Housing permission

Is house building pressure on the environment increasing?

Housing is Malta's major urban land use and, despite the high cost of housing, the overall trend is towards an increase in permissions granted for residential development. This trend indicates growing pressures on land and energy resources, as well as waste generation. Nevertheless the rising percentage of apartments being permitted (79 per cent of total in 2004, compared with 52 per cent in 1994) in certain cases may indicate more efficient use of land resources, provided that these dwellings are actually inhabited and, for the longer term, that quality and urban character are respected. These trends represent significant pressures on the amount of land available for other purposes.

The State of the Environment Report 2005 is a Mepa publication available on www.mepa.org.mt.