Digitalisation refers to a digital transformation process that integrates digital technologies into all areas of an organisation. But it is much more than just using technology. It’s a transformation across the entire organization, affecting how processes are managed, how teams collaborate, and how strategies are formed to get the most out of digital tools.

The Housing Authority has embarked on an ambitious digitalisation process. At its core, our strategy is based on three pillars. First, we aim to embrace a ‘digital first’ approach by leveraging technology to enhance efficiency and deliver better customer experiences. Second, we are striving to automate processes as much as possible, which will help us streamline operations and optimise the allocation of scarce resources. And finally, we are upgrading our data management infrastructure to facilitate data insights that empower informed and evidence-based decisions. 

What does this mean in practice?

We have invested in a document management system and started the arduous task of scanning to convert physical documents—sometimes going back decades—into digital form. This improves document accessibility and searchability, frees up resources from sections responsible for tracking the movement of physical files, and eliminates the risk of misplaced files when transferred from one section to another. The first schemes digitised were the Housing Benefit Scheme (HBS), which provides rent relief to low-income households, and the grant to first-time buyers. Concurrently, the Authority simplified the rent subsidy process to make it less bureaucratic for the beneficiaries.

In parallel, we have established a cross-departmental team on Data Governance to integrate the information collected in separate departments into one central repository. This enabled us to develop internal dashboards that illustrate this information in a visual and easy-to-digest form, with key performance indicators for each section. These dashboards span the different areas of the Authority, including our schemes for homeownership and rent relief, social housing applications, compliance, our stock of housing, and the requests for maintenance and repairs. Other dashboards are in the pipeline, and we’re regularly adding new information, with the latest addition being the Energy Performance Certificates (EPCs) for some of the Authority’s properties. These dashboards are updated daily, giving senior management real-time access to this information.

The Authority is also in advanced discussions to introduce a customer relationship management solution, starting with its customer care unit, to offer an improved service to its customers. 

Unlocking the value of this data helps the Authority anticipate emerging and future needs and improve its existing services. Let us provide three examples, all associated with the private residential rental market, of which the Authority is the regulator.

Thanks to its digital platform, the Housing Authority is able to monitor developments in the private rental market in real time. In response to evolving market needs as well as feedback from stakeholders, the Housing Authority and the Ministry for Social and Affordable Accommodation worked together to comprehensively review the existing legal framework. The regulatory amendments, which became effective on 1 September 2024, addressed the need for a more flexible registration process, improved the dispute resolution mechanism, and provided better support for shared living arrangements and overcrowding issues.

Separately, the Authority is collaborating with other entities, from Identita’ to the Police Force, to give them secure access to its digital platform. Once in place, these entities will have visibility and access to this information in real time to use for their own decision-making.

Finally, since 2020, the Housing Authority has used the information from its platform to publish annual studies on this sector. Earlier this year, we complemented these reports with a dashboard, which is freely accessible from our website. A key feature of this dashboard is a ‘rent calculator’ that shows the average and median rent by property type, size, and locality from contracts registered with the Housing Authority. This level of transparency, commonly found in other countries like the UK, is intended to improve the efficiency of the rental market and can benefit tenants and landlords alike.

Thanks to these and other similar initiatives, we have made significant strides in improving the data available on housing for policy analysis and research. The contrast is especially stark compared to the situation prevailing just a few years ago when even basic information on rents and first-time buyers was missing.

Looking at the broader macro picture for housing, however, we notice that this progress has not been even, and there are several areas with worrying data lacunae. Some very important questions are still left unanswered.

How many vacant properties do we have in Malta? Why are they left vacant and, in some cases, in a dilapidated state? What can we do to rehabilitate them?

What is the energy efficiency of our building stock? What is the impact on the energy poverty of households, especially low-income ones? 

What are the housing aspirations of young prospective buyers? How are they formed and how do they evolve over time?

Other questions arise through research and data analysis, for instance, regarding the changing composition and housing preferences of foreign workers. Is it time to revise planning regulations, such as the use classes, to align them with contemporary market realities?

All this information is crucial to helping policymakers make evidence-based decisions. The potential for technology to access data should be explored and encouraged. Indeed, Tony Blair contends that the twenty-first-century technological revolution implies a fundamental change in the ‘means’ to the ‘end’. The nature of the change in the means, through the embrace of technology, is so great that it can enlarge the ambition of the end and the speed with which it can be achieved. And for us at the Housing Authority, the end is ultimately about delivering value to our customers by focusing on people’s well-being and ensuring no one is left behind.

Matthew Zerafa is the Chief Executive Officer of the Housing Authority. Brian Micallef is the Executive Head responsible for Digitalization, Legal and Communications at the Housing Authority.