Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/878567
maltatoday, SUNDAY, 24 SEPTEMBER 2017 News 5 "You can't have your cake and eat it," Chetcuti says. "If you want to rent in the long-term but at the same time want to ensure the price remains low, there must somehow be a win-win situation," he insisted. Another solution to the lack of supply of accommodation is a revi- sion of the minimum size of apart- ments. Again it is a controversial suggestion for an island where the popular view is that it is crippled by over-development, while residential units become smaller. "The Planning Authority can't keep telling developers to build at certain sizes when the trend is that people need smaller spaces," Chet- cuti insists. "It's like inviting friends for a drink but forbidding them from drinking anything less than a pint. Why must they get drunk?" Chetcuti's MDA may hardly be the voice of moderation on the prop- erty market. Its proposals for the Budget include the indefinite exten- sion of the first-time buyers' scheme – which removes property tax on their first purchase – but also the in- troduction of a second-time buyers' scheme for those wishing to move house, as well as a number of incen- tives for developers to shift to more environmentally-friendly measures. "The government must ensure that it does not shock the economy," says the man who gloated about making hay while the sun shines under La- bour's expansionist economic mod- el. "We need to keep the serenity and feel-good factor there currently is, while introducing measures to address specific issues." ypace@mediatoday.com.mt Sandro Chetcuti's MDA may hardly be the voice of moderation on the property market. Its proposals for the Budget include the indefinite extension of the first-time buyers' scheme – which removes property tax on their first purchase – but also the introduction of a second-time buyers' scheme for those wishing to move house, as well as a number of incentives for developers to shift to more environmentally-friendly measures. 'Government must build better quality social housing' MALTA needs to urgently up- grade its infrastructure at all levels if it is to compete in a glo- balised property market. says Chris Grech, CEO of real estate agency Dhalia. In an interview with Malta- Today (pages 14-15) Delia ar- gues that poor planning and enforcement threatens the cur- rent property boom... and warns against complacency in the rent- al sector. "Our social conscience should prick us: there is an issue, and I think we need to address it, and discuss possible solutions," Grecj said of the rise in rental prices. "I think the government has a huge responsibility: because it is the government that is creating this economic boom. Of course, we thank the government for its initiatives in bringing so much money in from overseas... but then there is a snowball effect that has negative effects on the Maltese market as well...". Grech claims the government's role should be that of building better quality social housing. "I don't believe governments should interfere with how the market actually works. But there are other things governments can do. One thing that Malta urgently needs is to build a lot more social housing... but good quality social housing." Grech insists that a lot of mon- ey should be put into more social housing, especially for the most vulnerable families that cannot afford a roof over their heads. "We're not talking about vast numbers here... but we can't ignore them either. Subsidising rents in social cases might be an- other option, too. At the end of the day, however, I believe that the government has a responsi- bility to ensure that salaries are increased. These problems arise not just because rental prices have gone up... but because basic salaries have not increased ac- cordingly." Dhalia CEO Chris Grech