Page 4 - Housing & Poverty In Malta With A Focus On The Southern Harbour Region

2. Abstract

This paper analyses the causes and the nature of the voluminous vacant housing stock in
the Maltese Islands, focusing particularly on the Southern Harbour Region while
investigating the links that there might be between such vacant housing and the incidence
of poverty. Affordability analyses are carried out and the link between housing prices and
poverty is also investigated inasmuch as the data allows it.

In doing this, definitional issues are first raised followed by some affordability calculations
and considerations. The findings are quite alarming and point to a hidden but
nevertheless real problem that Malta will eventually have to come to terms with. We have
found evidence that 7,731 households are inadequately housed and that 16% of Malta’s
population lives below the poverty line, which translates into about 19,000 people. This
is only expected to get worse as time goes by, wages stagnate due to international
competition and the cost of living keeps going up due to both domestic and international
economic factors.

The findings further point to a link between a growing stock of vacant housing, poverty
and urban degeneration. Some of the channels through which this could be taking place
are identified. Although the findings of this paper cannot be taken to be conclusive given
that a more comprehensive and better-funded study would be required, we do set out
the major policy questions that any better-funded subsequent studies in this area might
want to look at, as well as policy recommendations based on our preliminary findings in
this area.

Page 3