More than 1,300 households benefitted from home ownership schemes between 2017 and 2023

The Housing Authority’s (HA) home ownership schemes have helped 1,391 households in Malta become homeowners between 2017 and 2023. 

According to a report by the authority, this averages out to nearly one household receiving assistance every two days in the six-year period.

The report reviews five key schemes aimed at facilitating homeownership: the Deposit Guarantee scheme, Equity Sharing scheme, Social Loan scheme, New Hope, and Sir Sid Darek (SSD). 

The majority of homeowners aided by such schemes benefited from the Sir Sid Darek scheme with 700 beneficiaries between 2017 and 2023. This was followed by the Deposit Guarantee scheme which helped 261 homeowners and the Equity Sharing scheme which aided 224 beneficiaries. Meanwhile, the Social Loans scheme and New Hope benefitted 174 and 12 households respectively.

The HA said that these initiatives are designed to cater to specific demographics, primarily based on age, income, and marital status.

“The expenditure on these schemes has increased substantially over time. Between 2017 and 2023, the Housing Authority has invested more than €52 million on these five schemes.”

According to the report, the authority's spending on these schemes rose significantly after 2020. Excluding the SSD the Housing Authority invested over €25 million between 2017 and 2023 on the other four schemes. The absolute majority of this expenditure, 95%, is attributed to the Equity Sharing and Deposit Guarantee schemes. Additionally, since 2017, the Authority has provided more than €27 million in subsidies to tenants purchasing through the SSD.

The report shows that different schemes target specific profiles: younger adults typically benefit from the Deposit Guarantee, Social Loan, and New Hope schemes, while older individuals, particularly those over 60, are the primary beneficiaries of the Sir Sid Darek Scheme. The Equity Sharing Scheme, meanwhile, tends to serve middle-aged and older individuals.

A view of the uptake of the schemes during the first half of the year was also included in the report. 

The HA noted that 137 households benefitted from the schemes between January and June 2024, with the SSD being the most popular scheme, aiding 68 households, This was  followed by the Equity Sharing scheme (38) and the Deposit Guarantee scheme (26).

"While the uptake of the New Hope scheme is broadly in line with that observed in 2023, the beneficiaries from the Social Loans scheme
continued to decline."

This report is the first of three, with future reports set to focus on schemes that provide financial assistance to improve rental affordability and increase purchasing power, along with efforts to make properties more habitable.