The Housing Authority has received 45 proposals amounting to around 1,000 units following a call for proposals for the private sector to increase the stock of social housing, President-designate Marie Louise Coleiro Preca said this morning.
Addressing a news conference, she said the call, which was opened in January, meant that a potential third of the waiting list of 3,300 people could be cut down.
A total 34 of the proposals were from Malta and 11 from Gozo. Nine did not meet with requirements leaving 36 valid proposals.
Ms Coleiro Preca said the Housing Authority board will start holding individual meetings to get into the nitty gritty of the proposals.
Offers put forward included that units would be paid for over a period of time or that the units would be paid for against dues owed to the government or in exchange for property owned by the Housing Authority.
Ms Coleiro Preca said that, in another exercise, the House Authority reviewed its stock of buildings and was in the process of drawing up a social rent policy, which was in the final phases.
The policy would help people cope with their income without adding them on to the waiting list so that who was renting would be able to, with the help of the subsidy, make it to the end of the month.
The authority also launched a scheme to help people living in units which fell under the pre-1995 rent laws apply for grant to allow them to fix up the building.
Through another scheme called Sir Sid Darek, the government would be allocating €2 million to install lifts allowing people who had mobility problems or who were elderly to access their homes which were usually on the top floors.
When asked for a reaction to comments made by her predecessor that, as President, she would have a consultative role on social policy matters, Ms Colerio Preca said that the role of a President could never be executive.
However a President had the role of bringing people together to have a voice on issues at a national level.
“This is something new and I trusted it would be successful,” she said.