Is a verbal agreement to sell property in Malta legally binding?

No, generally not for property specifically. While ordinary contracts can sometimes be validly formed verbally under general Maltese contract law principles, the transfer of immovable property in Malta specifically requires a public deed executed before a notary to actually transfer legal title, and even the preliminary binding stage of a property sale, the konvenju, is generally expected to be in proper written form to be genuinely enforceable as a binding preliminary agreement, meaning a purely verbal discussion, even one where a price was generally agreed, would typically not constitute a legally binding and enforceable agreement to sell your property under Maltese property law. This is an important protection for property owners specifically, recognising that property transactions are significant enough that the law generally requires proper written formality, rather than allowing a casual verbal conversation to potentially bind someone to sell their property, meaning you would generally not be legally obligated to proceed with a sale based solely on an informal verbal discussion, regardless of what the other party may now be claiming. That said, if you do genuinely wish to proceed with selling to this person, or want to be clear that you don't consider yourself bound and wish to end the discussion, it would be worth formalising your actual position clearly in writing, and if the other party continues to assert a binding agreement exists, consulting a lawyer to properly address their claim would be a sensible precaution.