The Housing Authority and the Department of Social Housing have set up a joint customer care section that is running smoothly, the authority’s chairperson Marisa Micallef said yesterday.

Speaking to The Malta Independent in the wake of the parliamentary discussion on the authority’s financial estimates as presented in last year’s annual report, Ms Micallef said the joint customer care section facilitates the process for people who are seeking accommodation and others who would like to receive assistance for maintenance of their property.

The chairperson said the report gives a clear indication of how the Housing Authority, by means of its services, has continued to provide a service to society and assistance to those that are most vulnerable.

The authority provides financial assistance for the maintenance of around 400 houses on an annual basis – houses that have no bathrooms, or that need to have them changed, sub-standard houses as well as others that would have not undergone maintenance for a number of years.

Assistance in the form of subsidies is also provided to tenants renting from the private sector. In such cases, the authority helps a number of applicants by paying part of the rent to private property owners.

Ms Micallef explained that during the past year, one of the authority’s main efforts was the promotion of urban regeneration. Such development involves the biggest expense and it is hard work that requires a lot of time and commitment.

The results produced in Msida, Floriana, Valletta and Cospicua bear witness to years of useful hard work, stated the chairperson.

Ms Micallef also mentioned the new initiative of shared ownership, which attracted considerable interest last year.

This scheme, which was the second call for properties to be put up for sale, involved 259 properties and 1,000 applicants, mostly first-time buyers.

As a result of the popularity of this scheme, the authority will be investing Lm2 million of this year’s budget in another scheme, for people who will be purchasing their first residence from the private sector.

“We have also initiated another scheme to encourage private owners to rent out residences to the authority. Our intention is to put empty property to good use and put it back on the market,” said Ms Micallef.

She added that a case in point that forms part of the continuous process to promote the use of existent property is the use of a block in the northern area of the country, which was rented out to people who had applied with the department of social housing.

The authority has also been committing itself to accommodate people with special needs. A number of initiatives were put into practice in this regard.

The Housing Authority has continued to offer property to agencies and non-governmental organisations that provide support in the accommodation sector, said Ms Micallef.

Furthermore, last year saw the continuation of the construction of one-bedroom apartments that include all the necessary facilities for the elderly.

“The Equal project also continued last year. By means of this project, the authority helps young people who used to live in children’s homes have access to training, work and accommodation,” explained Ms Micallef.

The implementation of the amalgamation between the department of social housing and the Housing Authority was also given a push forward last year; in fact, the setting up of the customer care section of the department and the authority is the first step in the amalgamation of the entities that provide a service in the housing sector.