Delia Proposes Digital Register To Bring Ghost Properties Back Into Use And Boost Afforability

PN leader candidate Adrian Delia has proposed the establishment of a digital property register as the first step towards bringing vacant properties back onto the market and promoting home affordability.

In an opinion piece on Times of Malta, Delia warned that the “Maltese dream of homeownership and family life is slipping away” because “Labour’s policies have lost sight of the ordinary man and woman.”

While the 2021 census indicated that over 27% of Malta’s properties are vacant, Delia warned that the lack of a national property register means there is a dearth of precise ownership data.

“I think it should be clear by now, from what I have been writing, that if I succeed in becoming the PN leader I will be actively harnessing technology to make our lives better,” he said.

“In this case, we would use it to give Malta what many other EU countries have but which we still lack: a comprehensive, transparent map of our housing stock; a national cadastre, as it is called in France.”

“Since you cannot solve what you can’t see, we need to start by creating a complete digital property register.”

“This will give us the precise data we need to start changing things around. With satellite imaging, AI-powered databases and census cross-checking to track every land parcel and dwelling, we will eventually find out who owns what, where and whether it’s in use.”

Delia pointed out that Vancouver’s Empty Homes policy, driven by data and transparency, brought thousands of units back into circulation and use.

In Helsingborg, Sweden, a social experiment resulted in the refurbishment of apartment blocks and the housing of elderly citizens and young adults under one roof.

“This wasn’t just housing. It was healing. We must learn from these social experiments and adapt them to what works for us,” he said.

“Let’s build spaces that do more than provide basic shelter. Let’s build spaces that connect humans to each other.”

Delia also called for fiscal policies to discourage the “speculative hoarding” of homes at the cost of prospective future homeowners.

“A housing market that rewards the speculative hoarding of homes while punishing those trying to raise families is not just inefficient, it is unjust,” he warned.

“Fiscal policies, guided by fairness, precision and social conscience will help us achieve the goal of giving our young families a home of their own.”

“This is a moment of choice; not between markets and morals but between inertia and imagination.”