Housing Authority improves Equity Sharing initiative

The Housing Authority has two main schemes to help promote home ownership. All units sold by the Housing Authority are offered on a shared ownership basis. Under this initiative, applicants who cannot afford the full price of a property have the option to buy one-third or two-thirds of the equity instead.

The authority recentely introduced its new Equity Sharing initiative aimed to assist first-time buyers wishing to purchase property from the private sector. In cases where the price of the property cannot be reached via a bank loan, the authority helps by covering the shortfall between the borrowed sum and the actual price.

The authority's improvements to the Equity Sharing initiative include the need for one of the applicants to be in employment and an increase in the assets threshold for applicants over the age of 50.

Commenting on these changes, chairman of the Housing Authority Marisa Micallef said: "We are starting to witness housing poverty among those who are over 50 and who have never been home owners. These people will not be able to pay commercial rents once they retire, and do not have enough equity. Yet, with the help of equity sharing, they can become home owners and have a sense of security."

A new condition was introduced with regards to employment. This condition was introduced in order to help those applicants who are working hard to become home owners. Thus applicants who are single, and in the case of engaged or married couples, at least one of the applicants, should be gainfully employed for at least a year to be eligible for assistance under this scheme.

Another change that will entitle more people to benefit from this scheme concerns the assets threshold for applicants over 50. Those applicants who are given a low bank loan due to their age qualify for this scheme if they possess more than Lm15,000 (€34,940.60) worth of assets.

These applicants need to have more assets, together with their bank loan and Housing Authority assistance, to be able to purchase property.