solar
Who Can Get the Malta Solar Grant in 2026, and Who Cannot
The 2026 RES grant is for private individuals, resident in Malta, aged 18 or over, holding their own residential property as owner, emphyteuta, or long leaseholder with more than five years left. Let property is excluded, even where the tenant's use is residential. Anyone in the same household who took a similar grant since 2010 blocks the application. The installation must have no active feed-in tariff allocation.
We publish the working. We do not install anything. How this works
Most quotes you receive will talk about the caps. The caps are the easy part. The part that decides whether you get anything at all is the eligibility list, and it is narrower in 2026 than most people assume. Below is what the scheme documents actually say, including the two rules that disqualify the largest number of Maltese households.
Who can actually apply for the 2026 Malta solar grant?
Private individuals applying for their own residential property. You must be resident in Malta and aged 18 or over on the day you apply. You must hold the property as owner, emphyteuta, or long leaseholder with more than five years left to run. Organisations may apply for communal residences only, and only where they carry out no economic activity.
That is the whole population of eligible applicants. Everything else in this page is a way of being removed from it. There is no separate track for companies, no track for developers, and no track for anyone buying a system for a property they do not hold.
Can landlords get the solar grant in Malta?
No. The grant is not available where the property is used principally for business purposes, and the guidelines state that this includes letting the property on a commercial basis, even if the tenants’ use of the property will be residential. The definition of domestic use expressly excludes use by landlords or developers.
This is the exclusion that catches the most people in Malta, because so much housing stock here is held as rental. A two-bedroom flat let on a twelve-month residential lease is still let on a commercial basis. The tenant lives there domestically. The owner does not. On the wording of the scheme, the owner is out.
If you occupy part of a property and let another part, the test is what the property is used for principally. That is a judgement REWS makes, not your installer, and not this site. Ask REWS in writing before you spend money.
Does a grant somebody else in your household received still block you?
Yes. Anyone who has received a grant for a similar system since 2010 cannot receive another, and that bar applies to the applicant and to any member of the same household. A household with an open grant offer under a similar scheme is also ineligible. One household, one grant, going back sixteen years.
This is the rule nobody puts on a quote. It means the relevant question is not “have I claimed before”. It is “has anyone under this roof claimed since 2010”. A parent who took a PV grant in 2013 can block an adult child living in the same household today. If you moved into a property where a previous grant was taken, check the property history as well as your own.
No public household lookup exists, so the practical step is to ask REWS directly and get the answer in writing before you order anything.
What tenure do you need to hold over the roof?
You need to be the owner, the emphyteuta, or a long leaseholder with more than the durability period remaining, meaning more than five years left on the lease, together with the owner’s consent. Ordinary short-term tenants cannot apply. The tenure has to outlast the equipment’s durability period.
The five-year figure is not arbitrary. It is the durability period the scheme uses. If your interest in the property expires inside that window, the grant is supporting an asset you will not hold, and the application fails on that basis.
Can joint owners apply, and who signs?
Yes. A joint owner may apply on behalf of the other owners, provided the other owners agree. One application is made, not one per owner. In practice this means siblings who inherited a property together, or a couple holding jointly, can proceed with a single applicant, with the agreement of the rest documented.
Note how this interacts with the prior-grant rule. Agreement between joint owners does not reset the household lockout. If any of you sits inside a household that has claimed since 2010, the application is still exposed.
Do communal residences and organisations qualify?
Organisations may apply for communal residences, but only where the organisation is not carrying out an economic activity. That excludes commercial operators. It is aimed at genuinely communal residential settings rather than at businesses that happen to house people. Private individuals remain the main eligible category under the scheme.
If you administer a block of flats, the question is whether the applying body carries out economic activity, and whether the property counts as a communal residence rather than a let. Both need confirming with REWS before any commitment.
Does an existing feed-in tariff allocation stop you?
Yes. The PV installation must have no active feed-in tariff allocation. If a guaranteed feed-in period was previously allocated to that installation, it must have expired. You cannot hold a live tariff allocation and take a new grant on the same installation at the same time.
We are separately verifying the current feed-in tariff rates against the statutory instrument. Rates circulating online are unconfirmed, so we are not printing them here. This page will be updated once they are checked.
What was withdrawn on 13 July 2026?
On 13 July 2026, REWS stopped accepting Part A applications for Option B, covering hybrid or battery inverter with battery, and Option C, covering battery storage only. Standalone battery retrofit and hybrid inverter retrofit for existing PV owners are withdrawn. Battery support now survives only when bundled with a new PV system.
The current Part A form, reference REWS/254/v2-07-07/26, carries only two tick-boxes. If an installer offers you a battery-only grant today, the option they are describing no longer exists.
How much is the grant if you do qualify?
| Element | Grant rate | Per-system cap | Second cap |
|---|---|---|---|
| PV with hybrid inverter | 65% of eligible cost | €3,000 | €645 per kWp |
| Battery storage (only bundled with new PV plus hybrid inverter) | 75% of eligible battery cost | €6,000 | €600 per kWh |
| Maximum combined per household (derived, not printed by REWS) | €9,000 |
Two caps apply to the PV element and the lower one wins. The per-kWp cap binds below 4.651 kWp, because 3,000 divided by 645 is 4.651. Above that size, the flat €3,000 per system cap is what limits you.
Worked example, using an illustrative eligible cost of €6,250 for a 5 kWp system. This cost is an example, not a market price, and we have not verified typical installed prices.
| Step | Figure |
|---|---|
| Eligible cost (VAT inclusive, illustrative) | €6,250 |
| 65% of eligible cost | €4,062.50 |
| Per-kWp cap, 5 x €645 | €3,225 |
| Per-system cap | €3,000 |
| Grant paid (lowest binds) | €3,000 |
| Homeowner pays | €3,250 |
What else can disqualify a claim after you have applied?
You must not claim any tax rebate, deduction, or input VAT credit on the same eligible expenditure. Discounts and offers, cash or in kind, are deducted from eligible cost, as is any extended warranty beyond the standard ten-year warranty, and import duty on overseas purchases. Part A must be submitted before purchase and installation.
Applicants are advised not to enter a binding contractual commitment, or pay any money including a deposit, before receiving a grant offer letter. Once the offer letter arrives, it is valid for eight months, covering installation, commissioning and Part B. Extensions are given only in duly justified cases outside the applicant’s control. No processing period is established at law, though a complete application generally takes about five weeks.
One more thing worth stating plainly, because the advertising in this market says otherwise. VAT on residential solar in Malta is the standard 18%. There is no reduced rate. Any quote showing 0% or 5% VAT on solar in Malta is wrong.
Questions
- I rent out my apartment in Malta. Can I get the solar grant for it?
- No. The 2026 RES scheme excludes property used principally for business purposes, and the guidelines state this includes letting the property on a commercial basis even if the tenants' use of the property will be residential. The definition of domestic use expressly excludes use by landlords and developers. A residential lease does not rescue the application.
- My father claimed a PV grant years ago. Does that affect my application?
- It can. Anyone who received a grant for a similar system since 2010 is ineligible for another, and the rule applies to the applicant and to any member of the same household. If you and your father are in the same household, a 2013 claim still counts against you in 2026. Households with an open grant offer under a similar scheme are also ineligible.
- Can I apply if I am a long leaseholder rather than the owner?
- Yes, if more than the durability period remains on the lease, meaning more than five years, and you have the owner's consent. Owners and emphyteutae also qualify. Short-term tenants cannot apply. The point of the rule is that your interest in the property has to outlast the equipment's durability period.
- Can a battery still be grant-funded on its own in Malta?
- No. On 13 July 2026 REWS stopped accepting Part A applications for Option B, hybrid or battery inverter with battery, and Option C, battery storage only. Standalone battery retrofit and hybrid inverter retrofit for existing PV owners are withdrawn. Battery support now exists only bundled with a new PV system plus hybrid inverter.
- Does an old feed-in tariff on my roof stop a new grant?
- Yes, if it is still live. The installation must have no active feed-in tariff allocation, and any previously allocated guaranteed period must have expired. We are still verifying current feed-in tariff rates against the statutory instrument, so we are not publishing rate figures on this page yet.
- Do I have to wait for the grant offer letter before ordering?
- Part A must be submitted before purchase and installation, and applicants are advised not to enter a binding contractual commitment or pay any money, including a deposit, before receiving the grant offer letter. The offer is then valid for eight months covering installation, commissioning and Part B. A complete application generally takes about five weeks.