Contemporary housing issues in Malta: effects on young people - Case Study Example

Contemporary housing issues in Malta: effects on young people Policymakers realize that social housing in Malta cannot be divorced from the economic, cultural and social realities. They recognized there is a group of people that should occupy the highest spot in the priority lists. An analysis of what has been done in Malta over the past fifty years however clearly indicated that the definition of social priorities was sometimes blurred (Gonzi, 2001). The Malta government also recognized that there is the need to sharpen focus on the social aspects of the housing problem. What is intriguing, however, is that the Housing Authority and the Department of Social Housing admitted no strategy for youth existed ("Report," JCY, 2003). Housing in Malta is one of the major problems faced by both citizens and government. The number of households exceeded the number of dwellings available, at least at reasonable prices. The gap between the price of a decent accommodation and the costs that could be afforded by the majority of the population is not simply significant, but wide enough to incur heavy burdens on many citizens, and consequently the government (Tabone, 2001). Consequently it is very easy to confuse social housing with the general housing problem with the danger of excluding the most needy. This paper looks at issues of housing in Malta and how it will affect the young. It includes confusion of terms, deficiencies within existing housing policy, lack of regular maintenance, bad practices, meddling by politics, unaddressed rent law problems, and wrong targets. Finally, the effect on young people is addressed, and then the conclusion follows. Contemporary housing issues The name 'social policy' is used to apply first, to the policies which governments use for welfare and social protection; second, to the ways in which welfare is developed in a society, and; third, to the academic study of the subject ("An Introduction," 2007). In the first sense, social policy is particularly concerned with social services and the welfare state. In the second broader sense, it stands for a range of issues extending far beyond the actions of government - the means by which welfare is promoted, and the social and economic conditions which shape the development of welfare. This paper takes on the first meaning. Confusion of terms. Housing Policy is defined in terms of measures designed to modify the quantity, quality, price, ownership and control of housing, where it should aim at providing a decent house for all, at a price within one's means, including a fairer choice between owning a home or renting one, and fairness between one citizen and another in receiving help towards housing (Malpass & Murie, 1999:7). According to Hill (2000: 159), social housing needs a narrower definition in that, not every case in need of accommodation is to be considered 'a social housing case.' Tabone (2001), however, thinks housing in Malta is more a matter of public policy than of social policy. Social policy, he said, should address those cases whose housing needs arise from social problems or are connected with social problems. Housing affordability should be addressed separately from that of social housing, he said. Deficiencies within existing housing policy. The National Report (2003: 137-138) highlighted a number of deficiencies within existing housing policy and provision. One is that a special provision certainly needs to be made in respect of the small but vulnerable 15-17 year-old age group. The potential for multi-occupancy tenancies and foyer schemes needs to be explored. It is particularly crucial that this age group have access to appropriate support and advice in such areas as education, training and employment. Some, whose departure from the parental home may have been precipitated by family problems, might also require support from social services ("Report," JCY, 2003). Lack of regular maintenance. As reported by Gonzi (2001), social housing in Malta is covered by the Housing Department, the Housing Authority, the Housing Construction and Maintenance. Rents are paid to the Lands Department who are also responsible for allocation of land for building purposes. The Joint Office is responsible for land and property which was transferred to government as a result of the Church-State agreement. What may be found discrepant, according to him, is that rent is paid to the Lands department but is not redirected to the Housing sector for maintenance purposes. Also, there is no regular maintenance and upkeep schedule for government owned buildings, and users who need repairs must apply to the Housing Construction and Maintenance Department. There is confusion admittedly and the system also confuses the public (Gonzi 2001). Bad practices. Dolores Cristina (2003) from the secretariat on social housing was interviewed by Malta Today. She said they were looking at a restructuring plan to answer the needs of people who really require social housing. Cristina said she still thought there are a lot of people who should not be eligible for social housing and are getting it and at the other end, people that need it are not. Meddling of politics. In so many words, Marisa Micallef (2004) suggested that it is politics and posturing that keeps thing at bay. She mentioned the elections that come and go to influence substantial votes, and the church that did some lobbying and spoke of the difficulties faced by first time buyers. Said she - But we need to be rational and honest and openly admit that our worst housing difficulties are not only about those faced by first time buyers. Consequently, we have a moral duty to highlight the other needs of people who are very, very much poorer than our average early 20 something year olds, but who seem to have no political voice, no one shouting for them, nobody lobbying for them, not even the Church, which is also a shareholder in a house lending operation, and is so part of the process by which money is made on lending. Unaddressed rent laws problems. According to Reginald Fava, (2003) rent laws in Malta are the source of great social injustice causing social pressures through artificially high property prices for young and older people alike. These also adversely affect the country's environment in a physical manner in that new housing units continue to be built despite a stock of 22,000 permanently empty properties. The standard of living, he said, is also affected because such properties are seldom well maintained. Despite these serious problems which are inflicted across all sectors of the population, the country's leaders on both sides of the political spectrum have shown reluctance to seriously address the situation (Fava, 2003). Wrong targets. In Malta, the Planning Authority is tasked to do the following: 1) to make adequate land space for the expansion of industry; 2) to reserve relatively large areas for tourism purposes; 3) to monitor the value of land and the construction costs; 4) to provide adequate banking and financial cover for those who are prepared to build or to purchase their own homes; 5) the need to rehabilitate and regenerate specific areas around Malta and Gozo; 6) the policy to encourage home-ownership, among other functions (Gonzi, 2001). The irony is that instead of targeting those who are most in need of adequate housing provision, there had been specific initiatives which ended up being a boon to property developers or individuals who could afford to tap the private property market (Gonzi 2001). One cannot consider as a target group of social housing all those who claim that cannot afford to buy or rent a house, but only those who cannot afford an adequate accommodation for a decent living either because they are strictly below the relative poverty line, or because of other social problems (Tabone, 2001). Specifically, the general dilemma of housing affordability is a problem that calls for political concern and attention in Malta, but it should be addressed separately from that of social housing (Tabone, 2001). Effects on young people Create pressures. As early as 2001, Lawrence Gonzi, Prime Minister of the Minister for Social Policy was saying that social housing in Malta, which formed an integral and important part of social policy, was a most thorny and difficult area. Expecting that housing policy improve as it is expected to improve over time, in accordance with standards set by society, and nearly always taking an upward trend, Gonzi (2001) said the home environment must not be depressing because - It inevitably create pressures on the person living in that environment, thus increasing the risk that that same environment will end up being the breeding ground of other social problems which that same person will have to face at some point or another. In his speech before the members of Parliament, Gonzi (2001) revealed that in Malta, a large proportion of the population has the ability and the purchasing power to cater for its own needs. At the same time, he said, there is a minority who simply cannot afford to do so. Gonzi also referred to a third group making sacrifices and most probably faced with pressures. Sometimes this is a silent group of people who are at their wits end and who are prepared to make sacrifices in order to find an alternative accommodation which they know will make a difference to their lives. Not affordable. The problem, however, is that they cannot afford. In Malta, housing is considered a very important area of need, but in recent years there has been less direct investment partly because the market was delivering well (Micallef, 2004). Today, many households, both single person and all forms of family, cannot afford either rental or home ownership. More importantly, a substantial number of households cannot afford to pay for their housing at all, either as people on a pension with no fate to allow for paying for housing, with low wages, or living off relief or starting out as simply young couples (Micallef, 2004) because pockets of poverty and disadvantage exist in Malta. (Eurostat, 2000) calculated that a Maltese 'at risk of poverty line' has been set at 60% of the National Equivalised Income Median (calculated at LM 2, 036 in 2000-2001). Discriminated. According to (Tabone, 2001), as it is not clear with what proportion is the housing policy catering for the low income group and the higher income group, and what amount of the housing budget really goes for social housing in the strict sense of the term, such distribution does not result from adequate scientific research. Tabone (2001) said the number of those in need for social housing is so high that the supply is by far lower than the demand, and it doesn't seem that these numbers are to decrease in the near future Obviously, housing in Malta is more a matter of public policy than of social policy. Social policy should address those cases whose housing needs arise from social problems or are connected with social problems. The target groups in need of social housing should be defined in this context and within these boundaries (Tabone, 2001) Driven to poorer neighborhoods. Those working in the field of housing are challenged by a number of difficulties ("Report," JCY, 2003). Malta is densely populated, but there is an acute shortage of land on which to build, and house prices are rising. According to the National Report (2003:128) the problem of housing affordability affected 80% of the population in one way or another. This inevitably inhibited freedom of movement on the islands. Malta had a high rate of home ownership of around 75%, but the rented sector is somewhat underdeveloped ("Report," JCY, 2003). As the Housing Authority briefing (2003: 1), stated- The relatively small percentage of households (25%), who rent their property indicates that this is not such a popular option. The present rent laws of course do not favour this particular type of tenure, as in many cases it is more financially viable to service a loan and become a home owner rather than fork out rent money. Abrupt leaving of homes. In the United Kingdom, entitlement to Housing Benefit is severely restricted for those under the age of 25 years. All those entitled to benefit are those at least 18 years of age (National Statistics Office, 2003d). Such policies are fundamentally discriminatory and represent an assault on the social rights of young people (Williamson, 2002:73). As Williamson observed, abrupt leaving of the family home leaves young people ill prepared for independent living and their homelessness is often accompanied by other problems such as unemployment, mental ill health and substance misuse. Conclusion From what obtains with the disputable policy on housing, the following are said to be its summative effects on young people: First, it creates pressures and increases risk so that the environment may become a breeding ground of other social problems. Second, the young are more prone to be disadvantaged because of poverty and may all the more unable to afford housing. Third, the young are discriminated against as there is no policy on how much should be pegged for low income and higher income groups, a fact which can be a source of abuse. As a result, the young people may be driven all the more to poorer neighborhoods. With entitlement to Housing Benefits pegged to at least 18 years of age, there is abrupt leaving of homes where the young are not prepared for independent living. In sum, from the hopeful speech of Gonzi (2001), to the gloomy reports of the Joint Council on Youth (2003) at Budapest, to the doubtful declarations of Reginald Fava (2003) of the Malta chamber of commerce, and that charge of Dolores Cristina (2003) of the secretariat on social housing that politics comes in the way of faulty housing policy, Cyrus Vakili-Zad (2006), summed up what obtains in the housing policy of Malta as with no visible signs of homelessness. Malta has a comparatively sizeable social housing sector (9000-10,000) and approximately 3300 households on its waiting list. There is, however, no official recognition of homelessness, no definition and, no program to alleviate the problem. The problem is hidden under the facade of strong family ties, community cohesion and the benevolent state Vakili-Zad (2006). Across most of Europe there is a clear trend towards young people leaving the parental home at a later age ("Report," JCY, 2003). In Spain, for example, the average age of departure from the family home is approaching 30 years and yet this does not seem to be widely perceived as a "social problem" ("The Council of Europe," 2000). A similar consensus would appear to obtain in Malta. Thus, eligibility for assistance with housing costs tends to be restricted ("Report," JCY, 2003). There is a need for serious revision in the housing policy because besides probable squandering of resources as warned by Tabone (2001) and others, the most needy are not being reached. Moreover, in a time when the country is facing financial deficit, such a revision is urgent. Relevant to this, one of the most exciting proposals in all these problems is found in the Commissioner for Children Bill 2003 (Malta Parliament Website). On December 5, 2003, the Act was passed. The appointment of an independent Commissioner is hoped to facilitate the protection of the rights and interests of children. Analysts of the Malta condition acknowledged that the interests of the child and the family are sometimes in conflict ("Report," JCY, 2003). This was re-echoed by Vakili-Zad (2006) who said that homelessness in Malta is not counted well because the problem "is hidden under the facade of strong family ties, community cohesion and the benevolent state." Even so, a Commissioner for Children is hoped to be able to greatly help in this ticklish part of the policy. References "An introduction to Social Policy." The Robert Gordon University . Centre for Public Policy and Management . Retrieved October 18, 2007, from http://www2.rgu.ac.uk/publicpolicy/introduction/socpolf.htm. "The Council of Europe's international reviews of national youth policy 1997 - 2001 - a synthesis report," Strasbourg: Council of Europe Publishing. 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National statistics Office (2003e) Demographic Statistics -Migration No. 71/2003, 20 May 2003: website, www.nso.gov.mt. National Statistics office (2003f) Culture: Youth organisations 2001, No. 100/2003, 7 July 2003: Website, www.nso.gov.mt. Report by the international team of experts. Joint Council on Youth (JCY). "Youth Policy in Malta." 9th meeting. European Youth Centre: Budapest, 5 November 2003. Strasbourg, 16 October 2003 DJS/CMJ (2003) 16. Tabone, Carmel. Social housing now and in the future. Target groups in need of social housing. Ministry for the Family and Social Solidarity. Last updated September 30, 2001. Retrieved October 20, 2007, from http://www.msp.gov.mt/services/subpages/content.aspid=440. Tabone, C. (1994), 'The Maltese Family in the Context of Social Change', Sultana, R.G. & Baldacchino, G. (Eds.), Maltese Society - A Sociological Inquiry, Msida: Mireva Publications, pp. 229-251. Vakili-Zad, Cyrus. Counting the homeless in Malta. Journal of Housing and the Built Environment. Volume 21, Number 2 / September, 2006. 1566-4910 (Print) 1573-7772. 10.1007/s10901-006-9039-4. pages 141-157. Springer Netherlands. August 31, 2006. Williamson, H. (2002) Supporting Young People in Europe: Principles, Policy and Practice - The Council of Europe's international reviews of national youth policy 1997 - 2001 - a synthesis report, Strasbourg: Council of Europe Publishing Read More