Government should incentivize property owners to utilize vacant property, Malta’s Green Party said on Saturday.
Addressing the press, ADPD referred to the 2021 Census report that revealed that 27.5 per cent of properties on a national level is either empty or barely used.
“Why do permits for new buildings continue to be approved when the number of empty or underutilised houses is equivalent to 6 times the size of Tas-Sliema? What kind of planning is this?” asked ADPD deputy chairperson Carmel Cacopardo.
With more than 80,000 empty or barely utilised properties, Cacopardo pointed out that it did not make sense to continue issuing permits for large-scale development that continued to add to the accumulated number of vacant properties.
“Due to the small size of the country these vacant properties are a huge problem and result in an extra burden on public spending. All these residences are served by roads, electricity, sewage and water services at a substantial cost that could have been used more beneficially in other areas where there are residences that are used continuously,” he said.
ADPD Chairperson Sandra Gauci said the Party had been calling for there to be incentives to entice owners to utilise their property.
In the case of a property that, despite the incentives, is left empty for a long time, she proposed fiscal disincentives to further discourage such owners from leaving their property vacant.
“This will contribute to reducing the price of rents, and also to more reasonable property prices,” she said.
She explained that it made no environmental sense to use land (including agricultural land) for development and subsequently not see this property used.
She added that it also made very little economic sense to invest so many resources without seeking to reap economic benefits.
“Those who persist in keeping their properties unused for a long time must pay tax on the unused property. This tax partially compensates for the expenditure incurred by the country in the creation of ghost towns made up of vacant property,” she said.
A tax on empty property helps to start controlling and calming the property market because it contributes to more properties entering the market: for rent or for sale. An empty property tax is an incentive for the property to be put on the market, rather than keeping it empty and paying for it.