A renovated Palazzo housing eight apartments which are being taken up by four young families with children and four older families, was inaugurated in Valletta yesterday morning.

The families have economical problems and were chosen by the Housing Authority following discussions with non-governmental organisations, including Appogg, to see who were the most vulnerable families.

The families will be taking up their new accommodation as part of the a  community apartments project in July. The apartments are being rented to them at rates subsidised up to 85 per cent by the Housing Authority.

Educational meetings are being held for the families to prepare them for their new experience. The Housing Authority will be studying the project to see how it could be further developed.

The project was one of the authority's targets for 2011.

Minister Chris Said spoke on schemes launched by the government which revolved around affordable housing.

He noted that 600 people had responded to a recent call by the authority for the private sector to rent properties to the government for a 10-year-period. The authority was currently seeing if the applicants satisfied the requirements.

He noted that there were 800 applicants for 125 apartment in an affordable housing scheme. Such response, he said, necessitated the launch of another scheme in the coming days to help young and single people buy their first home.