Some 30 housing estates across the island will be renovated through a funding programme announced on Wednesday.

Housing Parliamentary Secretary Roderick Galdes said the works, costing some €150,000, would be based on requests made by tenants consulted last year.

“These buildings are decades old and some of them have never had any major maintenance works. Some will have new membrane laid on roofs, others will have apertures and walls fixed, or new tiling,” Mr Galdes said.

The investment follows €320,000 invested between 2017 and last year to overhaul some 63 housing blocks.

This year’s works will be carried out at six blocks in Ta’ Xbiex, five blocks in Msida, four blocks in Floriana, three blocks in Ħamrun, three in Sta Luċija, two blocks in Valletta, Marsa, Żejtun, Sta Venera, and one block in St Julian’s.

Housing Authority head Leonid Mckay said he had yesterday visited a number of blocks where works under last year’s funding allotment were under way.

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“I was approached by a resident who told me that the clearing up of their building’s facade and hallways had improved relations between residents - that is an unseen consequence of this maintenance effort, there is a social benefit to this,” he said.

Some of the buildings, Mr Mckay said, were partially inaccessible prior to the removal of bulky waste or renovation works.

The authority administers some 7,600 housing apartments, and last year spent around €2 million to maintain and improve existing buildings. This, Mr Galdes said, was a significant increase over the average €300,000 that was spent annually some five years ago.

Fielding questions from reporters after the press conference, Mr Galdes defended the government’s efforts when it came to building of new housing blocks. Works were ongoing and brand new blocks would be open to the public soon, he said.