Investment in housing 'a means of survival'

For many locals investing in a house was a momentous decision, with housing in Malta making up about 20 per cent of the national income as opposed to the European average of five per cent, according an expert on housing policy.

Cyrus Vakili-Zad, lecturer at both the University of Toronto and the University of Malta, said that when compared with the rest of Europe it was clear that for many Maltese, investment in housing was "a means of survival".

Dr Vakili-Zad penned a very topical contribution on housing in Malta for this autumn's edition of Orbis, a quarterly publication issued by the Maltese Jesuits.

In his article, Access to Affordable, Suitable and Adequate Housing in Malta: A Public Policy Agenda, Dr Vakili-Zad outlined the current housing policy in Malta and its problems and implications.

Some alarming statistics emerged. Over the last 30 years, prices have continued to escalate, even trebling in some cases. The overwhelming majority, 88 per cent, of single-parent applicants for social housing could not afford the ownership option.

Dr Vakili-Zad concluded by saying that one must never forget that adequate housing was, at the end of the day, a human rights issue.

Cardinal Walter Kasper's talk on the contribution of Christians to the disarming of terror and Ivan Callus' article on cultural poverty in Malta are among contributions to this issue.

www.jesuit.org.mt/orbis