Keeping matters in the right perspective

It seems that truths about the housing situation in Malta and in Gozo need to be restated at times. Problems there are, and there always will be, but we have to keep matters in their right perspective.

A few facts first. The vast majority in Malta and in Gozo are fantastically well housed, at least as compared to our richer neighbours in Europe. The rate of home ownership is also phenomenally high. We have the largest homes, which also means there is a lot of waste.

Housing also remains a fantastically good investment which also partly explains the rate of over-building and the large number of homes simply built as investment and left empty, with the owners not even bothering to rent them out as the rate at which their investment rises almost acts as a disincentive to do so!

To read therefore from Bishop Nikol Cauchi that "the number of families living in a decent home of their own is relatively low" is surprising indeed. Neither should we portray those who are living in places having old fixed rents as somehow being terribly disadvantaged.

Let us not forget the owners of these buildings, who are responsible for carrying out repairs but who get no return on their investment at all! Many are still unaware of the fact that tenants of these places who have a low income can get much of their repair costs covered by the Housing Authority too. So, they have the double benefit of having a very low rent and, in addition to this, repair grants to help them out when they need to repair their places.

I can assure the bishop that the Housing Authority does, as he has called on us to do, "make a concerted effort to ensure that more people are provided with homes on equitable terms". That is, in fact, our core business and we have built 900 in this last legislature.

We are also repairing existing stock and have taken up urban renewal programmes, such as those underway in Msida, Birkirkara and Floriana.

We have also launched a care and repair service where we literally do all that is necessary for those who are unable to cope with repairs, even if we have to finance all the cost ourselves. To do this well, and to reach those who need such help most, we have enlisted the help of parish priests. We are doing this in Cottonera first, and we are now beginning to do the same in other areas.

Sometimes we are surprised to be told, as we were by community leaders in Kalkara, that no one needs to do such repairs. A quick look at our census shows that there is need for repairs to places all over Malta. So it is surprising when doors are closed to us.

We have launched a campaign asking people to let us know if they are aware of people who need to carry out such repair work in their homes. The response has been very good.

The majority of those who need help appear to be women, either single parents or elderly and single or widowed. Most of them were totally unaware that the Housing Authority provides such a service.

I am also concerned about the bishop's view against renting. Although we try to maximise, in line with government policy, the number of those who can become owners, there remains a number of people for whom renting is the best option.

There is also a huge demand for cheap homes for rent. This demand arises for two reasons. There are those who cannot afford to pay a reasonable rent and others have come to expect too much for free.

Given its funding limitations, the Housing Authority also builds new units for rent (something which had ceased in 1996/8) and we would like to build more. In fact, it is our policy to "maximise the number of units for rent", as well as subsiding rental payments in the private sector although I am firmly of the belief that this should be part of social security and not a Housing Authority scheme.

A word on Gozo where, again, we have a very particular housing situation. So far, the Housing Authority has found it hard to sell its homes at very affordable prices in Gozo. I do appreciate that certain villages have become expensive, as they have become popular investment spots for Maltese and Gozitans alike, but when you consider how many do not bother to sell their homes and how difficult we find it to find Gozitan applicants, I do not think the situation is anything like as bleak as the bishop has painted it.

He asks: "can enough people afford to buy a home?" The answer is still a resounding yes. To the question as to whether we still have many people with housing, employment and social as well as low income needs, the answer is yes too.

Housing, like health, is a people's business. Whatever we do, there will always be a demand for our services. And like people, buildings get old and frail and need looking after too.

The Housing Authority must, in the years to come, concentrate on our existing stock and use it to this country's maximum advantage.

We need to tackle this issue even more in the years to come, while still concentrating on our core business, supplying affordable housing to families and other households who genuinely need our help.

The author is chairman of the Housing Authority.