Background information

Individuals who do not own their own home and became unemployed during COVID-19 or lost a substantial amount of their income suddenly faced difficulties in keeping up with rental payments on their home.

Prior to the onset of COVID-19 the Government of Malta provided a scheme entitled the 'Private Rent Housing Benefit Scheme' for individuals who struggled to keep up with rental payments. This had originally been introduced in view of ever-rising rental costs in Malta. Government updated this scheme in light of COVID-19 to allow impacted individuals to apply.

Individuals who were now able to apply included workers who have been laid off due to COVID-19, those suspended from work, self-employed people whose income had decreased drastically, as well as to victims of domestic violence.

Content of measure

The Private Rent Housing Benefit Scheme provides a benefit with regards to the rent paid on residences rented from the private sector in order to make these more affordable. The benefit is calculated on the basis of the applicants' income as well as the cost of their rent.

The scheme has the following criteria: that the applicant is the recognised tenant of the property; that the applicant has a formal contract with the landlord which covers at least six months but does not exceed 21 years; the applicant must be a Maltese or EU citizen or a formal refugee; the applicants must have been living in Malta for at least 18 consecutive months before the date of the application; the home is in a habitable state and meets applicable laws including those related to rental contract laws.

• Single individuals can apply if their income is less than €19,000 and can receive up to €3,600 a year.
• A single parent with one child can apply if their income does not exceed €19,231 and can receive up to €4,800.
• A single parent with two or more children can apply if their income does not exceed €23,581 and can receive up to €5,000.
• Two adults without children can apply if their combined income does not exceed €19,181 and can receive up to €3.600. Where they live with one child the maximum income is €23,981 and can receive up to €4,800.
• Those with two or more children can have an income of up to €32,000 and receive up to €5,000.
• Finally three or more adults living together can apply if their income does not exceed €28,081 and can receive up to €5,000.

The Scheme is managed by the Housing Authority.

Use of measure

It was announced that in some cases up to 80% of the rent was being covered by the Government. In mid April 2020 it was announced that 60% of applicants were those who had already been receiving some form of rent benefits, whereas 40% were individuals who had not previously received any rent subsidy. 72% of applicants were employees, while 28% were self-employed.

It was reported in June 2021 that 2,387 families were benefitting from rental assistance. This statistic, however, does not refer to those who are receiving support since COVID-19, but rather all those making use of the rental assistance scheme. Of the beneficiaries, the majority live alone, whilst 779 are single parents with up to two dependent children, and 374 are couples with dependent children. During COVID-19, support for rental deposits and payment of the first rent instalment was also given to low income families; 84 families benefitted from this.

A Housing Authority (2024) report showed that spending on the scheme rose from €3,761,815 in 2019 to €9,559,129 in 2023. Users of the scheme were mainly in the 30-39 age bracket followed by the 40-49 age bracket. Most beneficiaries are single parents, followed by individuals who are single, married, or separated.

In November 2024, it was announced that over 4,400 families were benefitting from this scheme and another scheme that aims to support vulnerable renters termed the Pre-1995 Rent Subsidy Scheme. A breakdown between the two was not provided. The number of households that benefitted from these two schemes increased substantially between 2019 and 2023, from 2,898 in 2019 to 5,176 in 2023. Over these five years, €42 million was spent on these two schemes (Malta Today, 2024).

Target groups

Workers	Businesses	Citizens
Applies to all workers	Does not apply to businesses	Applies to all citizens

Actors and funding

Actors	Funding
National government Other social actors (e.g. NGOs)	National funds

Social partners

Social partners' role in designing the measure and form of involvement:

	Trade unions	Employers' organisations
Role	Unknown	Unknown
Form	Not applicable	Not applicable

Social partners' role in the implementation, monitoring and assessment phase:

• Unknown
• Main level of involvement: N/A

Involvement

The involvement of social partners in this measure is not known. However, on announcing that the measure would be extended to those impacted by COVID-19. the minister responsible thanked various NGOs as well as an employers' association. These included: YMCA, Aditus Foundation, Moviment Graffitti and the Malta Developers Association.

Views and reactions

No reviews have been expressed with regards to this scheme.

Sources

• 30 April 2020: Private Rent Housing Benefit Scheme (housingauthority.gov.mt)
• 01 November 2024: Housing authority - report on rental scheme affordability (housingauthority.gov.mt)
• 14 November 2024: Malta Today - families benefitting from housing rental scheme (www.maltatoday.com.mt)