MEPA reports 61% slump in permits for new dwellings

The number of new houses approved by the Malta Environment and Planning Authority (MEPA) nose-dived from a record high of 11,343 to just 4,444 last year. This represents a sharp – 61% – decrease in the number of approved new dwellings since 2007.

24 May 2011, 12:00am
by James Debono

4 min read

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Total Number % on ODZ % on virgin land

2000 3970 3.4 70.2

2001 4180 5.5 67.8

2002 5841 2.4 58.9

2003 6128 3.7 54.9

2004 6707 2.8 55.2

2005 9081 3.1 39.5

2006 10409 1.5 47.2

2007 11343 2.2 46.5

2008 6386 2.3 50.8

2009 5298 3.9 55.6

2010 4444 3.7 46

Source: Information Resources Unit MEPA

The decrease comes in the wake of a slump in the property market over the past few years.

In what could be an indication of a slump in the property market, 2010 saw the lowest number of dwellings approved since 2001.

Overall a staggering 73,887 new dwellings were approved in the past decade, 42% of which were approved in a planning spree taking place between 2005 and 2007, which coincided with the relaxation of building heights which resulted in the construction of apartment blocks in town centres.

While only 64% of new dwellings approved in 2000 consisted of apartments, these represented 90% of permits issued in 2007. But the share of apartments fell again to 84% in 2010.

On the other hand, while a quarter of all new dwellings in 2000 were maisonettes, these fell to just 8% in 2010.

Surprisingly despite heightened awareness and stricter regulations, the percentage of permits on ODZ (outside development zones) land now represents nearly 4%, nearly double that in 2007.

46% of all new dwelling permits in 2010 were issued on previously undeveloped virgin land, down from 56% in 2009.

This had represented a dramatic change from land use patterns in 2000, when 70% of approved new dwellings took place on virgin land.

The decrease in the percentage of dwellings approved on virgin land as a result of an increase in the number of conversions and re-developments of existing buildings.

In 2010, 54% of all new permits issued involved conversion and re-development of old dwellings.

The reversal of the trend favoring development in built up areas in 2008 and 2009, could reflect the release of new virgin land for development through the rationalisation exercise carried out in 2006.

This figure is expected to increase in the next few years as permits are issued on previously ODZ land added in 2006 revision of building schemes. MEPA is still in the process of assessing most of the new applications in formerly ODZ localities.

James Debono is MaltaToday's chief reporter on environment, planning and land use issues, ...

More from James Debono

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The more they increase payments the less they get applications, including those required to make changes in older buildings. The slump in applications for new buildings is a good point because apart from the tens of thousands of empty properties every bit of virgin land is being destroyed by the property speculators and environment rapists. There is a fine balance point of diminishing returns which has long been exceeded. In other words, MEPA, like all other authorities, have exceeded this point and are getting the predictable results of their greed and excessive payments.

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Maybe the Government will think of developing some policies/incentives or disincentives through the tax system to encourage future development to occur mainly in redeveloping the huge number of old and abondoned residences that litter many parts of Malta and Gozo. Only Government lead initiatives are going to encourage greedy developers not to take the easy way to make an euro by keeping up the development of flats everywhere. A well thought out tax system might begin to turn the clock positively towards making redevelopment of old shoddy places more attractive to developers and buyers. The introduction of property taxes (rates) might also help to incentivize owners to either develop or sell. This will also give councils some really needed money to improve (or rebuild from scratch) Malta's infrastructure which is in a very sorry state despite the bit of road here and there that looks like any other shitty road after a few years!!

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And they still want us to make believe that teh economy was not hit by recession, that we shall ride the recession etc etc.... Iz-zejt qieghed jitla f'wicc l-ilma.