Really helping the homeless

A recent item on a piece of housing research shows there isn't adequate awareness of the Housing Authority's policies. Among other blatant errors it was wrongly stated that there is no policy to assist the homeless.

Over the past three years, the Department of Social Housing has allocated an average of 13 units per month to applicants on its waiting list. In this way every month a number of homeless people are being given assistance and provided with adequate housing support.

The Housing Authority prioritises assistance in the community in order to assist those mostly in need. Through its help to NGOs that offer housing support, the Authority is reaching out to a number of people with different needs. Each year the Authority allocates the sum of Lm50,000 under this initiative. Assistance to NGOs is provided in various ways, which includes units for rent and grants in the form of payments for specific housing projects.

Under this initiative, the Housing Authority is offering valuable assistance to the Richmond Foundation, where each year the Authority allocates two properties under its building programme. To date, the Authority has passed on to Richmond Foundation a total of 11 apartments to be allocated to persons with mental health problems in order to help them live independently in the community.

Under this initiative too, the Housing Authority is assisting various organisations including Merhba Bik, Suret il-bniedem, Dar il-Wens and many others.

Apart from providing assistance to NGOs by means of grants to a range of entities that provide housing support, the Authority also takes various initiatives in order to reach out to different target groups to improve their housing condition.

The Housing Authority has recently launched an initiative in order to assist those that wish to become home owners. By means of its new shared ownership initiative, applicants have the opportunity to buy the share of the property they can afford, thus gaining access to affordable housing. Applicants who cannot afford buying the whole equity have the option to buy one third or two thirds of the equity. Every year, the Housing Authority issues a number of units for sale, thus making it possible for young families to become home owners. By means of this new initiative, many families are being given the possibility to buy property in this era of rising property prices.

A total of 391 properties were issued for sale under shared ownership (132 - SO1 and 259 - SO2). Under the second issue of shared ownership, the average subsidised price amounts to Lm12,123 if applicants wish to purchase one third of the property or Lm 24,238 if applicants opt to purchase two thirds of the property.

This initiative proved to be a success, eliciting a keen response from the public. For this reason, the Housing Authority intends to continue providing affordable housing by means of shared ownership, whereby applicants are given the possibility to buy that portion of the property they can afford.

Due to the high demand for this scheme, the Housing Authority has a total of over 460 units in the construction stage. These include 400 apartments and 68 maisonettes in various localities such as Pembroke, Mriehel, Mtarfa, Qawra, Kalkara Mgarr, Naxxar and Zebbug, among others. There are also over 500 garages.

More families will be provided with housing assistance in the future, thanks to this extensive building programme.

For a number of families, the possibility of renting property may be the most affordable tenure option. In order to continue assisting these families, the Housing Authority offers subsidy on the rent paid. The Authority amends this scheme so that the assistance granted reflects the increase in private sector rental prices. Families with children may benefit from a maximum of Lm415 in rent subsidy annually. This is a very popular scheme and over the years there has been a constant increase in the number of families requesting subsidy on rent. By means of this scheme, the Housing Authority is meeting the needs of a large number of families who want to rent from the private sector.

Ms Micallef is chairman of the Housing Authority.