points?
- Il-koabitazzjoni trid tiġi rregolata permezz ta' att pubbliku ta' koabitazzjoni biex ikollha effett legali.
- L-att pubbliku jkun null u bla effett jekk wieħed mill-partijiet ikun taħt it-18-il sena, ikun diġà miżżewweġ jew f'unjoni ċivili, jew ikun marbut b'att pubbliku ta' koabitazzjoni preċedenti.
- Il-koabitanti jistgħu jagħżlu li jinkludu komunità ta' assi, li tinkludi d-dar tal-koabitazzjoni akkwistata wara l-att pubbliku u oġġetti mobbli speċifiċi.
- Il-koabitanti għandhom drittijiet bħad-dritt ta' abitazzjoni fid-dar tal-koabitazzjoni u drittijiet relatati max-xogħol u l-familja, simili għal dawk ta' persuni miżżewġin jew f'unjoni ċivili, iżda eskluż id-dritt ta' leave biex jakkumpanja sieħeb għal korsijiet sponsorjati mill-gvern barra l-pajjiż.
- F'każ ta' mewt ta' koabitant, is-superstiti għandu dritt ta' abitazzjoni għal tnax (12) -il xahar fuq id-dar tal-koabitazzjoni.
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COHABITATION
CHAPTER 614
COHABITATION ACT AN ACT to repeal the Cohabitation Act, Cap. 571 of the Laws of Malta and to regulate cohabitations and to provide for other matters dealing with them or ancillary to them.
5th June, 2020 ACT XXVII of 2020, as amended by Act XXII of 2025.
ARRANGEMENT OF THE ACT
PART I
PART II
PART III
PART IV
PART V
PART VI
PART VII
SCHEDULE Preliminary Establishment of a cohabitation Community of assets between cohabitants Basic rights and duties Dissolution of the public act of cohabitation General provisions Transitory provisions Certificate of cohabitation Articles 1-2 3-9 10-12 13-16 17-24 25-29 30-32
PART I
Preliminary
Art. 1
The short title of this Act is the Cohabitation Act.
Short title.
Art. 2
In this Act, unless the context otherwise requires:
Interpretation. "cohabitant" means a person who is continually and habitually living with another person in the cohabitation home as a couple, and who enters into a public deed of cohabitation with the other person, provided that he is not already legally bound to another person; "cohabitation home" means that home within which the cohabitants live together, belonging to either one of the cohabitants or to both of them, in whichever portion, and whether or not they possess it by title of lease or any other title, whether jointly or separately; "community" shall have the meaning assigned to it in Part III; "Court" means the Civil Court (Family Section) or any other Court which from time to time, shall have the competence to decide on family matters; "dependent child" means the children of the cohabitants, or of any one of the cohabitants, or in regard to whom any one of COHABITATION them is acting in loco parentis, and who still have the right to receive maintenance from the said cohabitants: Provided that in loco parentis refers to the cohabitant who acts in loco parentis with regard to another person’s child, by reason of the cohabitation of such person with a parent of that child, where the other parent of that child shall have, at any time before or during the cohabitation, died or was declared as an absentee according to the provisions of Title VII of Book First of the Civil Code, or is unknown: Provided also that this shall be without prejudice to the obligations of the natural parents of the child and shall in any case be without prejudice to the provisions of article 149 of the Civil Code. "Minister" means the Minister responsible for justice; "notary" means a public official vested with all the powers conferred to him by the Notarial Profession and Notarial Archives Act; "Regulation on registered partnerships" means Council Regulation (EU) 2016/1104 of the 24 June 2016 implementing enhanced cooperation in the area of jurisdiction, applicable law and the recognition and enforcement of decisions in matters of the property consequences of registered partnerships.
PART II
Establishment of a cohabitation Cohabitation by means of a public deed between the parties.
Art. 3
Nullity of the public deed. Amended by: XXII.2025.14.
Art. 4
COHABITATION (e) persons, one of whom is unable to give his consent for the public deed due to civil interdiction or incapacitation, or the lack of the use of reason; (f) persons, one of whom, or both, who are married or are in a civil union, either between themselves or with third parties, whether in Malta, or in any other country; (g) persons, one of whom, or both, who are bound by a previous public deed of cohabitation in accordance with this Act, together or with third parties; (h) persons, or any one of them, who are bound by a registered or unilaterally declared cohabitation in accordance with the Cohabitation Act, together or with third parties; (i) persons, or any one of them, who are in a relationship with third parties which is already regulated by a foreign law that provides for the rights and obligations between themselves, irrespective of its title, shall be null and void.
Art. 5
Formalities of the public deed.
Provided that the document equivalent to a free status COHABITATION certificate shall be issued by the competent authority in that country which issued the said document.
Applicability of the Regulation on registered partnerships.
Art. 6
The provisions of the Regulation on registered partnerships shall apply to cohabitations enrolled by virtue of a public deed in terms of this Act.
Choice of applicable law.
Art. 7
The inclusion or exclusion of Part III.
Art. 8
In the public deed of cohabitation, the parties shall decide upon and declare, the applicability of Part III:
Provided that if the parties fail to make such a declaration, it shall be presumed that the parties intended to exclude the application of COHABITATION the said Part.
Art. 9
Amendments to the public deed. Provided that in any case, the Court shall ensure that there is nothing in the amendments that runs contrary to the best interest of the dependent children, or that puts any one of the cohabitants in a vulnerable situation, as the case may be.
PART III
Community of assets between cohabitants
Art. 10
Community of assets between cohabitants.
Art. 11
Provided that the said cohabitation home shall not be included in the community of assets if it was transferred to either of the cohabitants under any title before the cohabitation, notwithstanding that such cohabitant may have been vested with the possession of the property only after the cohabitation:
Provided also that the said home shall not be included in the community of assets when it was transferred to either of the cohabitants by donation or succession, before or after the deed of cohabitation; and What constitutes the community of assets.
COHABITATION (b) movables found in the cohabitation home, acquired after the public deed of cohabitation, even when such acquisition is made in the name of one cohabitant only, unless those movables were given to either of the cohabitants by a donation, personal gift or devolved upon them by succession from third parties:
Provided that in this article, ''movables'' shall include the ornamental and decorative movables kept at the cohabitation home, and shall exclude moneys, securities, vehicles, boats, and any movable which is purchased with the purpose of being used exclusively by one cohabitant.
Applicability.
Art. 12
Articles 1322, 1323 and 1325 to 1333 (both inclusive) of the Civil Code shall apply mutatis mutandis, limitedly to the community of assets between the cohabitants in terms of article 11.
PART IV
Basic rights and duties Rights of cohabitants.
Art. 13
COHABITATION (e) without prejudice to the provisions of the Civil Code shall have, in the event that one of the cohabitants dies during the cohabitation, the right of habitation for twelve (12) months over the cohabitation home, where the said cohabitation home is held in full ownership or emphyteusis by the deceased cohabitant, either separately or jointly with the surviving cohabitant:
Provided that, this right of habitation shall cease, if the survivor contracts a marriage, civil union or enters into cohabitation with another person:
Provided also that, the right conferred in this paragraph shall subsist even where such right has the effect of reducing during the said period, the reserved portion due to any other person; (f) shall have the right to be entitled to noncontributory social assistance when the cohabitant is a person, who in the opinion of the Director of Social Services is living with the head of the family, as if they were spouses in marriage in accordance with article 30 of the Social Security Act; (g) shall have the right to a widow’s pension under articles 31 to 43 (both inclusive) of the Social Security Act; (h) shall have the right upon the death of the other cohabitant, to apply for a retirement pension if he had been, or was entitled to be maintained by the deceased cohabitant under article 46 of the Social Security Act; (i) shall have the right to payment of an age pension when both cohabitants qualify under article 66 of the Social Security Act; (j) shall have the right to receive social benefits as a foster carer in accordance with article 76A of the Social Security Act; (k) shall have the right to sickness assistance when the cohabitant is living with the head of the family during a period when such sickness assistance is being paid, or could be paid; (l) shall have the right to unemployment benefit and to special unemployment benefit if the cohabitant is maintaining the other cohabitant in accordance with article 30 of the Social Security Act; (m) shall have the right to maternity benefit and maternity leave benefit in accordance with articles 71 and 72 of the Social Security Act; COHABITATION (n) shall have the right to the supplementary allowance under article 73 of the Social Security Act; (o) shall have the right to children’s allowance under articles 76, 80, 81 and 82 of the Social Security Act; (p) shall have the right to allowance in respect of children in care under articles 76A, 80, 81 and 82 of the Social Security Act; (q) shall have the right to an allowance for disabled children under articles 77, 80, 81 and 82 of the Social Security Act; (r) shall have the right to have their dependent children live with the cohabitees in the cohabitation home, as the case may be, unless otherwise provided by an order of the competent Court.
Reciprocal rights and duties of cohabitants.
Art. 14
Provided that this duty of the cohabitants shall cease upon the dissolution of cohabitation.
Duty of cohabitants towards children.
Art. 15
Art. 16
PART V
Dissolution of the Cohabitation
Art. 17
Dissolution of the cohabitation.
Art. 18
Unilateral request for dissolution.
Provided that, without prejudice to the provisions of this COHABITATION article and of article 14, the other cohabitant may put forward all those pleas which may be made in a cause for separation.
Reconciliation pendente lite.
Art. 19
The action for dissolution of the cohabitation shall be extinguished by the reconciliation of the cohabitants.
Death of either of the cohabitants.
Art. 20
The death of either of the cohabitants shall extinguish the action for dissolution, even though said death takes place subsequent to the request.
Dissolution of cohabitation by mutual consent.
Art. 21
Order of the Court regarding the custody of children.
Art. 22
Applicability of S.L. 12.20.
Art. 23
The provisions of the Civil Court (Family Section), the First Hall of the Civil Court and the Court of Magistrates (Gozo) (Superior Jurisdiction) (Family Section) Regulations applicable to cases of personal separation, shall apply mutatis mutandis to any action filed in accordance to this Part.
Effects on third parties.
Art. 24
The dissolution of the cohabitation shall only be operative with regard to third parties from the day on which the judgement or the COHABITATION public deed, as the case may be, shall have been enrolled in the Public Registry.
PART VI
General Provisions
Art. 25
General provisions.
Art. 26
None of the provisions of this Act shall prejudice the rights of third parties in relation to any cohabitant.
Rights of third parties.
Art. 27
Right of action for de facto cohabitations. (a) the right of habitation in the common home, for a period that shall be determined by the Court, limitedly to be given time for the purposes of finding an alternative residence; or (b) where the other person is deceased, the right of habitation in the common home, for a period that shall be determined by the Court, when the said common home is held in full ownership or emphyteusis by the deceased person, either separately or jointly with the surviving person, limitedly to be given time for the purposes of finding an alternative residence:
Provided that the right conferred in this paragraph shall subsist even where such right has the effect of reducing, during the said period, the reserved portion due to any other person; (c) the right to be compensated for any patrimonial loss which that person may have suffered, where the other person has enriched himself to their detriment, in accordance with articles 1028A and 1028B of the Civil Code.
Conflict of interest.
Art. 28
Wherever in the Laws of Malta it is considered that there is, or may be a conflict of interest due to affinity between two persons, in any circumstance, this shall be construed as applying also to the cohabitants.
Power of the Minister to make regulations.
Art. 29
The Minister may make regulations to implement and to give better effect to the provisions of this Act, and without prejudice to the generality of the foregoing, may provide for any consequential matter, incidental to or connected to the provisions of this Act.
PART VII
Transitory Provisions Applicability.
Art. 30
Immediately after the entry into force of this Act, the provisions of the Cohabitation Act, shall be revoked, provided that: (a) the provisions of the Cohabitation Act shall remain in effect for matters concerning rights acquired in a de facto cohabitation; and (b) the provisions of the Cohabitation Act providing for cohabitations constituted by means of a unilateral declaration shall remain in effect and shall be applicable limitedly to cohabitations which were constituted by virtue of a unilateral declaration registered prior to the entry into force of this Act.
Cohabitations constituted by virtue of a contract.
Art. 31
This Act shall have no effect on those cohabitations constituted by virtue of a contract which were registered prior to the entry into force of the said Act. Such cohabitations shall remain to be regulated by the dispositions which were in effect at the time when they were constituted and registered.
Deletion of Act XV of 2017.
Art. 32
Without prejudice to the provisions of this Part, the Cohabitation Act is hereby being repealed, without prejudice to anything done or omitted to be done thereunder.
COHABITATION SCHEDULE (Article 5)