Over 11,000 people were found living in overcrowded households last year, a study found.

Some 3,060 of these were at risk of poverty and 2,000 of them were severely materially deprived, the National Statistics Office said.

The NSO published information on Thursday from the European Union’s Statistics on Income and Living conditions survey, which found 2.6 per cent in Malta lived in overcrowded living spaces. 

More than 76 per cent were outright owners of their own home

The overcrowding rate was defined by the number of rooms available in the household in relation to the household’s size and other demographics, the NSO said.

The rates for material deprivation were higher for people living in overcrowded households when compared to the rest of the population, the survey found.

While the survey found the overall risk of poverty or social exclusion rate stood at 19.2 per cent, it more than doubled for those living in overcrowded households (39.4 per cent).

Some 80 per cent of those who were severely materially deprived considered their housing cost to be a “heavy” burden, the study said. In contrast, only 39.6 per cent of people at risk of poverty or social exclusion considered the housing cost to be a heavy burden.

Almost 80 per cent of families still opted to become home owners, the NSO said. Of these, more than 76 per cent were outright owners, meaning that they either never had a mortgage on their main dwelling or had repaid their debt in full.

The most common housing problem mentioned by respondents (27 per cent) was pollution, grime or other environmental problems.

The second highest complaint was noise from neighbours or from the street, which was experienced by 25.0 per cent of all households.