Social Housing as a tool for Social Mobility

“Our technical team is clearly committed to providing energyefficient and ” climate-friendly buildings

The provision of new social housing for the most vulnerable is an investment in our social infrastructure, not a cost.

This week the Housing Authority signed a memorandum of understanding with the National Development and Social Fund to increase the stock of social housing by an additional circa five hundred units, worth fifty million euro. Such investment is targeted specifically to those who are most in need of assistance.

Most still aspire to become home owners. It is very encouraging to see various pathways boosting home ownership schemes and social loans for low income families. An equity sharing scheme based on the principle of shared ownership for persons over forty years of age will soon be put in place. It supplements the existing social loans schemes primarily aimed to support low income individuals and families. But these options are still out of reach for many families, who despite their efforts, still find themselves priced out of the market due to the elevated costs of purchasing property. At the point of entering social housing a very small percentage could afford even social loans options. It is our responsibility to provide subsidised housing options that meet the needs of those who cannot afford secure decent housing on the open market.

The provision of social housing is one major equity policy approach that alleviates the plight of low-income and vulnerable households. It addresses socioeconomic disadvantages of certain families facing hardship whether temporary or permanent. On the other hand, social housing policies must also overcome social and spatial divisions in order to ensure that social housing does not, in itself, become a force for social exclusion. Promoting social mobility is one of the ways to discourage clusters of deprivation and challenge inter-generational disadvantage. Spread across twenty-two sites in twelve different localities in Malta, this project aims to promote housing policies that encourage neighbourhood mix initiatives and moves beyond the mechanical procedure of allocation. Ensuring that all planning and building regulations and performance standards are observed is key to this project’s success. Our technical team is clearly committed to providing energy-efficient and climatefriendly buildings. However, this technical exercise is futile if not complemented by an indepth social understanding of the real needs of the end users. A profiling exercise of all social housing applicants is well underway. The aim is twofold: first of all, we are attempting to understand the social challenges of each and every household; secondly, we are seeking to ensure that the design of the new homes reflects the emerging needs of Maltese families.

This Memorandum of Understanding followed another very important milestone in our housing strategy. It has been a week since the new Housing Benefit was launched by the government. Based on the principle of affordability, it aims to secure a decent living for lowincome tenants, both with or without dependent children, who reside in private rented dwellings. The new mechanism operates on the disposable income policy approach, which is based on the fundamental principle that no household should spend more than a set yardstick on housing costs. This is one key policy route to alleviate housing cost overburden in the free rental market and, most of all, to realise the human right to decent and affordable housing.

In this context we remain committed to provide and sustain decent social and affordable housing opportunities, promoting stability and supporting social mobility.