The group known as Catholic Voices organised a discussion on the state of the rental market. According to the secretary general of the Federation of Real Estate Agents, Simon Debono, there are about 2,000 people living in garages on this tiny island.
In his view, the authorities were trying to hide the truth behind the problem of housing in Malta and insisted that he was not speaking about people from the lower social classes but people who wear jackets and ties and go to work every day.
An activist from the the Alliance Against Poverty, Joseph Bartolo, endorsed the view that the rental problem was not only affecting low-income earners. “The problem is not only increasing within low-income families but also spreading to medium- or slightly above medium-income families who are finding it hard to buy a home,” he warned.
Caritas director Anthony Gatt agreed with such remarks. He said his organisation saw three cases of people who needed housing in one week alone. Mr Gatt said there was a need for the proper supply of properties for rental to be boosted because wages were not keeping up with rising rental prices.
Catholic Voices, the Alliance Against Poverty and Caritas represent the front line in dealing with extreme cases of poverty or rental difficulties in a highly-competitive property market and what they said was inevitably partly anecdotal. Still, their reports should be viewed against the background of what is happening in the wider economy and property market place.
The government has approved plans to import thousands of workers from non-EU countries, such as Serbia, the Philippines and Montenegro (known as third country nationals), to pre-empt a labour shortage problem and to maintain economic growth. There are also about 30,000 EU nationals working in Malta. The social and environmental consequences are plain to see. The property and rental markets are already beyond the reach of quite a number of Maltese.
The initial findings of a house rental index presented to the Catholic Voices discussion meeting by ARQ group found that the largest increase in rent prices had occurred in the northern region and that the influx of foreign nationals in that area had inevitably influenced the steep increase in rental prices.
This assessment fitted in with the statement made at the meeting by the Parliamentary Secretary for Social Accommodation, Roderick Galdes, that although about 30,000 households were being rented out, only about 7,000 (less than one quarter) were being taken up by Maltese people.
The picture that emerges from this one meeting is patchy. However, the outlines of what is happening in the wider Maltese economy seem clear. The property rental market has exposed a large gap between what well-off foreigners are able to rent and what can be afforded by low-income foreigners (mainly third country nationals) and Maltese who are finding it difficult to get on the property ladder. This confirms the anecdotal and other evidence of modern poverty and the widening gap between rich and poor in this country.
There is a vital requirement for greater provision of social housing to help the people who most need it as well as reasonably-priced properties for rent. As Caritas has proposed, whether it is a cooperative or a partnership with the private sector, “the need [for government action] is crucial”.
This is a Times of Malta print editorial