Understanding what you are buying
Water and Electricity in a New Apartment in Malta: Who Brings What
The short answer
Many buyers assume the developer must hand over a flat with water and electricity connected. We have found no Maltese law that says so. The Enemalta page on becoming a customer says nothing about developers or new buildings 1. What you get depends on what your promise of sale and its specification say.
That matters more because there is no legal definition of "shell form". One developer's shell may include a meter and a water pipe to your door. Another's may stop at bare walls. Our guide What is shell form? explains why the term means different things on different sites.
The promise of sale is the agreement where this gets fixed. It is covered by article 1357 of the Civil Code 5. See our promise of sale guide for how it works. If services are not written into it, you may have little to point to later.
To understand what to ask for, it helps to split the supply into three layers.
Layer 1: from the national network to the building
A new electricity or water service is applied for in writing to ARMS Ltd, a subsidiary of Enemalta and the Water Services Corporation (WSC) 2. Electricity uses the Ae Application Form with the listed documents, and the fees are shown on the forms 1. Water applications need the additional documents WSC and ARMS require 3.
Regulated fees (as published on 30 October 2026)
For electricity, under Regulation 14 of the Electricity Supply Regulations 2:
- Single-phase, up to 40 A, within 150 m of a suitable low-voltage supply: €300.
- Three-phase, up to 60 A per phase, within 150 m: €900.
- Beyond 150 m, the applicant pays for the extension, with a minimum of €430 for single-phase.
- Bulk supplies over 60 A per phase also pay a high-voltage contribution of €81.52 per kVA.
For water, under the Water Supply Regulations 3:
- €345 for one service connection for a residential supply.
- €760 for any other supply.
- Services longer than 7 m cost an extra €23.29 per metre.
- If the main pipe must be diverted, the requester pays.
These are the figures REWS published when we checked on 30 October 2026. Check the current figures with ARMS before you rely on them.
One service per building, unless authorised
This is the point most buyers miss. Physically interconnected buildings, including flats, are "provided with only one electricity service unless otherwise authorised by the Chairman" 2. Where one development has several consumers, the connection method depends on the services each customer needs, the total demand and the distance from the network 2. Water works the same way. Interconnected buildings get only one connection "unless otherwise authorised by the Water Services Corporation" 3.
So in a block of flats, the developer's application and design decide how each flat ends up supplied. You cannot assume your flat will have its own connection just because you own it.
Timing
Once an electricity application is processed and fees are paid, Enemalta aims to supply "as soon as possible within 21 days", "as long as no additional network development works are required" 1. If the site is outside network reach, or capacity must be expanded, it takes longer. Enemalta then gives "a quotation for the required expenses within 30 business days" 1. That quotation is a separate cost on top of the standard fee. Connection works are done by the distribution system operator unless the applicant agrees to do part, which applies to bulk supplies and substations 2.
Layer 2: the shared parts of the block
Between the street connection and your front door sit the shared installations. A secondary summary of the Condominium Act (Cap. 398) says that, unless the deed provides otherwise, parts intended for common use are treated as common. It adds that "lifts, wells, cisterns, drains and shared service installations are also generally common" "up to the point where they branch to serve one unit exclusively" 4.
We have not checked the text of the Act itself, so treat this as the general position only. Ask your notary to confirm it against your deed.
The meter also needs a home. Enemalta requires the customer to provide "an adequate space to install the main fuse box, the electricity meter", "as close to the property's entrance as possible" 1. In a block, that usually means a meter area near the entrance. Ask where yours will be and whether space is planned for every flat.
Layer 3: inside your flat
In shell form, the inside of the flat is usually yours to finish. That normally includes the wiring, sockets, distribution board, plumbing, water heater and bathroom and kitchen connections. Check your specification, because some developers include more than others. Electrics and plumbing are part of your finishing budget. Our guide on what it costs to finish a shell covers this in more detail.
Who usually pays what? Not settled
We could not find any source that says who customarily pays the ARMS connection or meter fees on a new apartment, developer or buyer. It varies by contract. Do not assume either way, and do not rely on what an agent says is "normal". Get it written into the promise of sale.
Other gaps we want to be clear about:
- The Condominium Act text was not loaded. The common-parts rule above rests on a secondary summary.
- We found no current source on developers' temporary building supplies during construction.
- The fees above are as published on 30 October 2026. Check them with ARMS.
Worked example
Say you buy a two-bedroom flat in a new block. The promise of sale says "services to the building". Nothing more.
If the developer arranged a separate single-phase supply and water connection for your flat, the published standard fees would be €300 for electricity and €345 for water, €645 in total 2 3. If the water service ran 10 m, the 3 m beyond the 7 m allowance would add 3 × €23.29, or €69.87 3.
But "services to the building" does not say whether your flat gets its own meter, who applies, or who pays. It also does not say what happens if Enemalta needs network works and issues a separate quotation 1. Each of those could become your cost or your delay. Clear wording up front avoids the argument later.
Questions to put in writing before you sign
Ask the developer to answer these in the promise of sale or its specification:
- Are water, electricity and drainage brought to the door of my unit, or only to the meter room or building entrance?
- Will my flat have its own electricity meter and water connection? Who applies to ARMS, and when?
- Is the supply single-phase or three-phase?
- Who pays the ARMS connection fees, any extension or extra-length charges, and any network works quotation?
- Where will my meter and main fuse box be installed?
- Is the final deed, or completion, tied to services being in place and working?
- Which service pipes and cables are common parts, and where does my exclusive part begin? Ask your notary to check this against the deed.
Our shell form buyer's checklist has more questions to raise at the same time. We are not lawyers or notaries. Your notary is the right person to check the final wording.
Next steps
Once you know where the developer's work stops, you can budget for the rest. Our finishing budget calculator includes electrics and plumbing, using rates from Turnkey.mt's published rate card. The cost-to-own calculator on the same page covers duty. When you are ready to price the work properly, use Get finishing quotes to compare offers from tradespeople.
Questions people ask
Does the developer have to bring water and electricity to my new apartment in Malta?
None of the sources we checked set a legal duty on developers. The Enemalta and REWS consumer pages say nothing about developers or new buildings. In practice it depends on what your promise of sale and its specification say, so get it written there and ask your notary to check the wording.
How much does ARMS charge for a new residential electricity and water connection?
As published by REWS on 30 October 2026, a single-phase electricity connection up to 40 A within 150 m of a suitable low-voltage supply costs €300. A three-phase connection up to 60 A per phase within 150 m costs €900. One residential water service connection costs €345, plus €23.29 per metre for services longer than 7 m. Check the current figures with ARMS before you rely on them.
Will each flat in a block get its own electricity and water connection?
Not automatically. REWS says physically interconnected buildings, including flats, get only one electricity service unless the Chairman authorises otherwise, and only one water connection unless the Water Services Corporation authorises otherwise. How each flat ends up supplied depends on the developer's application and design, so ask in writing.
Who usually pays the ARMS connection and meter fees on a new apartment?
No source we checked settles this. It varies by contract. Ask the developer to state in the promise of sale who applies to ARMS and who pays each fee.
Are the water cistern and drains in my block common parts?
A secondary summary of the Condominium Act says cisterns, drains and shared service installations are generally common up to the point where they branch to serve one unit exclusively, unless the deed provides otherwise. We have not checked the Act text itself, so have your notary confirm this against your deed.
Sources
- Enemalta plc, Becoming an Enemalta customer. · checked 30 Oct 2026
- Regulator for Energy and Water Services (REWS), Consumer information: Electricity. · checked 30 Oct 2026
- Regulator for Energy and Water Services (REWS), Consumer information: Water. · checked 30 Oct 2026
- All About Malta (secondary summary of the Condominium Act, Cap. 398), Malta condominium and common parts: what owners should check. · checked 30 Oct 2026
- Legislation Malta, Civil Code (Cap. 16), article 1357 (promise to sell). · checked 22 Oct 2026
General information, not legal, tax or financial advice. Ask your notary, advocate or perit about your own purchase. Provenance: drafted with an AI model (Claude, Anthropic) from the sources listed, and edited for this site.