Which Malta developments are really SDAs? The 2026 list

Two apartments, two brochures, the same three letters on both: SDA. For a buyer from outside the EU, that label decides whether you need a permit, whether you may own more than one unit, and whether you may let the property at all. It is worth knowing that the label on the brochure is not the one that counts. The one that counts is printed in the Government Gazette.

In short: a development is a Special Designated Area only if its site appears in the First Schedule of the Immovable Property (Acquisition by Non-Residents) Act, Chapter 246, through a legal notice with a site plan attached. The notary checks your unit against that plan, not against the project name. Below is the list as it stands in 2026, the names that most often cause confusion, and what to do when a developer says a new phase is "pending".

What an SDA gives a foreign buyer, and where its usefulness ends, is covered in our earlier guide to buying in a Malta SDA in 2026. This article is about something narrower: which projects are actually on the list.

Why the brochure is not the test

An SDA is created when the Minister for Finance issues an order, published as a legal notice, adding a precisely drawn area to the First Schedule. The notice carries a plan with the boundary outlined. Everything inside the line is designated. Everything outside it is not, however it is marketed.

That matters most where developers grow. A successful project buys the plot next door, builds a new phase and sells it under the same name. Unless a further notice, usually called an extension, moves the boundary to include that plot, the new phase is ordinary property for acquisition purposes.

The gazetted SDAs in 2026

These are the zones on the First Schedule as consolidated on legislation.mt, with the name buyers tend to use. Where we cover the project, the last column links to it.

Name buyers use	Name in the Schedule	Locality	Zanzi Prime
Portomaso	Portomaso, with Extensions I and II	St Julians	View
Tigne Point	Manoel Island / Tigne Point	Sliema	View
Fort Cambridge	Fort Cambridge Zone, Tigne	Sliema	View
Pendergardens, Mercury Towers	Pender Place and Mercury House Site, Extensions I to VI	St Julians	View
The Shoreline	Within SmartCity	Kalkara	View
St Angelo Mansions	Cottonera Development	Birgu	View
Madliena Village	Madliena Village Complex	Madliena	View
Ta Monita	Ta Monita Residence	Marsascala	View
Verdala Terraces	Verdala Terraces	Rabat	View
Metropolis	Metropolis Plaza	Gzira	-
Tas-Sellum, Southridge	Tas-Sellum Residence; Southridge	Mellieha	-
Mistra Heights	Mistra Heights	St Pauls Bay	-
Targa Square	Targa Square	Naxxar	-
The Quad	Quad Business Towers, with Extension I	Mriehel	-
ORA Residences	The ORA Residences (L.N. 285 of 2023)	St Julians	View
Scirocco Heights	Scirocco Heights Residences (L.N. 111 of 2025)	Birzebbuga	View
Trident Park	Trident Park (L.N. 138 of 2025)	Mriehel	-
Eden Place	Eden Place (L.N. 7 of 2026)	St Julians	-
Fort Chambray	Fort Chambray	Ghajnsielem, Gozo	View
Kempinski Residences	Kempinski Residences	San Lawrenz, Gozo	View
Vista Point	Vista Point	Marsalforn, Gozo	View

The list changes. Scirocco Heights and Trident Park were added in 2025 and Eden Place in early 2026. Before a deposit, ask your notary to confirm the current consolidated Schedule on the file.

Four names that cause most of the confusion

The Shoreline

You will not find "The Shoreline" in the Schedule. It is a brand. What the Schedule contains is SmartCity, designated in 2007, and The Shoreline is built within that footprint. The notary maps the unit back to the SmartCity plan. The practical point is simple: the designation belongs to the site, so ask for the SmartCity notice and the plan, not for a document with "Shoreline" on it.

Pendergardens and Mercury Towers

Two projects, two developers, one statutory zone. The Schedule designated the Pender Place and Mercury House site as a single area and has grown it through six extensions. Each extension added land as the projects expanded. If a unit sits on land that arrived with a later extension, it is the date of that extension that matters, not the date the first tower opened.

Fort Chambray

Fort Chambray was designated in 1993, long before the modern template. The order does not speak of phases. It designates the property outlined in red on a plan attached to a 1993 deed. Any unit inside that historic boundary is covered; anything outside it is not, whatever the current phase is called.

Gozo generally

Gozo has three designated zones: Fort Chambray, Kempinski Residences in San Lawrenz and Vista Point in Marsalforn. If a Gozitan project outside those three is described as an SDA, ask for the legal notice number. If there is no number, there is no designation.

When a developer says "SDA pending"

A new phase is sometimes sold while the developer's application to extend the zone is still with the Ministry. Until the extension is published in the Gazette, the notary cannot treat that unit as designated.

That does not mean you cannot reserve. It means the konvenju should make the sale conditional on publication of the extension before the final deed, with your deposit returned if it is not published by a stated date. Signing the final deed first, on the promise that the status will follow, leaves a non-EU buyer holding an ordinary property with ordinary restrictions.

What the notary actually checks

The notary works from three documents: the legal notice that designated the area, the plan annexed to it, and the title and site plan of your unit. The question is whether your unit falls inside the line. Renders, marketing names and sales-office maps are not part of that exercise, which is exactly why a careful buyer asks for the notice before asking for the price list.

Questions buyers ask about specific projects

Is The Shoreline an SDA?

The Shoreline is not a name in the First Schedule. It sits within the SmartCity designation, which is. The notary confirms the unit against the SmartCity plan.

Are Pendergardens and Mercury Towers the same SDA?

Yes. Both sit on the Pender Place and Mercury House site, a single designated area extended six times.

Is every phase of a known SDA automatically designated?

No. Only land inside the published boundary is designated. A new plot needs its own extension notice.

Which projects in Gozo are SDAs?

Fort Chambray, Kempinski Residences and Vista Point.

What are the newest SDAs?

Scirocco Heights Residences (L.N. 111 of 2025), Trident Park (L.N. 138 of 2025) and Eden Place (L.N. 7 of 2026).

Can I sign for a unit in a phase that is "pending SDA approval"?

You can sign a konvenju conditional on the extension being published before the deed. Do not sign the final deed until it is published.

Is Madliena Village the same as the Madliena villas?

No, and it is a common mistake. We explain the difference in our note on Madliena villas in 2026.

A quiet word before you view

If a particular building has caught your eye, tell us its name and, if you have it, the unit. We will find the notice, check the boundary and tell you plainly whether the three letters on the brochure are the three letters in the Gazette. You can browse every designated area we represent on our SDA page, or speak to someone on our Prime team.