Housing Authority's assistance to single parents

Over the past years there has been an increase in the number of single parents requesting assistance from the Housing Authority both through schemes as well as the sale issues.

Most of the single-parent applicants have applied for Scheme R (rent subsidy scheme). This shows that renting seems to be the preferred tenure choice of these applicants, or the one which they are most likely to afford.

The following tables indicate the increase over the past five years of financial assistance to single parents.

Issues of sales

Single parents applied with the Housing Authority to purchase affordable housing during the sale issues. Over the previous five years there had been an increase in the number of single parents being allotted units from the Housing Authority.

There was a sudden increase in the number of units allotted to single parents in the year 1999 with Notice 63. This was due to the fact that the Housing Authority had negotiated a 100 per cent facility with the banks.

In this case ten units had been allotted to single parents in contrast to only one unit in the previous notice of sale. During the previous year - 1998 (Notices 60-62), only seven units were allotted to single parents. Between 1999 and 2002 (Notices 63-66), a total of 52 units were allotted to single parents.

This year recorded the greatest amount of units ever allotted to the single parents (Notice 67). A total of 23 units were given to single parents and their children.

The majority of the applicants have taken a subsidised loan (100 per cent) from the bank, in order to purchase affordable housing.

However a number of applicants made use of an unsubsidised loan (ten per cent subsidy on the selling price). Between Notice 60 (1998) and Notice 66 (2002), 18 single-parent applicants made use of the unsubsidised loan while 41 single parent applicants made use of a subsidised loan from the bank.

Notice 66 (2002) was the last time that beneficiaries could actually choose to take an unsubsidised loan. In Notice 67 (2003), 20 single-parent applicants took a subsidised loan from the bank while three single parents paid in cash.

Scheme R - Rent
Subsidy Scheme

With regard to Scheme R there has been a general increase in the number of single parent applicants for this scheme. During the period covering the October 1, 1996 and September 30, 1998, no applications came in from single-parents for Scheme J (the previous Rent Subsidy Scheme).

During the past five years (October 1, 1998 to September 10, 2003) there has been a general increase in the number of single-parent applicants for this scheme. It is also interesting to note that more than half of the applicants for scheme R this year are single-parents. In fact 63.9 per cent of all the scheme R applicants are single parents.

Scheme W - Repair works in government properties

With regard to Scheme W, there has also been an increase in single-parent applicants during this last year. During the period October 1, 1996 to September 30, 1998 (the previous Scheme 3), no applications came in from single parents. Between October 1, 1998 and September 30, 2002, 11 new applications from single parents came in.

This year 18 new applications came in requesting assistance to carry out repair works in government properties. Even this scheme is attracting more single parent applicants. Housing authority schemes are catering for the needs of these people, by means of this repair scheme.

Scheme 5 - Repair works in leased privately-owned properties

In this case too there has been an increase in the number of single parents applying for assistance through this scheme. No applications came in from single parents during the period covering October 1, 1996 to September 30, 1998 (the previous Scheme L).

There has been a huge increase in the period covering October 2000 to September 2001, with 13.6 per cent of the applications coming in from the single parents.

The following year only 7.6 per cent of the applications came in from single parents. Once again this year a large amount of the applications came in from single parents (28.2 per cent).

By means of the sale issues as well as schemes, the Housing Authority is offering assistance to single-parent applicants.

It is also important to point out that in this way a number of children are benefiting from the services offered by the Housing Authority, thus improving their quality of life.

Ms Micallef Leyson is chairman of the Housing Authority