Is a cohabitation agreement between unmarried partners recognised in Malta?

Malta does not have comprehensive, dedicated legislation specifically regulating cohabiting couples in the way it regulates marriage under the Civil Code, Chapter 16 of the Laws of Malta, meaning cohabiting partners generally do not automatically acquire the same statutory rights and protections, such as the community of acquests regime, that apply to married couples simply by living together, regardless of how long the relationship has lasted. That said, a properly drafted written cohabitation agreement between you and your partner can generally still be enforced as an ordinary contract under general principles of Maltese contract law, provided it meets the basic requirements of a valid contract, meaning you can use such an agreement to clearly define how you intend to handle matters like property ownership, financial contributions, and what should happen to jointly acquired assets if the relationship ends, filling some of the gap left by the absence of automatic statutory protections. Given that cohabitation agreements need to be carefully and clearly drafted to actually achieve what you intend and to be genuinely enforceable if disputed later, it would be worthwhile having a lawyer draft or review this agreement properly rather than relying on an informal document between yourselves.